02 December 2009
Andy Green's Bloodhound Project diary
After months of waiting, lots of great things have come together all at once. The final design of the Car, the move into our new HQ, the confirmation of our run location and the new animation video – which is fantastic!
Last October, we had a concept that demonstrated that we could do 1000mph. Thirteen months later, we've now got the design that will do 1000mph – and we're about to start building it. The obvious change is that the EJ200 jet is now on top of the Car and the rocket is underneath – which is a better mechanical solution for the jet intake, the rocket load cells and the fin (now mounted directly onto the Car's chassis, rather than the rocket which needs changing between runs).
Better still, the previous violent pitch down from a high mounted rocket has been replaced by a gentle increase is pressure on the rear wheels as the rocket fires – which makes the Car more stable and easier to driver. Gets my vote!
The new shape is now being 'optimised' through something called a 'parametric study' – basically, a whole series of part models of the back end, to give us the very best aerodynamic shape for the rear of the Car. With access to Intel's supercomputers (they've just signed as our IT partner), we've now running some of the biggest computers in the UK and getting aero results in hours, rather than days.
I'm typing this sitting in the old Maritime Heritage Centre, now known as the 'BLOODHOUND Technology Centre' (and unofficially as the 'Dog House') on the Bristol waterfront. It's a very smart two storey building, design office upstairs and a huge open space below. Looking down at this empty workshop floor, I can already start to picture the world's fastest Car being assembled here over the next year and a half. I can't wait.
And when we've finished building the Car, where are we going to run it? The surprise answer is Hakskeen Pan, in the Northern Cape of South Africa – a desert that we haven't mentioned before. Originally discounted because of a road running across it, we recently found out that the road has been closed and can be graded out – which will leave a flat, hard surface over 20km long and 5km wide – the perfect site for the world's fastest race track. Better still, the Northern Cape Government has agreed to prepare the track for us – and the Northern Cape Premier and her team flew over to the UK to make a joint announcement with us today – fantastic! We've found the perfect location in Hakskeen and the perfect partner in the Northern Cape Government.
Author
Wing Commander Andy Green, Bloodhound SSC driver
Supporting Information
Websites
http://www.bloodhoundssc.com
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