All -
After viewing the video, it's a wonder that ANYTHING worked in that mess! Ed, Keith, Jon, Bernard, et al - good job!
To all the others that are taking a critical view of the NAE operation, please appreciate the magnitude of their operation. How many of your LSR cars have been digitally mapped in order to do a Computational Fluid Dynamics study? When you are going to have to deal with the trans-sonic shock wave building up under the car, it sounds like a good idea, eh?
Read Jon's Black Rock report - their main goal was to experience what it takes to go there, set up camp, get the car running, and go home again. I don't think they planned on 100 lbs of grit packed into every orifice, but that is certainly a valuable lesson. Didn't Richard Noble have a miserable LSR attempt in Africa before finally coming to Black Rock a year later? Did you guys hammer him then?
These are true LSR guys - taking their time building it right, finding the right guys for the team and the right sponsors for the products they need. How many of you guys have puked a motor on the dyno before going to Bonneville? They spit chunks of turbine rotors into the trees when the engine was on a test stand - it was shown on the TV special (Discovery Channel?) I have been to the hangar in WA to see their home base, I was lucky enough to be there when the jet engine first ran on its own, saw it reach 300mph on rubber tires at the airport in WA, and saw their first runs at El Mirage. They are true gentlemen, always taking the time to talk to you, explain what they are planning on doing, and bringing in the best help they can find to get it done.
Now that the wheels are done, the major build seems to be just about complete. All they need now is about $1,000,000 to be able to take 40 - 60 people out to Black Rock for a month and see if they can bring home the brass ring.
I'm 2422 miles from Black Rock Desert (as measured by Google Earth) and hoping to be there next year to see the NAE attempt,
Clay