John "Ackers" Ackroyd passed

[PorkPie]

the reaper goes around....

another sad news

my long time friend John "Ackers" Ackroyd passed away.

Ackers was the designer of the Thrust II, the jet car which Richard Noble used in 1983, he was in the beginning involved in the Thrust SSC car and helped the
Aussie Invader team to design the 5R.....
in the race for the first balloon crossing the atlantic and around the world he designed for Richard Branson the balloon capsule....

R.I.P. John....I will miss you

[Malcolm UK]

John was at the Black Rock desert 'shootout' between Andy Green (SSC) and Craig Breedlove (Sonic Arrow). On that occasion 'Ackers' was supporting and working for the American team, helping Craig. My picture from1995 shows John with another speed great - Art Arfons (in the SSC Fontwell, England construction and assembly workshop for SSC).

[TD]

Sad news.

I fortunate to be in the company of Mr Ackroyd briefly at Black Rock in September 1997.  in the photo we are heading out to de-FOD the track.  Ackroyd far right, Yours Truly third from right, Breedlove fifth from left, SoA in the background.

We found a number of large-caliber shells, some of them intact, and tossed them into a bucket 

Ackroyd's book, Jet Blast and The Hand of Fate is a fantastic read with many really interesting photos of his adventures with unlimited LSR vehicles, but also long-distance, high-altitude balloons.  What a career!

Tim

[PorkPie]

Malcolm,

you right, John was like me between the two teams and he support Craig.

I'm very happy that I could show John how he can keep the SoA back on the ground at high speed when the rear of the car lift off the ground

after they installed this "device" the car stayed on the ground...he still didn't went straight




...it was a kind of Gurney flip which disturbed the airflow above the outrigger, so it could lift the racer.....

John was at the Black Rock desert 'shootout' between Andy Green (SSC) and Craig Breedlove (Sonic Arrow). On that occasion 'Ackers' was supporting and working for the American team, helping Craig. My picture from1995 shows John with another speed great - Art Arfons (in the SSC Fontwell, England construction and assembly workshop for SSC).

[TD]

Pork Pie, is your device visible here or perhaps this is a later version of the outrigger?

Note the ribbons on the underside.  Flow attachment (or not) visualization I imagine.  I think the thing covered with foam at the bottom of the wheel cover might be a camera.

Tim

[PorkPie]

Tim,

it looks to me that this picture was done before this lip was add on the rear edge of the outrigger....

see attached picture (used yours and paint a little bit)

Pork Pie, is your device visible here or perhaps this is a later version of the outrigger?

Note the ribbons on the underside.  Flow attachment (or not) visualization I imagine.  I think the thing covered with foam at the bottom of the wheel cover might be a camera.

Tim