The canopy latches lock into place with a soft click and now I really feel on my own. Al Harkness, the start team crew chief, is still connected to the Car on the 'long lead' external headset, but I can't see him any more, just the Farnborough runway stretching out in front of me for over a mile. This is another of the development runs, not using afterburner, but still achieving a peak speed of 160 mph in less than 20 seconds, getting me used to the Car gradually and testing all of the systems.
The Car is sitting on the concrete undershoot of Runway 25 at Farnborough, pointing straight down the runway - one of my first checks when I approach the Car. The access panels, pitot probe, tyres, brake parachutes and all the other essential systems have been visually checked during my walk-round, after which I strap into the Car and put on the special Helmet Systems helmet. Radio checks - Jayne Millington can hear me loud and clear in the control tower - and comms with the start team through Al. Next the cockpit checks, starting with safety - the parachutes and batteries are checked and re-checked to make sure the system is safe. Then the obvious ones: the steering wheel movement is full and free and the brake and throttle pedals move freely. The throttles are left off...... for now.
Power is applied to the Car once the start crew is ready and all of the instruments and warning lights, built specially for the Car by companies like Page Aerospace and Marilake Instruments, come to life. A lot of work has gone in to producing all of this, giving me the same feel and control that I would have in a jet fighter: it's an environment I feel comfortable in. The computers are on-line now, and Jeremy Bliss will be checking their functions through the external plug-in point - when he leaves the Car, all the systems will be ready to go. Meanwhile I am doing the 'left-to-rights': an aircraft term for checking all of the cockpit displays and systems in a logical, left-to-right direction (why not right-to-left? No idea, it's just always left-to-right and always has been - again, something I'll stick with because I'm used to it). The instruments are all tested, the hydraulics are all working and up to pressure, the warning lights and fire systems tested - time to get on with it!
The parachute lines are connected just before engine start - after that, no-one goes near the back of the Car until the lines are removed at the other end of the runway. The Air Palouste (a small jet engine which blows air into the Speys to start them) is connected and wound up. Push the start button and immediately there is a rush of air - I have deliberately left the helmet's Active Noise Reduction (ANR) switched off at the moment so that I can hear the start sequence; once the engines are running, I will switch the ANR on and the roar will become a muted whisper. At 10% engine RPM the left throttle pedal goes to idle - immediately the engine accelerates and the Turbine Gas Temperature (TGT) starts to rise. 30% - Oil pressure light out - 38% - Starter trips out and I deselect it as the Generator comes on line and the 'AC VOLTS' caption goes out. The engine peaks at a TGT of 540 degrees C (well below the maximum of 630 degrees) and settles at 55% RPM and 500 degrees - perfect. Now for the right engine, which is exactly the same procedure except that where the left engine has a generator, the right is fitted with a hydraulic pump, which boosts system pressure to 2000 psi. The engines are both screaming away, all the warnings are out, so I can relax a little and switch on the ANR - peace and quiet!
Finally the pre-run checks - the canopy is firmly shut, the fuel and battery voltages are good, the video cameras are on (the 5 video cameras give us extra information about the performance of the engines, parachutes, etc and are an important part of the sequence), the parachutes are armed (after a final check with Al - safety means you can never check anything too much). At this point Al disconnects and I really am on my own now, sitting at the end to 8000 feet of concrete in the most powerful Car in the world. Right now I'm concentrating too hard to appreciate it, but we're making history and it's very special to be part of the team that's doing it.
'SSC Ready to Roll, request the surface wind'. My primary speed is air speed, because it's simple and reliable - excellent qualities for a Land Speed Record Car! Unfortunately that means that to drive an accurate ground-speed I have to allow for the wind. Jayne replies: 'SSC Clear Roll, head wind component 8 mph'. I round that up to 10 and will aim for 170 mph indicated air speed during the run.
I push the throttles forward - they slide very freely after all the work that Glynne Bowsher and Robbie Kraike have done on the system - looking for 80% on both engines. Once it's stabilised, a final check of everything.....and we're off! The acceleration seems slow to start with - this is still a learning run for me, after all - as the Car accelerates up to 50 mph. After 10 seconds, following the run schedule, I push the throttles forward to 95% a side - a total of about 10 tons of thrust. The Car seems to leap ahead and all of a sudden every thing is happening in fast-forward. The speed is increasing at 20 mph per second and suddenly we're approaching 170 mph, although the Car has travelled less than 2000 feet so far. I anticipate a fraction too much, relaxing the pressure on the throttles just before we reach 170, easing them back to idle, to let them cool down as the Car slows. Left thumb up to the No. 1 parachute button - no noise from the launcher right at the back of the Car, but suddenly it feels like I've got the brakes on, so the 'chute must be out - once again, I say a silent thank you for all the work Robert Atkinson has done to make the parachute system as good as it is, as good as it needs to be. The speed is coming down through 80 mph and I gently try the brakes: they work very well and I have to release them completely in order to keep rolling to the end of the runway where the recovery team is waiting.
'SSC Stopped'. The cue for Jayne to clear the Car and 'chute recovery teams onto the runway. Again safety is paramount - no-one approaches the Car until Paul Remfry has disconnected the parachute lines and I have transmitted 'The Car is Safe' so that everyone knows. It's Paul's Car now, until the rest of the checks are complete and he hands it to his brother Leigh who will tow it back to the start of the runway and pass it on to Nick Dove for the refuel and turn round. This is a tremendous team effort, both to get the Car this far and to enable it to run - and wow, does it run!
The Car is running and we're all working long hours, but there's an excitement in the air - we've got the most powerful Car in the world and we're going to break records...a lot of records.......Jordan here we come!
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