Author Topic: Last American team to hold the official ALSR Blue Flame Oct 23 1970 622.407mph  (Read 110030 times)

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Offline MAYOMAN

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Here is the wind tunnel model and the various optional aerodynamic configurations along with the resulting drag curves.
The road is long - Life is short - Drive fast

Offline ggl205

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  • G/FL 218.282 since 1995. G/FL record since 1993.
Dick, what were the measurement values on the horizontal scale? I assume velocity but by what measure?

John

Offline Stainless1

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John, looked like Mach to me... they were swinging for the fences.... probably could have been there with smarter sponsors
Stainless
Red Hat 228.039, 2001, 65ci, Bockscar Lakester #1000 with a little N2O

Offline MAYOMAN

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Vertical scale is drag coefficient (CD) and horizontal is Mach number (M). At 0.9M, the CD was .35 with the faired wheels and support structure, but .43M with the final open wheel configuration. That would have been about our peak velocity in the mid-mile/kilometer speed traps, which was 660 mi/h. Instrumentation showed The Blue Flame was stable, as if on rails, throughout the high speed runs. In fact, tire wear was non-existent from the 24 runs. One rear tire was replaced when it skidded on braking, while towed in the service area, at around 30 mi/h and showed a tiny flat spot. The two front tires were replaced early when a slow leak (probably O-rings in the wheel) occurred in one. We just replaced both as a caution. The 4th tire remained on The Blue Flame for every run and looked new when we were finished. I believe Goodyear kept that one on display in Akron. We would have uprated the rocket to 22,000 lb thrust the next year and tried for Mach 1+, but, since we didn't own the car any longer, the sponsor put it on the exhibition tour and then "sold" it to the Shell Oil executive in Europe so we couldn't run it again. Now the shell of The Blue Flame remains in Sinsheim. So, 0.9M was it for The Blue Flame. Not too bad for a bunch of "cheese heads".
The road is long - Life is short - Drive fast

Offline ggl205

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OK, just finished reading Morel's Masters thesis. Yes, those were Mach numbers and should have guessed as much considering the vehicle. But I thought Morel achieved a Cd of .23 for "The Flame"?

John

Offline MAYOMAN

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The .23 CD was the initial calculation before the wind tunnel tests. Gee, too bad we didn't have CFD back then. Mostly slide rules, electro-mechanical calculators, paper and pencil. Well, ink and vellum if you had money to burn. Just watched the Tesla automobile ROCKETED into orbit. Who has the fastest car now?
The road is long - Life is short - Drive fast

Offline Speed Limit 1000

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Just watched the Tesla automobile ROCKETED into orbit. Who has the fastest car now?

I just watched the news and thought WTF when they said they launched the car into space. :-o One way or are they going to bring it back?

Johnboy
John Gowetski, red hat @ 221.183 MPH MSA Lakester, Bockscar #1000 60 ci normally aspirated w/N20

Offline MAYOMAN

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Elon Musk says the Tesla roadster, top down, will fly past Mars and on to the universe. The instrument panel display was priceless, stating "Don't Panic!". I wonder if the car had batteries installed. I doubt NASA would have that sense of humor.
The road is long - Life is short - Drive fast

Offline manta22

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The .23 CD was the initial calculation before the wind tunnel tests. Gee, too bad we didn't have CFD back then. Mostly slide rules, electro-mechanical calculators, paper and pencil. Well, ink and vellum if you had money to burn. Just watched the Tesla automobile ROCKETED into orbit. Who has the fastest car now?

They have to make a backup run.  :-D

Regards, Neil  Tucson, AZ
Regards, Neil  Tucson, AZ

Offline MAYOMAN

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BTW - here is the display panel en route to Mars
The road is long - Life is short - Drive fast

Offline MAYOMAN

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this time I'll add the photo
The road is long - Life is short - Drive fast

Offline Stainless1

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Wonder how long the camera's will work... it is a view through the windshield that only 1 car will have.  I think it has a "built on earth by humans" tag on it as well  :wink:
Stainless
Red Hat 228.039, 2001, 65ci, Bockscar Lakester #1000 with a little N2O

Offline TD

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While the car and builder / driver don't seem to attract much attention in this forum, McGlashan's Aussie Invader 5R seems to follow many of the design principles established by the Flame.

They don't seem close to running, but they are making progress.  They haven't said much about the rocket engine lately, so my guess is that this problem isn't solved, funded, or both.

I'm not on The Book of Face but that's how they are sharing project updates - https://www.facebook.com/AussieInvader.

Offline Seldom Seen Slim

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Thanks for the mention about Roscoe in Australia.  I do get his monthly updates - and am trying to figure out what I've done with 'em.  I had it firmly in mind that I was doing something besides reading them.  I'll see if I can convince Bob to put them someplace easy to find. . . if he isn't already.
Jon E. Wennerberg
 a/k/a Seldom Seen Slim
 Skandia, Michigan
 (that's way up north)
2 Club member x2
Owner of landracing.com

Offline TD

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Glad to be of service :)  I'm pretty sure Rosco has stopped producing the monthly updates, indicating that their preparation was taking too much time, and that he was going all in on The Book of Face.

While you are over there check out the final items on the parts list.  I think he's got them already!