As a piece of drama it had everything - a deadline with time running out fast, changeable weather to threaten the proceedings, myriad technical problems, technicians tired after working around the clock and the star of the whole show and the object of everybody’s attentions, Thrust SSC, sitting there as if to say “what’s all the fuss about?” On top of all that, the drama was played out in front of an audience of dedicated enthusiasts, film crews and the reporters from the Daily Mail who had bought the reporting rights to the events leading up to the first running of the car.
The occasion was the Bank Holiday Monday club meeting at Farnborough for Gold Card members and the intention was to run Thrust SSC for the first time. In fact, it hadn’t quite been planned that way since the original intention was to have already given the car a couple of gentle passes along the runway to check out basic systems such as steering, brakes, parachutes and engine controls - pretty essential stuff when you think about it and something that Andy Green was most definitely interested in!
But, as always seems to be the way, the LSR gods dictated otherwise and 130 Gold card members turned up to be greeted with the news that what they might witness was the car’s first ever run. To put that in perspective, when was the last time anybody other than those directly involved witnessed a Ferrari F1 car being completed and run for the first time?
In the recent past, we’ve used a local hotel, Potter’s, as a staging post for club meetings but what with it being a Bank Holiday and everywhere being booked solid in the run up to the air show, even our friends there couldn’t help us. A quick recce one evening by Mike Hearn revealed that we were in trouble unless he could persuade a local company to give us use of one of their car parks. The nearest was Data Sciences - next door to the Farnborough Main Gate - and very generously, they said yes straightaway. Thanks Data Sciences!
By 09:30 the car park was brimming with Mach 1 Club members and John Lovatt and Sue Richardson set up shop with pre prepared checklists for handing over to DRA Security and allocated coach tickets to those registered. This may seem a little over bureaucratic, but DRA Security insist on visitors being escorted, so our close control of these details lets them know that we are as professional as we can be in every area, not just the technology. Those in the queue were treated to the sight of Mike Hearn arriving in the Jaguar Firechase car. He even took a couple of trips around the roundabout just to check the handling. Either that or he missed the turning.
In fact, the need to keep the folks at Farnborough happy caused us much heart searching and not a little disappointment. We had originally hoped to allow members to bring a guest along, but with almost 300 Gold Card members, that could have been 600 people to deal with and that was pushing things too far. On top of that, one of the sponsors, Pirtek, wanted to bring along some of their people and vehicles to be used for promotional purposes, adding to the numbers. As ever, Ninetta Hearn did her usual efficient job of handling the transportation to and from Q Shed and elswewhere on the site, so we were able to demonstrate that we could cope with a couple of hundred guests. This is important for the future.
Quite what the first coach load felt when they arrived in Q Shed to be confronted with an engine still being fitted is open to question, but as you can read at the end of this update in a mail from one of the members who did attend, it seems that you are a pretty sophisticated and informed lot by now, and know that this is the way with record breaking. As we keep saying, if it was that easy, everybody would be doing it!
Once firmly camped in Q Shed and refreshed with tea and coffee, it was time to brief people on the day’s events. Far from being the start of the day, for many it was the next stage of an already long one. Chatting to one club member, he revealed that he had worked a full shift before driving down from Sheffield. Looks like club members are determined to make themselves as tired as the technicians completing the car - that’s what I call sympathetic.
As you will know by now having read Richard’s account of the day and the update by Jeremy Davey, things didn’t quite work out according to plan, largely driven by a hydraulics problems that put everything else behind schedule. We were really impressed by the patience of club members and by providing hourly updates on what was being done and what had been completed, we quickly got a sense that everybody was enjoying being part of the drama. The runway was due to be closed to us at 18:00 - would we make it? Would the sunny weather in the morning hold out, or would the promised rainstorms arrive? The rain did arrive - just as I was giving one of my updates - and about 20 seconds before I was about to say, “we’ve just had a bad weather warning.” knowing looks and pointed fingers showed up my complete lack of timing, since a quick glimpse over my shoulder through the open hangar doors revealed rain arriving in the bucket load.
Thankfully, we’d planned for delays and Mike Hearn took people through the capabilities of the Jaguar XJR firechase vehicle, a car that even fully loaded with foam tank, hoses, cutting gear and jacking equipment will still move at 130mph+ thanks to its supercharged straight six engine - sounds good too!
Moving right on, the 6 wheel drive Supacat utility vehicles were given the once over by Mike. They look like something from a sci-fi film set, but apart from being used to tow all manner of things - including SSC itself - the one Mike demonstrated was also fitted with a fuel tank to be used for dispensing jet fuel to a thirsty SSC at the end of each run. Needless to say, children of all ages wanted to sit on it.
Those who’ve been around the record breaking scene for a while, took advantage of the number of Thrust 2 team members present in order to get their collections of LSR memorabilia up to date and signed. Apart from Richard Noble, Glynne Bowsher and Mike Hearn, Andrew Noble, Ron Benton and David Tremayne were all along for the day and all were happy to sign posters and prints. Those purchasing David Tremayne’s book about the Thrust 2 attempts were particularly pleased to capture a signed copy.
Looking around at the race against time and the weather, the old hands from Thrust 2 recalled a saying from those days that is just as appropriate now, “Give me more time and I’ll get the job done quicker!” But time can’t be beaten and as it ticked by, many wondered if the car would make it out onto the runway at all. Richard had negotiated an extension for runway use and happily the weather had also brightened up, so the sense of expectation suddenly heightened when it was announced that it was now or never, and the start team locked themselves away with Andy Green for a pre run briefing.
But the LSR gods hadn’t finished with us yet. Until now, the car had been pushed out of the hangar without its nose, but with the back wheels loaded onto its specially developed dolley which in turn was connected to a Merlo forklift to push it out, it became obvious that the gentle dip in the apron outside the hangar meant that SSC was going nowhere without damaging its nose. Hasty work with sheets of plywood to bridge the dip, did the job even if it didn’t look pretty. With 20/20 hindsight, the obvious thing to do would have been to pull it back into the hangar, spin it around and take it out backwards. Next time we’ll know.
With time running out fast, it was back onto the coaches for a shuttle trip along the perimeter road to the viewing area alongside the control tower allocated to us. Why not walk alongside SSC as it was towed backwards towards the end of the runway? Because this is an active airfield and air traffic control rules apply to everybody and everything in the ‘active’ area of the airfield, that’s why. Nothing or nobody moves without permission.
Keeping everybody under control in the control tower was Andy Green’s partner Jayne Millington, who apart from being a qualified navigator is also a very accomplished military air traffic controller. What this meant was that the Thrust crew could use their own set of frequencies and communication standards which Jayne then translated into official ‘controllerspeak’ and vice-versa. Dealing with a professional was yet another indication to the Farnborough people of the seriousness with which the team approached their task and made them feel comfortable about extending runway time yet again.
I don’t know what other people felt standing there, but for me this was the moment I’d been waiting for as the culmination of two and a half years work. Even with the engine covers off and minus paint and tailfin, SSC looked so good, so brutal, so powerful, sitting there on the end of the runway with the starter unit connected and the emergency crews in place. Was I jealous of Andy sitting in the cockpit - you bet! Suddenly the moment was on us and with a plume a smoke trailing from the left hand engine the igniters were hit and the engine started - almost. Yet again, failing hydraulic pressure was the culprit so an external source was quickly hooked up to recharge the system.
This time, the start sequence went perfectly and almost before we knew it, there it was, both engines lit and ready to rumble. I couldn’t resist removing the ear defenders for a while and just letting the sound and vibration wash over me. This is one horny machine! As the systems were checked out one by one, a problem that had surfaced earlier in the day and caused much of the delay chose its moment to make a reappearance. A seal in the main connector from the fuel system into the right engine was playing up again and what started as a few spots of fuel onto the runway became a slow but steady trickle. With only a couple of minutes to blast off, the easy thing would have been to ignore it and hope for the best, but that simply can’t be done. Despite the tremendous disappointment it would cause, the only sensible and professional action was to abort the run there and then. The groans from the crowd almost drowned out the whines from the Speys spooling slowly down - so near and yet so far!
So that was it. Richard quickly explained what had happened and in the failing light it was off home for the Mach 1 Club members, sponsors and press and back into the hangar for Thrust SSC. Was it worth it? We hope so. Do people have yet another insight into just how tough and demanding record breaking can be? Definitely. Some may describe it as romantic and sophisticated, but those who were there know differently.
Earlier in the day, the Daily Mail reporter expressed surprise that Richard arrived in a metallic grey Rover 600 rather than something more exotic. “Do any team members drive anything more exciting” the reporter asked Ron Ayers. A couple of Alfas and a Toyota MR2 hardly qualify as King’s Road Cruise material and when Ron revealed that he drove a Renault 21, the reporter was even more underwhelmed.
“What you have to remember,” said Ron, “ is that I’m an aerodynamicist not a fast car fan, and what we are doing is more akin to developing an aircraft than a car.” At the end of the day, that’s what it takes to break to Sound Barrier on land and that’s why there will be many more obstacles on the road to success. Bank Holiday Monday was just the beginning.
Don’t take my word for it - if you want to find out what a club member thought about the day, read Robin Sharman's report.
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