Scarf & goggles Athol Graham

[MAYOMAN]

Here is the USAC mile record certification. The PR guy loved to write about the "miracle mile". Nobody in the USA knows what a kilometer is. Joe Petrali was very upset when he saw the 622 publicity. He called me to alert me about the error, but too late. I have been trying ever since to correct that historic speed record.
Read the book, SPEEDQUEST for the whole story.

[desotoman]

I must admit I've never seen any other number than 622 for Blue Flame!
  Sid.

you be a victim, as so many, of all this self announced historian who writes on places like Wikipedia or on own webpages

wrong or fake information, as they haven't the clue for five cents....

Historic, and especially here the Speed Record World, is a mess as so many legends and not correct facts are written and published...once published, the next guy makes
copy & past, and here again the wrong information can be read....

instead of checking the real facts....or shut up when they don't know right....

Could part of the problem be related to human nature or selective memory? Sometimes you talk to a person and ask them about their past records and they tell you something different or inflated as to what they really did accomplish. Why? I have no idea. It could be memory loss, inflating their ego figuring no one would question them, etc. I just brush it off to human nature.

25 years ago I sold a junk blower but cosmetically perfect to a guy who was building a static display car. Years later I saw him with the car on display at a race. He did not recognize me, and was talking to someone when I walked up. I did not say anything until they were finished with their conversation. While listening to their conversation, he was telling this person how he used to run the car at different races etc. Truth was he never ever ran that car. Bought it as a roller and put a junk but cosmetically correct motor in it. This guy was the nicest guy you would ever meet and I would have never thought I would hear what I heard. Sad part is the other person believed what he was hearing.

Tom G.

[PorkPie]

Tom,

spot on what you saying.

the human factor is another important point...

especially when you asked the involved person, when a record was set (or not)....

here begins very often than the time of fairy tales....

and very often, it is just the ego, to make the story bigger as it was in reality.....you have to ask yourself....why...isn't it not great that you had set a record....

if this person now telling his story to a journalist who has not the clue for five cents, as he normally writes about American Football....

the story is published...the people read it...and here is the legend....but not the real fact....

the big problem here, is, that the most historian are never be at the place as a witness....

I'm historian and chronist....but I only write an article when I was at the place and saw it with my own eyes....or if it's a long time ago story....than, when I got the facts, confirmed, in my hand...

I wished that the other writer would think about before they type the first letter.....

[kiwi belly tank]

Here's a video I saw a while back where the "622" speed is shown on the car. That number is so entrenched in history I expect it'll never get corrected.
  Sid.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S0ux4vT1bQ4

[MAYOMAN]

The AGA sponsor had that painted on the car immediately after we set the absolute world land speed record (630.388mph), still believing their incorrect PR story. The Blue Flame was toured in the USA and EU for a little over one year, then parked outdoors behind the Institute of Gas Technology in Chicago until being sent off to the Sinsheim Museum via a European donor. Fortunately, the Sinsheim Museum signage and other promotional materials describe the car's absolute world record as 1,014.686 kilometers per hour. Since only English-speaking countries (USA, UK, NZ, AUS) even know what a mile is - most of the world has the correct speed. That stupid 622 on the car was never removed by the new owners.

[PorkPie]

The AGA sponsor had that painted on the car immediately after we set the absolute world land speed record (630.388mph), still believing their incorrect PR story. The Blue Flame was toured in the USA and EU for a little over one year, then parked outdoors behind the Institute of Gas Technology in Chicago until being sent off to the Sinsheim Museum via a European donor. Fortunately, the Sinsheim Museum signage and other promotional materials describe the car's absolute world record as 1,014.686 kilometers per hour. Since only English-speaking countries (USA, UK, NZ, AUS) even know what a mile is - most of the world has the correct speed. That stupid 622 on the car was never removed by the new owners.

Dick, I'm this Friday in the museum in Sinsheim...will talk to them if they can write also the 630 mph at the side.....OK

[sabat]

I must admit I've never seen any other number than 622 for Blue Flame!
  Sid.

you be a victim, as so many, of all this self announced historian who writes on places like Wikipedia or on own webpages

wrong or fake information, as they haven't the clue for five cents....

Historic, and especially here the Speed Record World, is a mess as so many legends and not correct facts are written and published...once published, the next guy makes
copy & past, and here again the wrong information can be read....

instead of checking the real facts....or shut up when they don't know right....

Could part of the problem be related to human nature or selective memory? Sometimes you talk to a person and ask them about their past records and they tell you something different or inflated as to what they really did accomplish. Why? I have no idea. It could be memory loss, inflating their ego figuring no one would question them, etc. I just brush it off to human nature.

25 years ago I sold a junk blower but cosmetically perfect to a guy who was building a static display car. Years later I saw him with the car on display at a race. He did not recognize me, and was talking to someone when I walked up. I did not say anything until they were finished with their conversation. While listening to their conversation, he was telling this person how he used to run the car at different races etc. Truth was he never ever ran that car. Bought it as a roller and put a junk but cosmetically correct motor in it. This guy was the nicest guy you would ever meet and I would have never thought I would hear what I heard. Sad part is the other person believed what he was hearing.

Tom G.

This is a normal part of human memory (memory reconsolidation) especially for stories that are retold over many years. The story changes gradually, usually placing the teller closer to the action, and in a better light. The teller often fully believes the revised version of events. The news anchor Brian Williams was caught in one of these situations and lost his job. It happens to public figures a lot. This is part of the reason that old first-hand memories are not given as much weight in court. -Dean

[WOODY@DDLLC]

The AGA sponsor had that painted on the car immediately after we set the absolute world land speed record (630.388mph), still believing their incorrect PR story. The Blue Flame was toured in the USA and EU for a little over one year, then parked outdoors behind the Institute of Gas Technology in Chicago until being sent off to the Sinsheim Museum via a European donor. Fortunately, the Sinsheim Museum signage and other promotional materials describe the car's absolute world record as 1,014.686 kilometers per hour. Since only English-speaking countries (USA, UK, NZ, AUS) even know what a mile is - most of the world has the correct speed. That stupid 622 on the car was never removed by the new owners.

Dick, I'm this Friday in the museum in Sinsheim...will talk to them if they can write also the 630 mph at the side.....OK

[TrickyDicky]

The AGA sponsor had that painted on the car immediately after we set the absolute world land speed record (630.388mph), still believing their incorrect PR story. The Blue Flame was toured in the USA and EU for a little over one year, then parked outdoors behind the Institute of Gas Technology in Chicago until being sent off to the Sinsheim Museum via a European donor. Fortunately, the Sinsheim Museum signage and other promotional materials describe the car's absolute world record as 1,014.686 kilometers per hour. Since only English-speaking countries (USA, UK, NZ, AUS) even know what a mile is - most of the world has the correct speed. That stupid 622 on the car was never removed by the new owners.

Dick, I'm this Friday in the museum in Sinsheim...will talk to them if they can write also the 630 mph at the side.....OK

Ah, but what number will you ask them to write?

... 630.388 (as it was in 1970)

... or 630.478 (as the FIA publish today)?

 
 

[PorkPie]

since 2013 is a big canvas photo on the side of the Blue Flame. Dick got me the scan of this two photos, I restored the photos, combine them and produced this canvas

Dick choose to use the FIA number for that canvas...and this number will be used when we add it to the 1014 km/h number

[TrickyDicky]

 

[MAYOMAN]

Calculating the flying start record is subject to rounding errors from kilometers to miles per hour. The distance timed was 1 kilometer. The average elapsed time listed is 3.5485 seconds. Since the timer measured milliseconds, the last digit "5" was dropped by FIA, giving 3.548 as the divisor. 3600 (seconds per hour) divided by 3.548 (seconds per kilometer) yields 1014.656 kilometers per hour. The standard conversion miles per kilometer is .621371. 1014.656 kph times .621371 miles per kilometer yields 630.478 miles per hour. The USAC/FIA timing officials reported the kilometer record speed in miles per hour, at 630.388 miles per hour in 1970. The conversion they used in the calculation is not shown in the record document. At any rate, 6 significant figures speed is not realistically precise with the 4 significant figures for the measured time in  seconds. 630.388 mph is on the certified USAC/FIA record document.

[TrickyDicky]

630.388 mph is calculated from elapsed time of 3.5485 seconds.

630.478 mph is calculated from elapsed time of 3.548 seconds.

So far as I can tell, the FIA used the '5' in the 4th decimal place in 1970.

Today the FIA prefer to ignore the '5' (or truncate from 4dp to 3dp).

[MAYOMAN]

Obviously, that is why they demand a 1% margin for establishing a new rrecord.

[trimmers]

Actually, the 1% minimum ibncreaase rule was dripped sweveeral years agio abd is no longer in effect.
Jeff in Boise