Image source: telegraph.co.uk
World land speed record, a record that requires remarkable
engineering feat, so much so that the 1997 world land speed record still
remains unbroken. What was so special about this record to remain unbroken for
a long 14 years, the simple fact that it broke the sound barrier. The simple fact‽ Breaking the sound barrier in air itself required colossal efforts and just
imagine breaking it on ground.
The current record holder of the world land speed is the
British ThrustSSC (SuperSonic Car), which set the record on 15th October
1997, on their 66th run! A really focused and persistent effort by the
team I must say. Coincidentally, the land speed record was broken one
day after the 50th anniversary of breaking the sound barrier in air on 14th
October 1947 by Chuck Yeager.
Record Details
Speed: 1227.985 km/h over one mile [1]
Date: 15 October 1997
Place: Black Rock Desert, Nevada, USA
Driver: Andy Green (British Royal Air Force pilot)
The Car
Image source: auto.de.msn.com
Length: 14.58 m [2]
Width: 3.34 m [2]
Height: 2.14 m [2]
Height: 2.14 m [2]
Kerb weight: 10 000 kg [2]
Engines: Low bypass turbofan with afterburner, Rolls Royce Spey 205 x 2
Engine thrust: 226.796 kN (from both engines) [2]
Engine power: 110 000 hp (≡ 110 Bugatti Veyrons) [3]
Steering control: Rear wheels
Wheel bearings: Special roller bearings with tungsten carbide
Wheel rotational speed : 8500
rpm @ full speed [4]
Wheel stress: 35 000 times the force of gravity [4]
Wheel material: Aluminum alloy
Wheel mass: 140 kg [5]
Image source: roadsters.com
The Video
The following video is an unofficial one that makes use of some official content.
These guys are back with their next venture, to break
their own record and to break the world’s air speed record at low altitudes, which at
present is 994 mph (1599.69 km/h). They are targeting to cross 1000 mph (1609.34 km/h) on land, assuming dry air temperature to be 15 ºC i.e., 1.3 times the speed of sound! Their new car is named as Bloodhound SSC, and close on their heels
are the joint American and Canadian rival team, the North American Eagle, with their car named the same.
I hope both the teams are successful in their ventures, so that I can form my own team and try to break the then current land speed record. :-p
Note: Intro of the video clearly mentions the world land speed record, but the value in km/h is incorrectly given as 1149 km/h, which actually is 1227.985 km/h, however the mph value is correct. And I highly doubt the claim of 500 000 CV, if the video is referring to cavallo vapore (alternative unit of power, 1 CV = 0.985923 hp) the value should be 111 570.54 CV. Most importantly, the video is not my creation, but seriously a great work in spite of the errors.
I hope both the teams are successful in their ventures, so that I can form my own team and try to break the then current land speed record. :-p
Note: Intro of the video clearly mentions the world land speed record, but the value in km/h is incorrectly given as 1149 km/h, which actually is 1227.985 km/h, however the mph value is correct. And I highly doubt the claim of 500 000 CV, if the video is referring to cavallo vapore (alternative unit of power, 1 CV = 0.985923 hp) the value should be 111 570.54 CV. Most importantly, the video is not my creation, but seriously a great work in spite of the errors.
References
-
“FIA Land Speed Records.” FIA Official Website. <http://www.fia.com/en-gb/sport/records/pages/Introduction.aspx> Accessed 2012-01-11.
-
“Thrust SuperSonic Car -1997.” Boris Lux’s Webpage. <http://www.boris-lux.de/04_types/31_re/97_tss/ts9701.php> Accessed 2012-01-12.
-
“The ThrustSSC Story” ThrustSSC Official Website. <http://www.thrustssc.com/thrustssc/contents-story.html> Accessed 2012-01-13.
-
“Breaking the sound barrier on land.” Roadsters. Updated 2011-12-14. <http://www.roadsters.com/750/> Accessed 2012-01-13.
- Green, Andy “Wheels and deserts.” Bloodhound SSC Official Website. <http://www.bloodhoundssc.com/car/wheels.cfm> Accessed 2012-01-14.
