Very OT but to me, at least, fascinating

[Doc B.]

The North American Eagle is about to attempt the thrust powered land speed record in the Alvord Desert, which we passed by on our trip back from Bonneville last month. These guys are homies, their shop is in Parkland, WA (next to McChord AFB).

https://www.landspeed.com/stories/journey-series/the-road-to-2016-part-1/

[Natural Sound]

That "car" is really an airplane without wings.  Damn cool though. I can't imagine going that fast on land.

Did you ever see, "The Worlds Fastest Indian"? If not I highly recommend checking it out. Great movie!

[mcandmar]

It takes a special kind of crazy to do that...

I second The Worlds Fastest Indian, great story.

[Doc B.]

Pretty much any thrust powered car is based on an aircraft turbine or rocket engine. From what I have learned F-104 was actually a pretty lousy aircraft combat-wise. Lockheed apparently spent 22 million in bribes to get NATO allies to buy it. It was lousy in bad weather and about half of the ones sold to West Germany crashed. It was introduced with a jam-prone cannon in an era when missiles became the most effective air-to-air weapon.

But it was really fast, like 1300+mph. Lockheed really knew how to build fast aircraft. Using the airframe for the car is a cost effective strategy and the technology used in the added wheels and brakes is pretty interesting. There seems to be conjecture that they won't be able to get much over 800 on the ground. That is enough to beat the current record, but the current record holders are working on a new car that they hope to go 1000 in. So it's sort of now or never for the NAE attempt. Last night's test run was aborted. I was watching their telemetry feed and the presidential debate at the same time. Not sure which was more of a let down.

[JamieMcC]

I hope the ejector seat still works 

[mcandmar]

Nah SpaceX has been plagued with problems, or do you mean in the car

[Doc B.]

I hope the ejector seat still works 

Oh, so you watched the debate too?

[caffeinator]

LOL...I don't think there's an ejector seat big enough to get us all out of here before inauguration day...

On the subject of the F-104, yeah, not a great airplane in many respects...a real widow-maker for the inexperienced or uninitiated, and definitely optimized for speed at the expense of all else.  The wings were so thin, the chord depth was just over four inches, and the leading edges were so sharp that protective bumpers were applied for ground handling to avoid cutting up the mechanics.

I did the like "The World's Fastest Indian."  If you liked that, you might enjoy "Out of Nothing," which chronicles the efforts of a group of locals (Bellingham area) as they design and develop their entries for various motorcycle land speed records at Bonneville.  Produced by another local of some fame, Ryan Stiles, it's interesting and enjoyable (http://outofnothingmovie.com/home.html)

[Doc B.]

Wow, somehow I missed that one. Thanks Dave! At the Bonneville Motorcycle Speed Trials there was a group from WA called Sodium Distortion. Jason Omer is apparently one of the main characters in that group and he is associated with the movie. Also an awesome bike from Bellingham, a two engine Ducati "naked lay down" bike ridden by Mark Bjorklund, that set a 205mph record. Apparently he's in the movie too, and I'll be watching it tonight.

Drat, it doesn't seem to be available to watch anywhere...

[JamieMcC]

Richard Noble's Thrust land speed record car was built just down the road from me in a local boat shed I would regularly stop by and take a peek. The car used solid aluminium wheels as well.

[caffeinator]

Not to rub it in or anything, but I managed to catch it (Out of Nothing) at its world (and perhaps only) premiere at the Mt Baker Theater in Bellingham a couple years ago.  The guys were all there, as was Ryan Stiles (I have the autographed posters to show for it).  I was able to chat with all of them, apart from Ryan, about their rides, development process (more art than science) and so on.  Really great bunch of folks - regular guys, to be sure - 'salt of the earth' comes to mind, but might sound an unintended bad pun given the context.

Too bad it's not available - I'd enjoy seeing it again.  It's interesting, funny, inspiring, and very real - no scripted, Hollywood happy endings, and the down-to-earth nature of the riders reminds one of the true sources and unpredictable courses of innovation.

[Doc B.]

Yeah those guys have been given Sportsmanship awards by the event staff in the past. It's not just those guys who are great sportsmen though. The people we talked to at BMST were all so nice, and everyone helps everyone else out even if they are competing against each other.

Looks like the movie has made it to several film festivals. From their FB page a couple weeks ago-

"the film will be released in the USA & Canada later this year. It will begin with a limited theatrical release, followed by sales on DVD, BluRay, Netflix, etc!"

[Paul Joppa]

There was a story going around a few decades ago, about a JATO bottle (4000 pounds thrust, no way to shut down once started) strapped to a Model T pickup (weight 2000 pounds). The story practically writes itself given those basics. Undoubtedly an urban myth.

[Doc B.]

Last week in the Alvord Desert. Jessie Combs, 477mph

https://www.facebook.com/richard.h.thomas.10/videos/1150519524984832/