Richard Noble OBE, the former World Land Speed Record holder and project leader of the BLOODHOUND project spoke at the Vulcan Restoration Trust’s Annual General Meeting on 10 April 2010 about his incredible career as a champion of British engineering.
Richard’s attempts at the World Land Speed Record, all of which have been successful, have been achieved by very small, highly motivated teams working on a shoestring budget – very much like the VRT! The BLOODHOUND project aims to take its land based car faster than 1000mph, a speed which is even greater than any high speed jet aircraft can achieve at low level! The hurdles that the project must overcome are incredibly complex and solving them means that the BLOODHOUND team will be working at the limits of engineering and scientific technology.
There is a vast shortage in the UK of skilled engineers, so Richard’s plan has been to not only engage the country’s education system, but to encourage the young people to become Britain’s engineers of the future. In the past 30 years the British economy has shunned the UK’s traditional manufacturing base in favour of one dependent on fickle financial markets. Governments have shown little will to reverse this trend, so creating a void which has left the country bereft of inspiring technological projects.
The Avro Vulcan was designed shortly after the Second World War, at a time when aviation design and engineering in particular was on a steep learning curve. This helped to generate awareness and excitement about engineering in the young of that era. The ‘Space Race’ which followed had a similar effect, as Richard explained graphically during his talk, with physics PhDs escalating as NASA made strides towards the first moon landing. Richard wants BLOODHOUND to have a comparable effect, drawing people towards technological careers and once again bringing the UK to the forefront of engineering progress. The aim is for BLOODHOUND to achieve 1000mph in 2012 and in the time leading up to that, schools and Universities can gain access to the scientific data coming out of the project as it works towards its goal and strives to overcome the undoubted barriers it will face.
The public can also get involved by visiting the BLOODHOUND website at www.bloodhoundssc.com and joining the 1K supporter’s club, or by donating to the project and having their name added to the fin of BLOODHOUND SSC.
BLOODHOUND SSC is powered by a mix of jet and rocket power, and there are links here with aviation and the Vulcan in particular. In the middle of BLOODHOUND SSC is an MCT V12 800 bhp race engine which will deliver the hydraulic power needed to start the car’s Eurojet EJ200 jet engine (which powers the Eurofighter Typhoon) and which will also pump High Test Peroxide (HTP) fuel to the car’s Falcon rocket motor. HTP was, of course, the fuel used by the Blue Steel missile which equipped RAF Vulcans and Victors, including XL426, in the 1960s. The pump has to move a ton of HTP to the rocket at over 1200 psi in just 22 seconds! The examples of the EJ200 jet being used by the BLOODHOUND project are early development engines from the Typhoon programme, unsuitable for upgrading but with very few hours on them. Despite its unsurpassed power to weight ratio the EJ200 is not capable of taking BLOODHOUND to the speed required, hence the rocket which will take over to push the car through the 1000mph ‘barrier’.
Richard’s presentation describing his experiences, going back to Thrust 1 and Thrust 2 in the 1980s, was highly informative and entertaining, and we thank him for coming to visit us. Before the presentation which took place at Hawkwell Village Hall, Richard visited XL426 at Southend Airport and was impressed by the work being carried out by the Trust’s Engineering Team. Most of the team come from non-engineering backgrounds but have learnt ‘on the job’, creating work of the highest quality which will help preserve XL426 into the future. As with BLOODHOUND, the Trust hopes its work will inspire young people to embark on a career in engineering, particularly in the aerospace industry.
A limited number of the special photo souvenirs signed by Richard to commemorate his visit are still available and you can purchase your copy by clicking on the link here.
