iTECH
Why is it so difficult to
reach 1,000mph? Drag!
https://youtu.be/UJ4f0bt2QyM
SPARK asks Rob:
You’re testing the car out in Newquay,
Cornwall. Why was it chosen?
Newquay used to be RAF St Mawgan. It
has a 1.7 mile long runway and used to be
the widest in the UK. Heathrow or Gatwick
would be too disruptive. It’s one of the
Space Shuttle Programme’s emergency
runways because it is that big!
We’ll do tests with just the EJ200 (jet
engine) and pack it all up along with our
support vehicle, the Supercat, and then fly
it out to South Africa.
Photo: John Vincent
When we do the desert runs, we won’t use
rubber tyres because at 500mph they will
disintegrate. Instead we’ll use special allmetal wheels.
What is special about the wheels?
Bloodhound will run on the world’s fastest
wheels which have taken seven years to
design, develop and build. They’re incredibly
dense, made of solid aluminium and weigh
95 kilos. As they spin, they get heavier
(increasing in mass) so if you put a bag of
sugar on the rim it would weigh 50 tonnes!
SPARK
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