After days of suspense, the last minute appeals had raised enough of the necessary funds. The call was finally made - ThrustSSC would fly to Nevada on the afternoon of Tuesday 2nd. Having done this twice before for Jordan, the machine that sprang into action was well oiled.
Most of the equipment was already packed into crates or prepared for transit - after all, we would be needing it for Black Rock or not at all. The last items needed to be packed, and everything had to be transported to Stansted airport for loading into the huge HeavyLift-VolgaDnepr Antonov 124. The deadline was 0700hrs on Tuesday - if loading did not begin then, the aircraft would not be ready on time. The Antonov itself, meanwhile, was in Shannon on maintenance, being due in to Stansted on Monday for final checks before the ThrustSSC team were let loose on it.
By Saturday lunchtime just about everything was ready for transit - the satellite equipment had been disassembled and packed into its myriad of boxes, the various offices had been packed, the computer equipment for the Web Site had been packed, the workshop equipment had been packed, and ThrustSSC herself was ready for loading onto the huge custom-built Tiltec trailer. At that point we had the first indication of a difficulty - being the month end, freight traffic in the UK was at a peak, and our usual trucking sponsor had no trailers spare for us to use.
With the Jaguar Firechase, two Supacats, Merlo telscopic-boom handler, two Palouste air starters, two vehicle trailers, crate after crate of equipment, and some 500 Fanning Polyform track markers to be moved - on top of the car and Pit Station - we had a problem. We had to have a trailer on Sunday to have any chance of having all the equipment at Stansted in time - a round trip takes 4 hours driving time alone, add in loading and unloading and the figure can rise as high as 8. With Andrew Noble already in Gerlach preparing for the team's arrival, that left only Brian Palmer and myself in the UK with the necessary category C+E licences - we would have to plan carefully to keep within legal driving hours too.
Sunday dawned with the dreadful news of the road accident in Paris. The mood in P8.R Shed was sombre as everyone went about his or her work with a sense of disbelief. On a more mundane note was the realisation that we still had no trailer: on a weekend - and a peak freight one at that - there was little chance of arranging either a flat-bed or a curtain-sider until Monday morning. Something had to be done, and quickly. Pete Ross had the bright idea - all week he had watched truck after truck bring tanks, self-propelling artillery pieces, rapid bridging kit, armoured personnel carriers, and hundreds of other items of military hardware into the DRA for an exhibition of Army and Navy hardware. Many of those trucks had been civilian - perhaps one of them could be borrowed?
A two-hour tour of the exhibition site drew a total blank. All the contractor vehicles had returned to their respective bases - the only transporters on site were military vehicles forming part of the display. That is, apart from one - a Seddon-Atkinson tractor unit with a step-bed trailer designed for recovering and transporting vehicles. Ideal! The Royal Engineers who 'owned' it were more than keen to help - but use of military equipment for a civilian project had to be sanctioned from 'on high' - the Ministry of Defence.
We made a visit to the exhibition office to meet Major Hugh Eaton who was in charge of the entire show. I have to sympathise with him - impeccably dressed in full uniform, he was confronted by the ever-dapper Pete Ross and myself, unshaven and wearing the sort of old clothes that trucking vehicles back and forth requires. The situation was explained - we had a unit and drivers, we just needed a trailer.
The Major listened patiently, then explained that he would have to obtain sanction from HQ UK Land before a loan could be authorised. We were all too conscious that this was a sunny Sunday afternoon in the holiday season, and our request would inevitably mean someone very senior being disturbed on a relaxing weekend off. Incredibly, within half an hour 'Q' Salt of the Royal Engineers of 61 Field Support Squadron was on the phone - could he come down and assess the job? Not only did we have the trailer, but the 'Seddon-A' and crew came with it!
Cpl Smith and L/Cpl Clarke quickly showed us why the British Army have such a fantastic reputation for efficiency - in no time the Supacats and trailers were on their way to Stansted. With all its winches and hydraulically powered ramps, the trailer made light work of the job.
It is a consequence of the order in which the equipment has to be packed and prepared for transit that the Pit Station was not ready until Monday morning, but no sooner had our latest MAN tractor unit been coupled to it, than Cpl Smith was ready for another trip - this time with the crates of equipment and spares. The two artics left in convoy - the devastating effect of the weekends' events being brought home by the mournful ballads playing on every radio station. With the weekend rush over, a curtain-sider was available for collection on our way back from Stansted with the unit and two final trips were made - the Engineers with the Merlo and Paloustes, the MAN with the pair of afterburning Spey 205s and the track markers. Instead of hauling loads back and forth though the early hours, I was able to park up the tractor unit for Brian to take ThrustSSC to Essex in the morning. By the standards of a ThrustSSC move to Stansted it was an early finish - beating the 0700hrs deadline by hours - but without the help of the Army there is no doubt that we would not have been ready in time.
Health and Safety restrictions mean that only some 15 team members can fly on the Antonov, so it made sense to divide the team in two. One half would fly with the car, one half would go 'commercial'. One HGV driver would go HeavyLift, one the more conventional British Airways or American Airlines. Ditto the Merlo operators - the aim being to have a fresh unloading crew to meet the plane in Reno. The Antonov would fly on Tuesday afternoon, with a ten-hour layover in Gander, Newfoundland, and, as it turned out, a refuelling stop in Minneapolis. The remainder were split between those flying BA to San Francisco then on to Reno, Nevada, after a short layover, and those flying AA to Dallas - with a 4 ½ hour change for Reno. In the event those flying via Dallas had a great deal - I lived there for two years and a whole posse of old friends took us out for a meal and drink...
The 'commercial' flyers had an overnight stay in the amazing Peppermill Casino in Reno before the Antonov arrived. One or two even did quite well on one of the tables.... With the extra stop in Minneapolis, arrival of the Antonov had moved from the original 0830hrs to around 1400hrs - a much-needed lie-in was on the cards (apologies for the pun). The plane spotters were out in force - this was only the second visit of a 124 to Reno and the added excitement of ThrustSSC brought out the enthusiasts. They were rewarded with an on-time arrival.
A long pause ensued while the two halves of the team waved to each other across the 'pan' - until the Customs officers had inspected the contents of the aircraft no-one could leave its vicinity, nor could anyone approach. Eventually the 'all-clear' was given and the unloading of the 90 tons of car and equipment could begin. As the media swarmed around, everything was unloaded into and onto vehicles proved by our great friends Tom and Jack Raviglio of the Western Nevada Supply Co. By late afternoon ThrustSSC was on display outside the Peppermill Casino under the bright strip lights and surrounded by mirrored columns, while the reunited team relaxed inside. Rob Hemper, newly arrived on the Antonov, made up for lost time with his success on the card table.
Richard Noble didn't get off lightly on Wednesday. While the equipment was being unloaded from the Antonov he was approached by Sergeant Gregory Dion of the Reno Police Patrol Division - and issued with a speeding ticket - for doing 700mph in a posted limit of 55mph...!
Thursday would see the car and team depart for Gerlach and the Black Rock Desert - in the meantime a comfortable bed and jet-lag beckoned. The Press Conference was set for 1000 - at the start of another long day.
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