Barbie McSean helped out again at the Mach 1 Club Open Day on Sunday 27th April. She shares her experiences of the day in ...
| Date: | 27 April 1997 |
| Location: | P8 Shed, DRA Farnborough |
| Time: | 11.00am |
| Occasion: | Farewell Open Day for Mach 1 Club Members |
Sunday 27th April 1997 dawned and the sun was shining. Press Day for the Project had been held four days earlier and although the sun had shone, it had been considerably windier that day. Thankfully though the wind stayed away and the sun continued to shine for most of the day. Today was the Farewell Open Day for Mach 1 Club members, a final chance to see ThrustSSC and meet the team before they left for Jordan 2.
Whilst members of the Mach 1 Club were busy registering over 200 members of the club
and their guests, preparations were still continuing at P8.R Shed. 200 chairs had to be
set out in the seminar area and merchandise displayed to entice Club members to part with
yet more money. The PA and audiovisual equipment had to be set up. The internet site
would be available for anyone to use, but that meant that the computer had to be moved from
its usual home in the office. Items for the now customary auction were laid out.
ThrustSSC
had to be moved out into one of the DRA parking areas, allowing everyone enough space to
walk around it and take pictures of the whole car. For many of the Club members it would
be the first opportunity to see the car fully painted in BASF Supersonic Black.
There were many familiar faces amonst the visitors. Some were Gold Card members who had attended the Press Day the previous Thursday and had seen the car run down runway Two-Five. Others were recognisable as regulars at the Mach 1 Club Open Days. On arrival those who had been to P8 Shed before immediately went to the part of the hangar which houses the car in the hope of getting a clear view only to be dismayed that the car wasn't there. By this time it had already been moved out into one of the parking areas. They were reassured that there would be plenty of time for photo opportunities later.
Once everyone had arrived, Robin Richardson introduced various members of the Project Team who were there to give an up-to-the-minute resume of the Project. As usual there were plenty of questions from the floor. Once these talks were over, everyone moved outside to look at ThrustSSC. The sun was still shining brightly and it was superb to sit ouside in the sunshine and admire the car in all its glory.
After lunch Richard Noble gave a complete Project update and also told us how the opposition were getting on in American and Australia. At the moment if the desert dries at the predicted rate, the Australian team led by Rosco McGlashan may just take the Land Speed Record.
It had been decided to reward those members of the Mach 1 Club who had spent a lot of time and energy on the Project with the award of Platinum certificates. Certificates were presented to Sally Noble, Robin Richardson, Dee Campbell-Coombe, Ninetta Hearn, Mike Hearn, Jeremy Davey, Nick Chapman, Robbie Kraike, Martyn Davidson, John Lovatt, Neal Fletcher, Steve Georgii, Roger McCann, Jason McCann, Damien McCann, Matt Cole and Duncan Garrett. The award has also been conferred on Robert Hazell, Ian Dennington, Ken Waughman, Bob Ibbetson, Brian Taylor, Jim Clark and Sean Clarke.
At the end of the afternoon the customary auction was held. This is a special opportunity for members of the Club to purchase parts of the car which are no longer needed, usually because further modifications have made the part redundant. Although described as "useless" by the Team, all the pieces are part of the history of the Project and in the future should become very valuable. Various pieces were auctioned for relatively small sums. A large piece of titanium, used on the car at Farnborough and on the desert in Jordan was purchased by John Coppinger for a larger amount. However, John had arrived at the Data Sciences car park on his motor bike. There was no way he was going to be able to get it home! As he was willing to part with so much money I though it was only fair that I should volunteer to deliver it to him the following weekend. The main item in the auction was part of the steering linkage. Following very keen bidding, this eventually went for the sum of £500. In total the auction raised £1035, all of which will go straight back into the Project.
All day long Sally Noble and her team were kept exceedingly busy at the merchandise counter. Many people were keen to buy the new Timex watch, which Sally was modelling, as well as Gold Card memberships, posters, polo shirts, T-shirts, models and books. At the end of the day over £8000 had passed into the tills in a little over 5 hours. Thank you to everyone who spend some money.
Once again the day was a great success. There were many familiar faces there, but also some Mach 1 Club members who had not been to P8 Shed before. Everyone seemed to be impressed with the setup and went home willing the Project to succeed. Thank you once again to the Club members who worked so hard to make the day so successful.
As always, we are more than happy to publish Mach 1 Club members articles on or related to Thrust SSC. Please send your articles to mach.one.club@battlement.digital.co.uk
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