Though I'd be willing to put Trax on one of my TDI Jetta wagons.
Posted on 01/06/2014 6:18:19 PM PST by SunkenCiv
Lately, all of the absolute land speed record talk that we've been reading about is in relation to the Bloodhound SSC, a beast of a jet/rocket-engined streamliner with visions of 1,200 mph. Right now, though, the record stands at 763 mph...
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
2 year old story? What are the results?
At the time Breedlove broke 600mph, the FIA refused to recognize it as a record not only because the vehicle was not wheel-driven (they have since changed this rule), but also because it had only three wheels. But because it had fewer than four wheels, the FIM did recognize it as a record.
IIRC, the record for wheel-driven vehicles is somewhere in the mid-400mph range.
Wiki says it’s the Poteet Speed Demon at 439.
He runs a Kenny Duttweiler turbo small block that makes some serious hp.
Though I'd be willing to put Trax on one of my TDI Jetta wagons.
Spirit of America - Craig Breedlove’s land speed record - 1963
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zZPWsMrehEA
SAVED THE BEST FOR LAST.
Current holder of the jet powered Land Speed Record for Rail Vehicles, ..
In the 70’s my Dad took me to see a movie about the speed attempts on water & at the salt flats. I’ve been unable to find any history, title or info on this film. I do rember being full of imagination as I rode my bike as fast as possible.
I’d love to see that movie again with my sons.
I had lunch with Mr Breedlove once and asked him what it was like to drive at 600 mph.
He laughed and said; “pretty hairy”.
The J47 wasn’t in any of those aircraft.
That was the J79.
I had just turned 12 when he broke the record in ‘63. My Dad gave me a gift subscription to Popular Science was I was 11 or 12 and I kept it going for 20 or so years until it turned into a Parade magazine wannabe. Watching those LSR cars at that age was really excitement! That combined with the Atlas and Thor rockets, then the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo manned spaceflight programs — those were the glory days, huh? It’s so awful that Viet Nam tore the country apart and we are still paying for the ascendancy of the communists as a result.
That thing with the eagle painted on the side is the North American Eagle LSR vehicle. It’s housed about a mile from me. The body is that of an F-104 with the wings removed. The vehicle istelf ...while it was still a plane...has a very interesting history. Gen. Chuck Yeager actually flew in it way back when. The paint job was done by students in the bodywork and auto paint program at Bates Technical College in Tacoma. My wife was privileged to sit in the cockpit.
They are still tweaking it and may make an LSR attempt this year. They do expect to top the current record, even if only until the BloodhoundSSC totally shatters the record sometime this or next year.
I met and had a little chat-up with Craig Breedlove in Sacramento
once. In 1979 I was one of NHRA funny car star Ron Capps’ high
school freshman football coaches and I am acquainted with
Gen Chuck Yeager who is a member of the same sportsmens
(gun) club as I. Rubbing shoulders with those speed demons makes
me wonder why I am still the slowest slug in the garden.
That was the J79.
How could I have made such a silly mistake. Thanks for pointing it out. I got carried away with memories, and didn't take time to re-read before posting. So foolish. The J79, of course.
Breedlove nearly got killed on a run when the parachute on his car failed and he wound up in a pool of water way past the finish line
I always admired Art Arfrons and his “Green Monster” Basically strapped a J-79 on a set of wheels and took off. Yowzah !
An interesting story.
Thank you.
North American Eagle team plans record-breaking 800 MPH run later this year", though it incorrectly asserts 'later this year (2011)'...
This has some more background, "Craig Breedlove announces plans to break the 800 MPH barrier", including:
Breedlove was involved in design work for a planned LSR assault by global adventurer and aviation record-setter Steve Fossett. The car, actually an updated Spirit of America, was put up for sale when Fossett was declared dead following a 2007 plane crash."
North American Eagle
Thrust SSC
Fossett LSR (unknown status)
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