By one of those strange quirks of fate that often happen in situations like this, the two major competitors in the Great Supersonic Race will be based at establishments that their respective counties have long used to further their investigations into high speed flight. At about the same time Craig Breedlove announced that he would make his initial runs in Spirit of America on the space shuttle runway at Edwards AFB, Nevada, Richard Noble tied up a deal for the use of facilities at Farnborough.
Edwards AFB was originally Muroc dry lake, home of record breaking attempts by hot rodders in the 40s, before being claimed by the military and named for Captain Glen Edwards who died in the crash of the Northrop XB49 flying wing, forerunner of todays B2 stealth bomber. Farnborough has an aviation history going back even further than that, and along with Brooklands, can rightly claim to be the birthplace of British flying. Samuel Cody first flew his tethered observation kites from here before moving on to powered aircraft. The military connection grew and grew, culminating in the publics mind at least, in the spectacular annual airshows that were such a feature of the 50s and 60s.
The facility is still operational, although increasingly, much of the work carried out is now in the hands of commercial organisations rather than government agencies. That said, security is still tight. ThrustSSC will be based in a real piece of Farnborough aviation history, Q Shed, formerly the apprentice training hangar. Many of the UKs most highly skilled aviation technicians have passed through here at some time in the past.
Q Shed is big enough to house the car, spare engines and support trailer and work on them in comfort - absolutely vital. Better still, the hangar comes with offices. Sure, they need some work, but they are basically sound and provide an excellent administrative and technical support facility. Better still, these facilities are in a secure environment, this being an active DERA base, and one that is both my current home and workplace. The cockpit simulator developed by DERA is also here, so I have all the things I need to allow me to continue work, while at the same time keeping me in close touch with the team as they get ready for the day when I drive ThrustSSC in anger for the first time.
The next piece of the jigsaw is just as significant - access to the runway that will allow us to carry out systems checks and initial shakedown runs up to about 200mph. This really is a major benefit, since every run can be analysed immediately in the comfort of our own base and any modifications quickly planned and carried out. And when the big day comes and we are ready to ship ThrustSSC to the Black Rock Desert, that runway will also prove invaluable since Heavylift can fly their Antonov AN124 in, load us up and fly straight back out again without the hassle of planning major road journeys. All in all, this is a super arrangement and one that benefits everybody. We really are most grateful to the people at Farnborough. If all goes well, then yet again, they will have played a significant part in helping a vehicle achieve a supersonic goal. I can't wait to get into the cockpit.
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The author of this article, Andy_Green, is ThrustSSC's driver and a pilot in the Royal Air Force. |
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