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fighter, specially reconditioned by Dunlop. As the
runway wheels and suspension are slightly thicker
than the solid aluminium wheels that will be used in
the desert, some sections of carbon fibre bodywork
will not be fitted.
Richard Noble, Project Director, said, “The runway
trials at Cornwall Airport Newquay will be the biggest
milestone in the history of the Project so far. They
will provide important data on the performance of the
Car and give us a first opportunity to rehearse the
procedures we’ll use when we go record breaking.
Just as importantly, it is a way of saying ‘thank you’,
to the schools, students, families and companies, big
and small, who support The Project. We are proud to
be waving a flag for British skills and innovation on
a world stage but, most of all, this is about inspiring
young people. Last year alone we directly engaged
with over 100,000 students in the UK and we have
already seen more students take up engineering as
result of Project BLOODHOUND. With the Car running,
we can showcase science, technology, engineering
and mathematics in the most exciting way possible.
BLOODHOUND is Go!”
Gavin Poole, chairman of the Aerohub Enterprise
Zone board and a board member of the Cornwall and
Isles of Scilly Local Enterprise Partnership, said: “The
BLOODHOUND team has already been using Aerohub
to test components so we can’t wait to welcome the
complete car. It will be very exciting to see the world
leading engineering, aerodynamics, computing and
jet engine moving at speed. BLOODHOUND is an
inspirational project that ismaking themost of Cornwall’s
excellent testbed facilities. We’re really looking forward
to welcoming the BLOODHOUND team.”
The
BLOODHOUND
Project
centres
on
BLOODHOUND SSC, a supersonic car that is
designed not only to go faster than the speed of sound
(supersonic) but to over 1,000mph (1,600km/h). It will
cover a mile in just 3.6 seconds.
BLOODHOUND SSC is approximately 13.4m long
and weighs 7.5 tonnes. The design is a mix of car
and aircraft technology, with the front section being
a carbon fibre monocoque (like a racing car) and the
back portion being a metallic framework and panels
(like an aircraft). The two front wheels sit within the
body and two rear wheels are mounted externally
within wheel fairings.
The Car will be powered by both a jet engine and a
rocket, which together will produce more than 135,000
horsepower: that’s more than six times the power of
all the Formula 1 cars on a starting grid put together.
Over 110 man years of effort have been invested in
the design, build and manufacture of BLOODHOUND
SSC.
New-Tech Magazine Europe l 67