Landracing Forum
Bonneville Salt Flats Discussion => Bonneville General Chat => Topic started by: Rex Schimmer on January 09, 2012, 08:28:08 PM
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If you can find a copy of the January 2012 "Racecar Engineering" you might want to buy it. A very large part of it is about the various teams that are trying to be first to 1000 mph. There is also a great article on the Steve Fossett/Craig Breedlove car with lots of comment from Eric Ahlstrom (Blue on this site). Also a great article on the 1930s Mercedes Benz Type 80 which is the car that they were going to try to bread the 300 mph record of Donald Campbell.
If you don't happen to find the magazine I have included the web sites for the various contenders:
Bloodhound SSC: www.bloodhoundssc,com
Jetblack: www.jetblack.co.nz
Assie Invader 5R: www.aussieinvader.com
Silver Bullet RV1: www.bulletproject.com
Sonic Wind: www.landspeedrecordrocket.com
North American Eagle: www.landspeed.com
I have also dropped the editors a note to consider doing the same for the cars that are wheel driven and trying to break 500 mph. (which I think all of use would be more interested in.)
Rex
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Will he fry the record after he breads it?
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You can get a sneak peek here: http://www.racecar-engineering.com/articles/land-speed-record/the-fastest-cars-on-earth/
N592 - It will be extra crispy if it gets in the exhaust! :-o
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Fox News on the Sonic Wind: http://www.foxnews.com/leisure/2012/01/12/call-him-rocket-man-2000-mph-car-in-works-in-california/?test=faces (http://www.foxnews.com/leisure/2012/01/12/call-him-rocket-man-2000-mph-car-in-works-in-california/?test=faces)
(http://a57.foxnews.com/static/managed/img/660/371/sonicwind640.jpg)
Mike
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Mike click around his site to see a certain FR is involved
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Looks like a rocket on wheels on it's side and no prop. :-D They are claiming 2000 mph now. :roll:
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Strap enough $ss to it it'll go to the moon Alice!!! Hey, if those folks want to give it a go, more power to'em. I'm just trying to get the wife over 2 bills then it's my turn :-D :-D :-D
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This should wake up the P-MAN and drive us nuts with I told you so. Thats if the web sites haven't all banned him again.
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Woody,
Great Video on the SSC, hadn't seen it before. Makes me appreciate just how brave Wing Commander Green really is.
Gary
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Re: Waldo. It does not have a prop, which says something. 7 front wheels is interesting. 50' long is interesting. Going to the salt north of the military range is interesting, but there are no amenities close at hand, and no road in is there? Bolivia. I like that. Big, flat, thin air.
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Yeah, Bolivia is interesting for a self admitted underfunded Team. The fee to Bolivia alone will fund most projects. Then there are those pesky logistics and their price tag. Should be very interesting if he actually tries it. Don't mean to be negative on an attempt like that, but it sure seems like he has not thought through his plan.
The Salt Flats will be too hard a surface for his wheels also. He would be better off on a dry lake bed. Edwards AFB is only a $20,000 fee and it is closer than Bolivia and friendlier, and they already have a fire crew in place.
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We ran Edwards twice and it was a nice surface but only 5.5 miles long. Rwy 15 can be lengthened with a lot of work and
money but you can still only get about 11 miles. Runway 17 that was used by the Budweiser Rocket is so rough and covered
with fisures (sp?) that it would be even more work to make useable for high speed runs. The other thing is the huge amount
of bureaucracy and red tape with regulations out the butt. We have been trying to get approval to run there this year but
now we are required to pay for a baseline environmental study to be submitted to the Air Force and forwarded to the
Pentagon for approval to move to the next level of red tape. Now the Bolivia site is interesting but the logistics would
be a nightmare and I'm not so sure a team of 40 or 50 people would be happy to work for a month at 12,500 ft altitude.
I guess the Brits have the best deal working for them in South Africa.
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Yeah, Bolivia is interesting for a self admitted underfunded Team. The fee to Bolivia alone will fund most projects. Then there are those pesky logistics and their price tag. Should be very interesting if he actually tries it. Don't mean to be negative on an attempt like that, but it sure seems like he has not thought through his plan.
The Salt Flats will be too hard a surface for his wheels also. He would be better off on a dry lake bed. Edwards AFB is only a $20,000 fee and it is closer than Bolivia and friendlier, and they already have a fire crew in place.
I have heard that a certain team was going to build a road to that unused part of Bville, BUT this guy is such a notorius rumer monger and liar that I would not believe him if I knew he was telling the truth.
Anyone else from a straight shooter?
JL222
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Thank you for the personal experience Ed.
From my limited knowledge, getting to the salt behind floating mountain, is that where they think they will run?, is tough as there is no road. The land is not for us, ask Mike Cook, Indian and railroad problems exist. Plus add in the military use and I think that the piece of salt is unavailable - from a layman's opinon.
DW
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A couple of years ago a meeting was convened at the Shootout - - about the salt that's north and west of Floating Island. The stuff that's mentioned in this thread. Attendees included racers, BLM, and maybe the railroad (at least they were mentioned a few times as if they had been in on some of the discussions, perhaps earlier).
At that time the idea of using that part of the salt was decided to be feasible if the railroad company were to give access. A road to it is needed, a RR crossing, and more -- but not completely out of reach with enough $$.
Whether or not it will ever happen, it has been pretty well-researched. If you're interested in more on this subject -- PM or email me and I'll see if I can find one (or more) of the folks that were at the meeting - so you can ask for yourself.
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An access road will be cheaper than going to Bolivia.
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Yeah. Especially since there may not be an access road in Bolivia either.
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Salar de Uyuni, Bolivia. Rail service from the west coast to Salta. Highways both ways, including Argentina.
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Max - If the salt layer gets much thinner at Bonneville, Bolivia may be the next option
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The American Eagle is built from a Starfighter, has anyone else wondered if the Breedlove car was fashioned from an Olds Cutlass Salon, circa 1978?
(http://t2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTjt70YZQonAuFQgNDRbu77H6mftq8_qt49N1fia2N_vejvIxoP_g)
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There's a hotel out on the flats built of salt blocks, water hauled in. And hotels in Salta.
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Max - you were just waiting to post these photos of Salar de Uyuni, Bolivia
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The RR track I posted a year ago. It's a repeat. Thing being, I am a prisoner here in the Midwest and long for the world travels enjoyed before the little general took me prisoner.
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the similarity to Bonneville is uncanny ...
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This is an example why multiple sub-forums are not kosher. (Note to Jon) Both the RCE article AND the Bolivia thing has appeared in more than one section of the board. :?
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I guess different personalities view it in different ways. I don't find it a problem. As a matter of fact I find it fascinating how some of the subjects evolve and in the end they fall out of interest and disappear anyway.
I'm not trying to pick a fight Trent. I guess I'm just pointing out that we all view things a little differently. That's a good thing because it leads to the wide variety of vehicles we see on the salt and other lsr venues. :cheers: :cheers: :cheers: :-D
Pete
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This should wake up the P-MAN and drive us nuts with I told you so. Thats if the web sites haven't all banned him again.
Glen,
check out this link. He's as "user friendly" as ever :-D
http://www.boatdesign.net/forums/boat-design/k777-bluebird-40452.html
Robin
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I guess different personalities view it in different ways. I don't find it a problem. As a matter of fact I find it fascinating how some of the subjects evolve and in the end they fall out of interest and disappear anyway.
I'm not trying to pick a fight Trent. I guess I'm just pointing out that we all view things a little differently. That's a good thing because it leads to the wide variety of vehicles we see on the salt and other lsr venues. :cheers: :cheers: :cheers: :-D
Pete
No worries, discussion is good PJ. I just hate to see topics diluted by ending up in more than one sub-forum. Plus, here and in any other board there are folks that NEVER leave certain subforums. Some due to ignorance and some for insecurity reasons. MTBR is the worst one on the net for this. (mountainbikes)
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I'm hanging back and not commenting on the posting of pictures (or discussion, for that matter) in multiple places on this Forum. I'm about to post some photos that, while not exactly duplicates, are very similar to others that have been put up here in the old days. You'll have to leave this topic to see them, though. :evil:
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Funny Jon! :-D
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Here's another link on the subject
http://thatscienceguy.wordpress.com/category/future/page/2/ (http://thatscienceguy.wordpress.com/category/future/page/2/)
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WARNING! THREAD HIJACK!
http://www.laestanciadecafayate.com/
It's south of the Bolivian border. Perhaps I should take a look at the place, sip some of the local plonk, and run up to Uyuni Salt Flats in a rental car to see how the roads are and how high the bribes are.
Done hijacking.
Carry on,
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Probably not much chance of seeing Bloodhound down there, England & Argentina had a bit of a war back in the 80's!! :roll: :roll:
Sid.
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On the Bloodhound homepage, there is a link on the header named "Adventure." If one clicks on it, then clicks the "desert" link on the left sidebar, it opens up drop down menus for all the surveys the team has taken. At the Verneuk Pan, they found the original track for Campbell still in place after 80 years. But it appears they are going with the Hakseen Pan, where they found a great track: "This time, the news was all good. Over 19 km long, 5 km wide, very hard and very flat (apart from some surface stones – and the dirt causeway, of course!), great access (the new tarmac road), nearby accommodation, on-site power, good communications, ideal weather: this was the location Andy Green had been chasing for over a year and a half!"
And: "Best of all, Hakskeen is in the Northern Cape – and we’ve already got the full backing of the Provincial Government! This support is vital for us. It’s been hugely refreshing to deal with a government body that understands the meaning and value of an ‘Engineering Adventure’ – and that wants to join in! Let the South African adventure begin ..."
By jove, I think they've found it...
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Moxnix,
I did a Google Earth search of S. A. and is the Hakskeen Pan the lake that is close to the border of Namibia? Sure looks like it is in BF nowhere.
Rex
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Yes, it's at the lower end of the "jut" of land between Namibia and Botswana. Looks like you can see BF nowhere from there. But a paved road and amenities. Sounds like Bonneville in 1948, not that I was there. There's an old African proverb: He who shits in the road meets flies on his return. Having been to Africa 5 times, I can say that one meet flies everywhere.
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To "un-hijack" this thread:
Any comments or questions about the articles?
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I really enjoyed the Fossett / SoA article, including all the commentary from Blue.
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Being frugal - OK downright tight - I don't usually buy RCE due to the tariff but this issue has been worth every penny. Only part way into the LSR stuff so far but have picked up a lot of bits and pieces of info I hadn't known of before, handling and aero in particular. A big thank you for your part in keeping my learning curve headed upward by sharing the information you did.
Ed
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RCE at Barnes & Noble is ~$13 + tax. Here it's on sale for $3.60 a copy. Don't go to RCE they will charge you more!
http://www.zinio.com/browse/publications/index.jsp?prnt=cat1960016&productId=69303020&categoryId=cat1960052
Lots of back issues for ~$5 a copy! :cheers: