The Bloodhound team’s attempt to set a new world land-speed record has been postponed to 2018.
Initially planned for 2015, the UK-driven record attempt has faced a number of deferments, owing largely to budgetary constraints.
Royal Air Force Wing Commander Andy Green will be behind the Bloodhound supersonic car’s wheel as he attempts to break his own land-speed record of 1 227.9 km/h, set in 1997, in Nevada, in the US.
The record bid will take place on South Africa’s Hakskeen Pan, in the Northern Cape.
The Bloodhound will use three power plants: a Rolls-Royce EJ200 jet from a Eurofighter Typhoon, a cluster of three Nammo hybrid rockets and a 550 bhp supercharged Jaguar V8 engine that drives the rocket oxidiser pump.
Between them, they will generate 135 000 thrust horsepower, equivalent to 180 Formula 1 cars.
“It is frustrating to change our schedule again – we know everyone is excited about seeing the car run. We want that, too, but our pace of development has to be pegged to the flow of funding,” explains project director Richard Noble.
A revised racing schedule should see the Bloodhound team conduct tests at 400 km/h at the Newquay Aerohub runway, in the UK, this year.
This test will follow on from static tie-down tests of the EJ200 jet.
There is also further development work to be done on the monopropellant rocket, as the Bloodhound team has increased its required power output. (For the initial 1 287 km/h run, the Bloodhound will use a single monopropellant rocket, whereas in the 1 600 km/h attempt, there will be a cluster of three hybrid rockets.)
The increased power is to provide an additional performance margin should the weight of the complete, fully fuelled car increase, compared with earlier estimates.
This change in design became necessary as the Bloodhound moved from the virtual world of computer aided design to the real world.
Another reason for the delay in chasing a new land-speed record has been flooding at Hakskeen Pan in January and March.
Allowing for similar events next year, and building in time to make final preparations at the track, the Bloodhound team expects its advance party to deploy to the Kalahari in the middle of 2018.
Current expectations are for the land-speed record campaign to get under way in the second half of 2018.
“We enjoy terrific support from the public and have a strong track record when it comes to fundraising with major sponsors,” says Noble.
“Interest from big brands is, if anything, increasing as we get closer to running: we recently agreed new partnerships with a global IT company and a leading fashion brand, which we look forward to announcing soon. A number of other substantial deals are also being negotiated.
“While this is undoubtedly good news, there is inevitably a time delay between pledges of support, contracts being signed and cash arriving. Anyone who runs their own business will be familiar with this and the need to be pragmatic when planning,” adds Noble.
“However, temporary delays do not change our direction of travel. We are determined to be out in South Africa, challenging records, next year.”