In pursuit of the land speed record

Ron Ayers, the chief aerodynamicist of successive LSR attemptsThrust SSC and Bloodhound SSC, explains how record breaking has developed in recent years.

I first met Richard Noble in 1992. He was then the holder of the World Land Speed Record, having achieved a figure of 633mph in 1983 in Thrust 2. On learning that I had an aeronautical background, and specialising in high speed aerodynamics, he asked me to help him create a car to travel at supersonic speeds. My initial reaction (caused by ignorance of the effects of shockwaves at ground level, and the impracticability of having 800 mph rolling roads in wind tunnels) was a strongly negative one.

It was only after considerable thought that I told Richard that these problems could just conceivably be overcome. Even this modest reduction of pessimism was sufficient for Richard to introduce me to Glynne Bowsher, an experienced mechanical engineer who had previously worked on Thrust 2, and we commenced designing. The team was subsequently augmented by Jeremy Bliss, who had extensive experience as a systems and suspension designer for the McLaren F1 team.