ThrustSSC Mach 1 Club

Mach 1 Club Open Day, March 10th 1996

Thrust SSC and Beyond
A personal view of the Thrust SSC project by a Mach 1 member...
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It all started at 3 o'clock in the morning.

Up to watch the first round of the FIA Formula 1 World Championship from Melbourne. As a person obsessed by fast moving objects, Formula 1, Drag Racing, and anything else with wheels and a thirst for speed, the thought of a Supersonic land-going vehicle filled me with excitement.

It was going to take me 3 hours to get there. It would cost me a full tank of fuel. The weather reports hinted at fog covering the south of England. What did all that matter? I wanted to see the fastest vehicle in the world.

After a slow journey through the thick fog, Fontwell emerged through a grimy windscreen, and a small 'Mach 1 Club' sign on a gate post, told us we had arrived.

We followed the arrows to the registration desk, informed them of our names and received our tour group number. We were directed to a presentation room, already buzzing with other members, and took a seat, ready to meet the people behind the Thrust project.

Robin Richardson was the first to speak. He introduced himself and told us what the day ahead was to hold. We would hear from each of the key members of the Thrust project, see video and slide presentations relating to the various stages so far, and finally get to meet her. Her ? The fastest vehicle on earth.

Next to speak was the man behind the entire project. Richard Noble. The holder of the current land speed record, taken some 13 years earlier in Thrust 2. He thanked us all for an impressive turn-out and told us about the current condition of the project. His only concerns seemed to be money and a little healthy competition from America. The enthusiasm, workforce, premises, will power and anything else considered to be a vital ingredient, was available in abundance.

During the preceding week, Richard Noble had met with his 50th birthday, and so as a bonus, we witnessed a presentation of a small plaque containing replicas of both Thrust vehicles, rewarded with a huge round of applause.

After the presentation, the first of the three groups were escorted out to visit the workshop and to get their first look at Thrust SSC. I was to be part of the second group and so remained in the room to listen to a presentation from Ron Ayers, the man behind the design, aerodynamics and the overall look of Thrust SSC.

An obvious and primary concern about a land-based vehicle, travelling at over 850mph, is safety. There was a whole bucket load of "What if" questions from the audience, but not surprisingly, they had already thought and answered each of them. The ultimate danger to Thrust SSC seemed to be flipping, where the nose of the vehicle becomes airborne and the land speed attempt becomes an air speed failure. The safety feature designed to stop this happening has been nicknamed 'The Abort'. This device dumps 3 tons of downforce onto the nose of the vehicle within 20 milliseconds. The technology behind how it does this though, has been kept a closely guarded secret from all but a few technicians and many Mach 1 members seemed embroiled in their own little theories as to how it could be done.

Soon, it was time to meet the vehicle that I had heard so much about. I had seen many artists impressions, and built up my own mental picture, but...

As we rounded the corner towards the open doored workshop, the tail of Thrust SSC could be seen. Clad in shining silver Titanium, to withstand the enormous air pressures of high speed and the heat generated by two Spey Jet engines. The workshop was tiny, with barely enough room for more than a handful of people to work on the vehicle, that dominated the room.

Only one of the engines had been fitted and the outer skin only fitted to the tail section, but that allowed us to view the vehicle in detail. We could see the how the current engine had been fitted and the metallic superstructure of the entire vehicle. Ron Ayers, stood in the empty engine bay and pointed out several key parts, prompted by eager questions from his audience. The sound of cameras clicking and bright flashes filled the crowded workshop.

In a smaller room, behind the workshop, were other parts of the vehicle yet to be fitted. Some technical schematics of the dashboard and initial designs were on show. Some Members of the Mach 1 club had made a donation and were signing the inside of some of the engine cowlings, so that they could be a part of the eventual vehicle.

Some souvenirs were available outside the workshop and all could be signed by Richard Noble if required. This is one of the many ways Mach 1 club members can invest their money into the project.

After we were satisfied we had all seen enough of Thrust SSC, it was back to the presentation room for a few more words. It had been announced, some time back, that Richard Noble would not be the man behind the wheel, and that he was looking for a new driver. Andy Green, an RAF squadron leader, had been nominated to take Richard's place after a rigorous elimination procedure. He introduced himself, and presented us with a video about the selection process. He talked about the training he had undertaken to prepare himself for the task of driving faster than the speed of sound. The best way to train was to simulate the actual run, and this was achieved with the help of an aircraft simulator at RAF Farnham. We were shown video footage of a simulated run, paired with live commentary from Andy. The speed at which he talked us through the 60 second run was breathtaking. From standstill to supersonic to standstill in under a minute. It was hard to appreciate the speed when all you could see ahead of you was desert, but when you pass between the one mile speed trap markers in four and a half seconds, reality strikes home with an almighty blow.

Whilst still recovering from our glimpse of supersonic travel, we were introduced to Jeremy Bliss, the systems designer. He provided us with a slide show demonstrating the details of the sensors placed all around Thrust.

Finally, Robin returned to round up the day and thank us all for our attendance. Many Mach 1 members had purchased souvenirs and after a final round of applause, went scurrying around trying to find anyone important to sign a poster or a model box.

We left the site on a high, talking about Thrust SSC and providing each other with our own theories and explanations for the various systems we had seen during the day. It had been an interesting day. All of our questions had been answered, some new questions had arisen and we had actually seen and touched what we hoped would be the fastest vehicle on earth. I was glad to be a member of the Mach 1 club and hoped to return again later in the year, to see the Thrust SSC as it makes one of its many test runs.

Sean Clarke
Mach 1 Club 2020

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