back to article Boffin named Jubb to fire whopping hybrid thruster

A magnificently handlebar 'tached boffin is is poised to carry out the most potent rocket test firing in Britain for two decades, when he presses the big red button on the hybrid thruster for the Bloodhound SuperSonic Car. Daniel Jubb poses with his hybrid motor. Pic: Bloodhound SSC Daniel Jubb (pictured) will travel to the …

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  1. Tom 38
    Thumb Up

    That tache is incredible.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Awesome

      I actually think I have tache envy and I don't even like taches.

      1. FartingHippo
        Holmes

        Re: Awesome

        It's truly magnificent, but he looks like he should be sipping brandy in the drawing room of a London club during the 1880's, rather than partaking in rocketery.

        The cad.

  2. Valerion
    Thumb Up

    Needs to be said

    Luvvly Jubbly

  3. MIc

    Not the first

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Budweiser_Rocket

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Not the first

      What is the point of linking to a wiki article that doesn't contain a 'tache or a name that could be considered a vague reference to breasts?

      Perhaps in the future, you could use the title "This is incredibly dull, please ignore" to avoid confusion?

    2. Vic

      Re: Not the first

      > http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Budweiser_Rocket

      "Neither the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme nor the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile, the official speed record certifying bodies, recognise the record attempt, the speed purported to have been reached or that the vehicle ever attained supersonic speeds"

      Vic.

    3. CarlC
      Thumb Down

      Re: Not the first

      > http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Budweiser_Rocket

      "although no official authority would recognize this achievement as a record"

      "While it has been claimed that the Budweiser Rocket did briefly break the sound barrier, it could not gain any official titles"

      "According to witnesses no sonic boom was heard."

      "Despite an unauthorized written speed certification by the United States Air Force (USAF), there is much debate over the validity of the claim. The USAF states it "never intended to give official sanction to test results, nor to give the appearance of expressing an official view as to the speed attained by the test vehicle"

      Nicely verified speed run then........more holes than my string vest

      1. Hairy Spod

        Re: Not the first

        and i think it also had 3 wheels not 4 which I also think makes it ineligible for the land speed title as its currently defined.

  4. Vladimir Plouzhnikov

    Hard as I try

    I cannot understand what is the point behind this land speed record anymore.

    All they do is attempting to make an non-working airplane that can burn more fuel than a working one while going slower and being unable to fly at the same time. And it is even more frustrating because all the while there are perfectly serviceable working airplanes available and even routinely used (or used to be used) by the RAF...

    OK, it may be fun for the people involved by is that such a great national achievement as they portray it on BBC?

    Wouldn't it have been better if they just pointed that big rocket to the sky and launched something to space for a change?

    1. Ian Johnston Silver badge
      Thumb Down

      Re: Hard as I try

      Agreed completely. This isn't a car; it's a missile lying on its side.

    2. Voland's right hand Silver badge
      Unhappy

      Re: Hard as I try

      Not even that.

      42 years ago the gas marketing association which sponsored the Blue Flame decided to milk its success to the hilt and they refused to finance any further attempts. It was effectively mothballed after its record setting run.

      What people forget however is that it was a _TEST_ run for all practical purposes. Due to the engine being worn out during static tests and initial testing it was limited to 50% of its maximum thrust. It achieved 630 _AT_ _HALF_ _ENGINE_ _POWER_...

      If it was rebuilt with a new engine and allowed to run full blast... Oh well... if...

      1. Ramiro
        Boffin

        Re: Hard as I try

        At these speeds, doubling the power would most certainly not double the speed (I know you didn't say that, but people might be tempted to do the linear extrapolation ;) considering the air resistance would grow at the very very least quadratically with the speed.

        .A less lazy mechanical engineer than I could probably guesstimate the extra speed of the full power run. I'm not saying that their achievement is not amazing, I love things that burn stuff to go really fast, just pointing out that it's not a given that they'd be supersonic at a full power run (you didn't say that either ;)

        1. Steven Raith
          Go

          Re: Hard as I try

          There's also the issue that at transonic speeds on the ground, werid things happen aerodyamically that have to be accounted for in the design.

          At sub-400mph-ish speeds, it has to handle, effectively, like a car.

          At 400mph and above it has to handle like an aeroplane that generates no lift or downforce. If it generates lift, it flips or rolls (as it's never going to be perfectly aerodynamically symmetrical at those speeds - too many variables).

          If it generates downforce, at those speeds it digs itself into the ground.

          The technical requirements to reach 700+mph in Thrust SSC were staggering (catching slides on opposite lock at 650mph? Major brown pants moment at 70mph....) - this makes that look like a slight challenge.

          I find the whole thing fascinating.

      2. hayseed

        Re: Hard as I try

        On the other hand, my understanding is that the engineering on the British team is of a different order of

        magnitude altogether - much less "throw it against the wall and see if it will stick" stuff.

      3. Alan Brown Silver badge

        Re: Hard as I try

        Given that friction (air resistance) rises as the 3rd power of speed, it's likely that full power would have resulted in about an extra 10-20mph, minus any lost to increasing the downforce in order to avoid changing from being a missile on wheels to an actual flying one.

    3. Essuu

      Re: Hard as I try

      The BBC article omits the second part of the Bloodhound SSC goals - namely education. We're running out of engineers as they get old and retire and we're not replacing them fast enough.

      The mission statement for Bloodhound SSC states " To confront and overcome the impossible using science, technology, engineering and mathematics. To motivate the next generation to deal with global 21st century challenges"

      Inspiring a generation to take up science and engineering is why they're doing it. Read http://bloodhoundssc.com/education.cfm

      1. MJI Silver badge

        Re: Hard as I try

        I know one of the education team, I have seen a picture of my twins with her at a show.

        And you can see the family likeness with my wife.

      2. Michael Wojcik Silver badge

        Re: Hard as I try

        Inspiring a generation to take up science and engineering is why they're doing it.

        That's nice, but I can't help but think that putting Scrapheap Challenge (aka Junkyard Wars) back on the air would be similarly effective, and probably somewhat cheaper. Perhaps the various "robot"-battling shows too. (Though the so-called robots were really just fancy remote-control toys; I never saw any that were even slightly autonomous. How sad.)

    4. h4rm0ny

      Re: Hard as I try

      "Wouldn't it have been better if they just pointed that big rocket to the sky and launched something to space for a change?"

      If someone misses a pebble on the track, it probably will.

    5. phuzz Silver badge
      Trollface

      Re: Hard as I try

      Also, us Brits have had the land speed record since 1983 (and at many times before that), which pisses off certain yanks no end.

      And that's why it's worth doing :)

  5. This post has been deleted by its author

  6. Mostly_Harmless Silver badge
    Boffin

    units

    "Although the unit (seen below during an October 2009 static test) is capable of of an average thrust of 111kN (25,000lbf) during a 20-second burn, peaking at 122kN (27,500lbf)"

    I can't believe the El Reg omitted to express this in the standard unit of measurement for force, namely the Jubb

    1. Lester Haines (Written by Reg staff) Gold badge

      Re: units

      Actually, the Reg standard of force is the Norris.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: units

        "Jubb" could be used as the standard measurement for moustaches. Taking that moustache as 1.0 Jubbs; then that dude who sculpts windmills etc. into his moustache would come in at about 1.7 Jubbs.

        1. perlcat
          Pint

          Re: units

          I like jubbs. Really, I do. What an awesome unit of measure.

      2. M Gale

        Re: "Actually, the Reg standard of force is the Norris."

        Micro, Nano or PicoNorris more usually, no?

  7. Graham Marsden
    Boffin

    It has to be pointed out...

    ... (although I'll probably be downvoted into oblivion for this) that it's not really a "car", more a giant rollerskate with a jet engine bolted on top of it!

    The fastest car actually driven through its wheels is the Spirit of Rett which achieved an average speed of 414.5mph at Bonneville Salt Flats on September 21st 2010.

    1. Stoneshop
      Boffin

      I disagree

      It's a jet engine with a giant rollerskate strapped underneath.

      1. Peter2 Silver badge

        Re: I disagree

        And the pictures of the Spirit of Rett don't look any more car like, to be fair.

      2. hayseed

        Re: I disagree

        No, it is a standard DRCE - (google) Drag-Racing Competition Engine.

  8. Robert E A Harvey
    Thumb Up

    I do like the British

    This is magnificent, and completely pointless.

    Carry on, lads!

    1. xperroni
      Mushroom

      Re: I do like the British

      Speaking of pointlessness...

      What's the point of having a driver in those things? At upwards of 1000Km/h, I can't really picture a human doing anything useful in the event of unforeseen problems – heck, I doubt they could even shriek before turning into ashes.

      1. perlcat
        Trollface

        Re: I do like the British

        ...because without the immortalisation of a tombstone that reads "death by misadventure", there is no appeal. None at all.

        [revoking your man card]

        1. xperroni
          Facepalm

          Re: I do like the British

          Yes, because hitting a button and then sitting in place very still until it's over (one way or the other) is the purest ideal of manliness. Sure.

      2. Vic

        Re: I do like the British

        > At upwards of 1000Km/h, I can't really picture a human doing anything useful

        Well, he did on the ThrustSSC run.

        Vic.

  9. Peter Simpson 1
    Thumb Up

    Supersonic Jubb?

    <couldn't resist>

    I remember being a kid in Melbourne in the 60's while Donald Cambell was tearing up Lake Eyre with Bluebird.

    Great fun, and beating the Americans (at least for a while) makes it even more fun!

    1. squigbobble
      Go

      Re: Supersonic Jubb?

      We should make it a national mission to beat the Yanks at anything that can be done for 5 figure sum. Anything bigger and HMGov will panic about the potential budget costs (even if it's a private venture) and shut it down.

  10. Whiznot

    How many cup holders does it have?

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      One. For tea or G&T, depending upon the hour.

      1. perlcat
        Pint

        With that 'stache?

        Any hour is a good hour for the G&T.

  11. Warren Sealey
    Headmaster

    Stealing von Braun

    That name, that 'tache, those skills. Why is this man not working on LOHAN?

    1. Code Monkey
      Headmaster

      Re: Stealing von Braun

      ... and where's his pipe?

      1. perlcat
        Pint

        Re: Stealing von Braun

        ...as the great Patrick F. McManus says, there's no better way to look intelligent than to smoke a pipe and look contemplative. You can get away with anything that way.

  12. Gene Cash Silver badge
    Flame

    Rocket car

    Shouldn't Richard Hammond be driving that?

    1. Naughtyhorse

      Re: Rocket car

      hammond??

      he's not even a real hamster you know!

  13. thenim
    Pint

    a pint...

    To those detractors, we need the brave or foolish few who continue to ask,"what happens if I....?" Without them, we will not be where we are...

    Raising a pint (sadly we lack an Ale icon, so larger it is...)

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Raising a pint

      Looks like Newcy Brown to me.

  14. Resound

    Ancilliaries

    Did I just read that they're using a 2010 Cosworth Formula 1 engine as the oxidant pump?

    1. Lester Haines (Written by Reg staff) Gold badge

      Re: Ancilliaries

      Yes they are.

  15. James Pickett

    You have to be impressed by any vehicle that uses a Cosworth V10 for the fuel pump.

    As for Hammond, I wouldn't let him anywhere near it...

    1. Naughtyhorse

      hammond...

      i dunno, he _just_ survived a 300mph crash.... 1000 sounds like a great idea.

      1. Code Monkey
        Pint

        Re: hammond...

        You are a cruel person, Naughtyhorse. Full marks!

        1. Naughtyhorse

          Re: hammond...

          lol ty

  16. James Pickett

    I wasn't so concerned about his survival - just noting that he managed to crash a dragster, a machine specifically designed to go very fast in a straight line, and which rarely crash when driven properly.

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