August 20, 1997. Copyright, 1997, Graphic News. All rights reserved

THRUSTSSC READY TO GO SUPERSONIC
Story by Julie Mullins

LONDON, August 20, Graphic News- In the next six weeks Richard Noble expects to see his world land speed record smashed. More than that, he expects the ultimate outstanding goal in motor sport Ð breaking the sound barrier Ð to be achieved. He will not be at the wheel of the car but, as Project Director of ThrustSSC, or Super Sonic Car, he has spent the last seven years preparing for this moment.

In 1990, Craig Breedlove, the American who was the first to exceed 400mph (640km/h), 500mph (800km/h) and 600mph (965km/h), and who held the land speed record until Richard NobleÕs Thrust 2 reached 633mph (1,018km/h) in 1983, announced he was coming out of retirement to challenge Noble. They would both design a new car and race head-to-head at Black Rock Desert, Nevada.

Breedlove is aiming to recapture the world land speed record. For Noble and his team, the record is incidental. They are aiming for Mach 1. On land, the speed of sound is around 750mph (1,200km/h) Ð ThrustSSCÕs design speed is 850mph (1,370km/h).

Noble speaks glowingly of the team members who have made ThrustSSC a reality. Designer Ron Ayres had retired after a brilliant career as a military aerodynamicist when he met Richard Noble, quite by chance, at a party. At that first meeting, he assured Noble that to design a supersonic car was impossible. Six years on, looking every inch the retired English gent who would be happier tending his garden, he holds up a small model of ThrustSSC, which in testing has already gone supersonic four times. He explains that stability is the key. The two jet engines that power Thrust can fly a Phantom aircraft at twice the speed of sound but speed would be irrelevant if the car could not maintain contact with the ground.

Key to this stability are the telemetry systems designed by Systems manager Jerry Bliss, who has a highly successful background in Formula 1, firstly with Lotus and later McLaren, where Ayrton Senna was sufficiently aware of his talents to select him as his personal race engineer for two seasons.

Driver Andy Green, an RAF Tornado pilot, epitomises the confidence of the entire team when he says ÔThere is absolutely no doubt in my mind that this vehicle is going to make the land speed record look easy. This vehicle is going to go supersonic comfortablyÕ. When, not if, is the watchword. Understandably, perhaps, any comparison with Formula 1 drivers elicits opinions about Ôlots of guys going round and round in circles Ð very slowly Ð on a Sunday afternoonÕ.

ThrustSSC has taken 100,000 man hours to build. The car weighs 10 tonnes and can travel from 300-500mph (480-800km/h) in 10 seconds. The two Rolls Royce jet engines develop in excess of 100,000 horsepower Ð the equivalent of 145 Formula 1 cars. Fuel consumption, Andy Green assures us cheerfully, is roughly 42 yards to the gallon (10 metres to one litre). 

However, before any record can be broken, both cars face major challenges. BreedloveÕs single-engined Spirit of America reached 675mph (1,086km/h) at Black Rock last year but he was lucky to survive when the car flipped on its side and skidded out of control for three miles. Despite extensive modifications since the accident, Noble believes there are still serious design flaws in his rivalÕs car.

ThrustSSC reached 540mph (870km/h) in tests in JordanÕs Al Jafr desert before a suspension problem, caused by uneven ground, brought the team home early. The team is confident it will do better in the softer, bump-free terrain of Black Rock, where Andy Green expects to cover one mile (1.6km) in about 4.75 seconds.

The Black Rock Desert provides the flattest surface in the world. The cars will race over a course 13 miles (20km) long, with a 1.5-2 mile (2.5-3km) run-off at either end. For safety reasons, the cars will not race side by side but will travel the same course in separate time slots each day.

Hanging over the ThrustSSC team, however, and threatening to scupper the project altogether, is a serious lack of last-minute funding. The team has fought a constant financial battle to achieve results to date and knew they would need a £600,000 budget for the record attempt at Black Rock. Merchandising, events and small sponsorship deals have raised 38 percent Ð but major corporate sponsorship has not materialised. The team is still some £200,000 ($320,000) short of the total and urgently requires 250,000 gallons (947,000 litres) of Jet A fuel for the Antonov 124 freighter transporting the car, team and 90 tonnes of equipment to Nevada. They are due to fly within the week.

The Black Rock Desert floods in October. Richard Noble is blunt. He cannot afford to keep the project going for another year. If the money is not forthcoming the project stops and ThrustSSC will be consigned to a museum, a promise of what might have been.


Sources, ThrustSSC



EDS: SEPARATE APPEAL BLOCK GRAPHIC AVAILABLE Ð GN7580

ThrustSSC has launched a last-minute appeal to buy the aviation fuel THIS WEEK. It costs 50p (80c) per gallon. Broken down into lots of 25 gallons it comes to £12.50 ($20) per lot. Readers can help by buying one or more lots and posting cheques NOW to ThrustSSC, P.O. Box 77, Hampton, Middlesex, TW12, 2XN, England. Alternative details of how to pay Ð fax, e-mail, credit card details etc. Ð can be found on ThrustSSCÕs web site, http://www.Thrustssc.digital.co.uk