Landracing Forum
Thrust-powered Land Speed information => Discussions on absolute land speed records => Topic started by: J79 on January 31, 2018, 01:56:50 PM
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Video covers the time from 1963-1997, includes Craig Breedloves Spirit of America and Sonic 1, Art Arfons Green Monster, Richard Nobles Thrust 2, Andy Greens SSC and Pat Rummerfield's White Lightning Electric Car. Interviews with the drivers and some video of the cars at top speed.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fRl4gcW3H2A (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fRl4gcW3H2A)
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Thought maybe this would be a good historical land speed film. To bad, it is total F***ing BS! Discussing the LSR vehicles the film states rockets can only be turned on - not controllable - not turned off! They used Walt Arfons JATO car as the example. Later, after good footage of Breedlove and Art Arfons, they jump immediately to Richard Noble setting the new world land speed record at 633 mi/h.
WHOSE RECORD DID HE BREAK? DUH!!!!! This stupid garbage piece of crap did not even mention the car whose record he broke by THREE MILES PER HOUR! The last American LSR holder was the rocket-powered THE BLUE FLAME, driven by GARY GABELICH in 1970! The first world land speed record over 1,000 km/h at 1,014.656 km/h (630.388 mi/h)! The last world land speed record set on pneumatic tires. The last world land speed record set at the Bonneville Salt Flats. Oh, and powered by a foot throttle-controlled bi-propellant rocket, designed and built specifically for the LSR attempt. It was designed and built in 18 months and set the world land speed record on its first try at Bonneville. Oh, and that was at 60% of maximum thrust to satisfy the Goodyear requirement to stay under 700 mi/h in 1970. Even so, peaking at 660 mi/h, it handled perfectly over 24 high speed runs on the salt flats.
How can they produce this fraudulent film and ignore the achievement of three young guys from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, setting the world land speed record on a shoestring budget? We never met the President. Nobody was knighted. No cash reward. We set the world land speed record, went home, and got on with our lives. Oh, and we achieved our dream of building the fastest ever automobile at that time.
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Mayoman. It's February 2018, the age clock is ticking for all of us and Youtube is available for anyone to make a simple to complex video. Why don't you set the record straight and make a simple video with the facts about the Blue Flame Car and how it fits in with the other Land Speed Record Cars? I'd watch it.
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https://video.search.yahoo.com/search/video?fr=tightropetb&p=blue+flame+land+speed+record#action=view&id=1&vid=80f6292f640df9804ea1238a03062f09
John
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J79 - An excellent link was posted by Speed Limit 1000 to several videos that feature The Blue Flame. Thank you.
The Blue Flame - Speedquest video was a narrated version of my original video SPEEDQUEST. I put that together from the 16mm films I shot from the beginning of the land speed record project with Ray Dausman, Pete Farnsworth, and Chuck Suba who was a high school friend, and much more - the original ROCKETMAN. The other video I posted on YouTube was the AGA film Break the Record which still had the slower mile record cited.
Because Gary, an independent contractor, never signed a contract with Goodyear, The Blue Flame sort of fell into a black hole for recognition. They even erased his name from the car in their limited post-record publicity.
I find the total blackout of The Blue Flame by the British Pioneer Productions inexcusable. Nothing! Just blank! The first land speed record over 1,000 km/h, lasted 27 years, and ignored or hidden.
Almost as bad was the total lack of recognition of Gary and The Blue Flame in the Smithsonian Institution's upcoming "A Nation of Speed" exhibition opening in November 2020. I am working on correcting that - but it is still a difficult task obtaining the recognition WE EARNED as the last American car and driver to set the World Land Speed Record ion 1970.
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Dick:
The X-1 looks a lot like a Caldwell FV of yester year (see image). Also, did you use struts to make the IRS rear suspension, solid?
John
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John, originally we had 4 wheel independent suspension with coil over shocks. Finally, we became more concerned about pitching in a thrust driven vehicle. So, we replaced the rear spring/shocks with solid struts. It worked fine, especially since most drag strips are very flat smooth pavement. Worked at Bonneville, too, in 1970.
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John, Here is the X-1 with the coils and the struts.
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Hmmm. For some reason the struts posted, bot not the coils. Trying again.