The UK’s Bloodhound land speed record car has hit its highest speed to date – 334mph (537km/h) – during testing at Hakskeenpan in South Africa
According to a statement from the team, the third run – during which the car’s EJ200 jet engine ran with full reheat (a.k.a. afterburner) for 12 seconds – marks the true beginning of the high-speed test programme, as all systems necessary for running with reheat have now been tested and checked.
Read our interview with Bloodhound CEO Ian Warhurst
Bloodhound LSR arrives in South Africa
Bloodhound completes first public run
Three ‘run profiles’ have now been completed, starting at 100mph, building to 200mph – the previous top speed achieved at Newquay in 2017 – before hitting 334mph in Run Profile 3.
The car’s speed will be built up in 50mph increments over subsequent run profiles, carried out over the next four weeks, with a target top speed above 500mph for this testing programme.
Bloodhound driver and current World Land Speed Record holder Andy Green said: “We’ve had two very successful runs today, with the second run reaching a max speed of 334mph – going from 50mph to 300mph in 13 seconds. There was strong cross wind gusting at over 15mph and we’ve established that this is pretty much the limit for running in the car. We’re happy because this was a successful test, now we’re ready to progress on to higher speeds.”
Bloodhound LSR CEO Ian Warhurst said that he’s delighted with the way that the team has responded to a number of challenges since arriving in South Africa earlier in October. These have included a fuel pump issue which required them to recalibrate the fuel sensor; a problem with the Air Start Cart, the ground support system which acts as the car’s starter motor; and a water leak from one of the vehicle’s coolant tanks.
“I’ve been impressed with the tenacity of the team to work through a challenging first week of testing in the Kalahari Desert,” he said. “With all those issues resolved it’s exciting to be moving into the high-speed phase of the testing and get a max reheat run under our belts. Witnessing Bloodhound blasting from 50mph to 300mph in 13 seconds and on to 334mph was jaw dropping. British engineering at its finest.”
I have asked this before about Bloodhound, when people have lauded it’s contribution to British engineering:
Apart from the fame and glory of beating the World Land Speed record (which, I accept, will be good if the team succeed), what, if any, are the long-term benefits to British industry – particularly in automotive and, possible, aerospace engineering? Can anyone explain.
Having seen the tragic death of Jesse Combs, I cannot be sure if it is wise to fly so close to the ground…
It has been said the the American Eagle’s design and execution was not up to the required standards… But who knows? We hope the Bloodhound is safer. IF that can be said of a low flier.
Can a human driver keep correcting the steering at the speeds needed to break the land speed record, when the vibration experienced by the driver is so huge, and the slightest deviation from a straight path can end in a disaster? Could a safety ejection seat be implemented in order to take aout the driver on time to prevent a deadly crash?
Michael. Firstly the aim of the project is to inspire people to understand and potentially consider engineering as a career. So whilst engineering and technical professions are unable to attract sufficient recruits, Bloodhound may be part of that solution. Secondly the CfD models for transonic and supersonic flow have barely been updated since Thrust in 1997. By having a high speed test vehicle that self same CfD will be improved, benefiting aerospace and automotive. So at almost zero cost to the country, the return for this country is pretty large.
I think the concept is to make engineering attractive to young people. A great way to do this, is with success and national pride. This project has always been about that. There are a lot of very talented people out there who need to be attracted to engineering, in all aspects. Personally, I think this is a great way to do it and I wish this team the very best of British
The whole project has been run in collaboration with universities, so engineering student working on real, complicated problems. They have also done massive work with schools to encourage more people in to engineering. The pay off is not now but over the next 10-15 years by inspiring the next generation of engineering students. It is also a showcase for British engineering, it might not have any practical use but it is a massive, “hey look what we can do” to the entire world.
A quick read of some of the articles, past and present, on the Bloodhound LSR web site about the development of the car should give you a clue as to some of the real and potential benefits to British industry, such as precision manufacturing in the case of the wheels, to give just one example. On top of this, of course, is the extensive education programme which has given and continues to give thousands of school children hands-on experience of STEM subjects, which can only be good for the future of British industry.
When this project was launched in 2008 (initially proposed in 2006), it was sold to the public and sponsors as a 3-year project aimed at a world LSR exceeding 1000mph. It was NOT a collaborative student engineering project, aimed at inspiring young engineers by getting to do the work! The inspiration was supposed to come from seeing how the grown-ups did it!
Since that launch, the timing has obviously slipped repeatedly, the objectives pared back again a nd again to “merely” breaking the existing LSR, eventually, and suppliers, partners and sponsors have been short-changed. Meanwhile the soft benefits have been promoted more and more as a good reason per se (1) to continue the project, and (2) for long-suffering, short-changed sponsors (those who are still around) to continue to invest in a disfunctional and underperforming organisation.
Now, more than 10 years after project launch, Mr Warhurst’s involvement has injected some focus and realism into the project, and will hopefully lead to the achievement of the initial goals, at some point in a not-too-distant future.