Page last updated at 09:51 GMT, Wednesday, 7 April 2010 10:51 UK

Bloodhound diary: 'Apollo effect'

Andy Green (Bloodhound SSC)

RAF fighter pilot Andy Green intends to get behind the wheel of a car that is capable of reaching 1,000mph (1,610km/h). Powered by a rocket bolted to a Eurofighter-Typhoon jet engine, the Bloodhound car will mount an assault on the land speed record.

Wing Cmdr Green is writing a diary for the BBC News Website about his experiences working on the Bloodhound project and the team's efforts to inspire national interest in science and engineering.

WHEN BORING IS GOOD

Bloodhound SSC (Curventa)

Fantastic news - we've finally found "The Solution!"

Three years ago, we set out to prove that we could build a car that would do 1,000mph.

After 18 months of research in secret, we knew that it could be done, so we launched Project Bloodhound on a slightly incredulous world.

Since then, we've fixed the final configuration of the car (the jet-over-rocket layout) and found the ideal track in South Africa.

We've also convinced a lot of those incredulous people (and dozens of new sponsor companies, including some giants like Intel and Lockheed Martin) that we really are going to do this.

But there was still one huge problem: we were certain that we could keep the car on the ground right through the speed range - but we couldn't get all the details right in a single body shape.

We've now, finally, cracked it - we now have a shape that is slippery enough to reach 1,000 mph, "lift neutral" (i.e. it will stay on the ground!) - and has room inside for the chassis, suspension, etc.

Underside of Bloodhound SSC
The latest aerodynamic pressure plot – the underside of the Car at Mach 1.3

The aerodynamic pressure under the car tells the story.

Previous computer predictions have been a mix of angry reds (very high pressure) and dark blues (very low pressure).

This one is really quite boring and uniform - which is exactly what we've been looking for.

This simple-looking result is the result of a huge effort by Mark Chapman, Ben Evans, Bjorn Rodde and Iain Niven on a programme called a "Design of Experiments" - basically a very clever research technique, which has found the answer we've wanted for three years. We're going to build this shape!

Gene Cernan on the Moon (Nasa)
Gene Cernan: Fastest man on the Moon?

Interest in Bloodhound is international and is growing fast. This month I had an example of just how fast when I was invited to a most amazing dinner.

My friend Bob Gilliland (test pilot for the SR-71 Blackbird) invited me to meet some of his friends: Steve Richie (US fighter pilot "ace" from Vietnam) and three Apollo astronauts - Jim Lovell (Apollo 13), Gene Cernan (Apollo 17) and Neil Armstrong (Apollo 11).

Eric Brown, ex-Royal Navy and the most prolific test pilot in history, also joined us.

Now the surprising bit - despite the unique achievements of this group, the single biggest topic of conversation over dinner was.... Bloodhound SSC.

Towards the end of the evening, Gene Cernan (the last man to walk on the Moon) gave the best summary of Project Bloodhound that I've ever heard.

We'd been talking about the Bloodhound Education Programme and our aim to promote science and engineering in schools. Gene understood perfectly: "Get kids excited," he said, "And you can teach them anything." That's just what we aim to do.

World land speed records by Britons



Print Sponsor


SEE ALSO
Supersonic car's lift flaw fixed
16 Mar 10 |  Science & Environment
Bloodhound diary: Number crunching
04 Jan 10 |  Science & Environment
Bloodhound diary: South Africa is the place
26 Nov 09 |  Science & Environment
Design fixed for 1,000mph car
23 Nov 09 |  Science & Environment
Bloodhound diary: On a roll
04 Nov 09 |  Science & Environment
Bloodhound diary: Rockets firing
16 Sep 09 |  Science & Environment
Bloodhound diary: Pressure builds
23 Aug 09 |  Science & Environment
Bloodhound diary: Speed record
30 Jul 09 |  Science & Environment
Supersonic car targets 1,000mph
22 Oct 08 |  Science & Environment

News feeds| News feeds

FEATURES, VIEWS, ANALYSIS
Has China's housing bubble burst?
How the world's oldest clove tree defied an empire
Why Royal Ballet principal Sergei Polunin quit
Most Popular Now

The most read story in Africa is: Saudi 'reprieve' in sorcery case


PRODUCTS & SERVICES

Americas Africa Europe Middle East South Asia Asia Pacific