"We need £600,000 or $990,000. This is not an appeal for funds - it is simply a statement of what we intend to achieve by August 25". I am sure it was the right thing to do - but at the time I had my doubts. We were in the Directors Library at the Science Museum in South Kensington. There were 40 journalists and three camera crews at the Press Conference and we had been presenting to them for 75 minutes. Andy was concerned that the audience was showing no sign of emotion or even responding other than changing the tapes on their recorders or scribbling in pads. But the media are like that, they were not here for an entertainment (even though Andy was on crutches having come to grief in a pool in Aquaba) - they were here for the story. The story is a good one - we have a viable supersonic car which is stable and has terrific performance at 540mph and is capable of accelerating through Mach 1 at 0.75G. The car is stable, the teamwork is exceptional and we are in with a strong chance. All we need is money and fuel - as simple as that!
I could see that the mention of the £600,000 had disturbed the media and they were either going to headline our cash needs or quietly write us out of the news as being one event which they doubted would ever happen. If you're a newshound, you've seen it all before, you know what is news, you've created news, and of course you know what will never happen. But just sometimes you could be very wrong. The press conference generated some interesting comment - but no headlines. I never saw a mention of the £600,000 in the cuttings. It's a large sum of money and it is needed to pay past bills (we've cleared a great of those now) to keep the project running for five months, to pay for the Antonov costs and its huge fuel bill and lastly to fund our operation at Black Rock for 6 weeks. There is no profit in that figure - it just serves to highlight one aspect of the enormous difficulties we have in mounting the supersonic challenge 6,000 miles away from our base at Farnborough. And we don't have that money - we spent everything we had making it to Jafr. So over the next 55 days we have to repair ThrustSSC's rear suspension and repaint it ready for Black Rock, find the money and go. Simple as that. So how do we do it? Well, we have to have a credible plan and then get on with it - there isn't much time! So this is what we are doing:
New Major Sponsors. We have six possibles and we need to land two.
Existing sponsors. We have 229 of them and we are asking them to buy larger quantities of ThrustSSC merchandise and asking them to take customer/client hospitality evenings at Farnborough. And we need them to encourage more of their workforces to join the Mach 1 Club.
Mach 1 Club Members. We are inviting you to Farnborough and encouraging you to take part in the final push to make the budget. The last Open Day is on August 10 and there is a special Gold Card Lunch on July 26.
Retail. Sign a deal with a major newspaper in order to run a major national Black Rock promotion to build the membership and also promote our sponsors. We have also written to every car and bike club in the UK (there's a thousand of them) to invite them to Farnborough for a Universal Studios tour and presentation.
So this is where the grand marketing plan finally pays off. What we have tried to do over the years is to build our markets to a point where we believe they will deliver that crucial funding punch. You've come a long way with us and for that we will be for ever grateful, but there is one final push to make and we need you now more than ever - let's do this together
One of the most frequent requests from all of you is "tell us which newspapers to buy to read about the project" but quite frankly that's impossible to say since newspapers are exactly that, and tend to get driven by events as they occur and the choices made by the editorial team. But as you know, we're always looking for new angles in this tough commercial world, so we've been talking to the quality newspapers to see if we could put a deal together that make everybody happy - and we think we've done just that. The Daily Telegraph - which is now Britain's largest and most prestigious UK daily paper with a readership of 2.8 million per day are going ahead with a major promotion and a special supplement in the main paper. The supplement started as a small promotion, but since then it has grown at a huge rate as the sponsors piled in with their advertising. So watch the Daily Telegraph closely for this special supplement towards the end of July.
Leading up to that, and in the supplement itself, the Daily Telegraph will be promoting membership of this club in a big way to it's millions of readers and in return, from now on the Mach 1 Club will be branded as The Daily Telegraph Mach 1 Club. Don't worry - we haven't sold our souls, we still retain editorial and operational rights over everything we do, but it's a deal that makes sense. And since it's the Daily Telegraph Mach 1 Club, then they are sure to want to report on the exploits of the project that it's supporting - ThrustSSC - which is where we came in.
Many, many of you have been avid purchasers of the superb series of collector's certificates tracking key points in the development of the project. Well now it's time for the big one - the Black Rock certificate, the one that if all goes well should be the supersonic document. These high quality display documents are signed by both Richard Noble and Andy Green and feature excellent graphics making them ideal for display at home or at work - they even make original gifts. Now here's the deal. You can either buy one yourself to complete your collection for £30, or you can persuade two friends or colleagues to join the Mach 1 Club, in which case you get a certificate free. Couldn't be easier could it? Write to us at the usual address giving us the following: - your name, address and membership number plus the names and addresses of your two nominees. Include a cheque for £30 or cheques for £15 each from your nominees.
Since this part of the campaign is all about a major drive to increase club membership and maintain our position as the third largest sponsor behind only Castrol and BTR, don't forget that there are still many other opportunities to be pursued. You can upgrade your standard membership to Gold Card status for £60 and while you're at it, you could purchase the ultimate "pay and display" - for an additional £100 you can get your gold card number painted in gold script on the side of the car for everyone to see - we'll even make sure they get repositioned slightly this time, so that they don't get singed by the afterburners!
Finally, we also have available the much asked for car stickers which we want you display wherever you can - Rolls-Royce, Mini, mountain bike, baby buggy - anywhere you can to ensure that people who have heard about the project know where to go to get information and join the club. Featuring the SSC logo, club name and address plus the Website address, these colourful decals are a key part of spreading the message - yours is included with this newsletter.
If you would like to collect your sticker, come alomg to one of our Open Days and let us know, or alternatively, write to us at P O Box 77, enclosing a stamped addressed envelope and we will send you one.
No, not Claudia Schiffer or Naomi Campbell (although come to think of it the second of those two has an appropriate record breaking name), but something much, much better - a massive 1:20 scale model of ThrustSSC in all its glory. So far, we have sold 23,000 of the Lledo collector's models and they are a fine and affordable way of tracking the developments of SSC from its early silver and black finish through to its final supersonic black state, but judging by the number of enquiries we've had at roadshows when displaying the wind tunnel models, we felt there was a demand for a much smaller run of larger models, which we've dubbed the "boardroom display models". Produced by Amalgam in 1:20 (which is big!!) they took the master into the workshop for review by their most critical audience; Nick Dove and workshop team. There were gasps of delight so I guess that the Amalgam team have got it right - certainly it's the most beautiful model you ever saw, with full cockpit detail. We get our first production sample next week, so if you want to get your hands on one of these write now registering your interest. As Claudia Schiffer's boyfriend David Copperfield will tell you, supermodels don't come cheap, so they will cost around £1,000 each. Judging by the prices at which large scale models of earlier record breaking cars change hands for at Christies, it could be a very sound investment quite apart from having something fantastic to look at.
Yes, it's that time again, the one where we have to move hangars once more. We are most grateful to British Aerospace for the use of P8 Shed but just as we moved from Q Shed, so we now need to move on again as the Farnborough redevelopment plan moves inexorably forward. Towards the end of August is the time and what we really need are strong(ish), fit and healthy volunteers for the move - ideally many of those who helped with the last move. If you can help, please write now to the usual address for the attention of John Lovatt.
John would also like to hear from more volunteers for the Black Rock Desert Patrol. Many club members provided their services in Jordan for track preparation and 'fodding' and we have a huge task on our hands, so we need your help more than ever. Here's your chance to be a part of history. In order to secure the vast desert area of Black Rock during run days, we are setting up a Desert Patrol largely made up of Mach 1 Club members. For safety reasons, the agreement with the Bureau of Land Management, says that the desert must be closed to all unauthorised personnel and vehicles whilst both teams are actually running. The Desert Patrol will be working alongside the local sheriff and his team at Black Rock. A professional and dedicated patrol team is absolutely essential to the smooth running of the whole operation at Black Rock.
Please be under no false illusions - this is not a relaxing holiday trip and as others will tell you, working on the desert is tough and demanding work, so you must be physically fit and able to get on well with others. We plan to be at Black Rock for six to eight weeks from mid August until early October and intend to fix a rota system for the Desert Patrol, so that volunteers can take time out to explore the magnificent surrounding area. You know by now that record breaking very rarely runs to schedule, so long days and flexibility for travel and work arrangements are also high on the list of requirements. Interested? Please write to us at the Club as soon as possible, confirming your availability dates. Don't forget your stamped addressed envelope. If you have already written to the Club offering your services, there is no need for you to apply again as we have your details.
Don't forget the information Hotline and FaxBack which are now being updated weekly -
| Hotline: 0839 888 850 | FaxBack: 0336 423 515 |
Please print or copy the form below and return to PO Box 77 at the address below.
Name:................................................................ Membership No....................... Address:............................................................. ..................................................................... ..................................................................... ..................................................................... Post Code:........................................................... Tel No:...................................................
Please paint my Gold Card Number on the outside of the rear fuselage in
Gold where it will remain for the duration of the project. I enclose £100.
(please tick here ........)
Please reserve ........(enter number) place(s) for on July 26th for the Gold Card
Lunch at Farnborough. Price is £25 each for members and guests. I enclose the total
cost and a Stamped Addressed Envelope for confirmation and instructions.
(please tick here ........)
Please upgrade my membership to Gold Card status so that I can take advantage of the
above offers. I enclose £60.
(please tick here ........)
Please reserve
(enter number) place(s) for on August 10th for the 'Black Rock Farewell'
Farnborough Open Day. Price is £10 each for members and guests. I enclose the total cost
and a Stamped Addressed Envelope for confirmation and instructions.
(please tick ........)
Please send me the Black Rock certificate signed by Richard Noble and Andy Green. I enclose £30, or two new membership requests at £15 each.
| Timex Thrust SSC Expedition watch | £50.00 + £2.00 p&p |
| Timex Thrust SSC Expedition watch engraved with your Mach 1 Club number | £60.00 + £2.00 p&p |
| ThrustSSC Service Schedule - a copy of the actual service schedule used by the team, and signed by all the operations team members | £25.00 + £2.00 p&p |
| ThrustSSC Jordan2 Internet Booklet - a 66 page illustrated account of the highly successful development of ThrustSSC at Al Jafr Jordan, using the daily reports produced by Jeremy Davey for the Web site | £10.00 + £2.00 p&p |
| ThrustSSC Global Radio CD - a 63 minute compilation of the daily radio reports made by Graham Swain in Jordan for use by the world's media. Includes interviews with the team and Andy Green's in-car commentary during the runs. | £17.00 + £2.00 p&p |
| Ref: SSC29 Polo shirt with embroidered SSC logo - Green, Yellow or White | |
| . . . Adult sizes: XL, L, M, S | £17.00 + £2.00 p&p |
| . . .Child sizes 7/8, child 9/11 | £15.00 + £2.00 p&p |
| Ref: SSC30 Thrust SSC tie - Blue with motif background and SSC logo at tip | £12.00 + £2.00 p&p |
| Ref: SSC31 Thrust SSC tie - Black with diagonal stripes and motif background and SSC logo at tip | £12.00 + £2.00 p&p |
| Ref: SSC32 FASTEST MAN ON EARTH - book on Thrust 2 by David Tremayne - signed by author and Richard Noble | £14.00 + £1.00 p&p |
| Ref: SSC33 Thrust SSC two piece designer glass in special tin | £25.00 + £1.50 p&p |
| Ref:SSC34 New large format 2 sided colour poster featuring Jordan action shots from Paris Match magazine | £5.00 + £2.00 p&p |
| Upgrade from ordinary membership to Gold Card | £60.00 |
To order, please write to the address below stating reference, quantity, size, colour and the total amount including postage & packing. Overseas orders, please add a further £5.00 to your order. Cheques (UK pounds sterling only) payable to SSC Programme Ltd. Visa & Mastercard quoting number and expiry date are also accepted.
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