In this issue:
Latest car news
BLOODHOUND NEWSLETTER - 2014
No. 1
Trial fit of the cockpit Welcome to the first of a new series of BLOODHOUND SSC
newsletters! Here we'll round up the latest news from the
Trial fit of the upper BLOODHOUND Project, including updates on events,
sponsorship, supporters and ambassadors. And, of course,
chassis Titanium
we'll include highlights of how the car itself is progressing.
skin
New hybrid rocket
partner
Latest news from
the desert track
BLOODHOUND
Aerodynamicist
recognised in
Queen's New Year
honours list
Ambassadors in
schools and clubs
BLOODHOUND is an international education initiative focused
around a 1,000 mph World Land Speed Record attempt. The
supersonic car is being constructed in Bristol, UK. If you're new
to BLOODHOUND or want to explain to anyone what the
project is all about, there is lots of information on the
BLOODHOUND website at www.BLOODHOUNDSSC.com. In
particular, have a look at our Cisco BLOODHOUND TV video
which gives an overview of the car and the project - the perfect
introduction to BLOODHOUND SSC.
Latest car news
Trial fit of the cockpit
Education update
Events
Support
BLOODHOUND Sponsors
BLOODHOUND's build team are fitting
out Andy's 'office' with consoles, switch
gear and control panels. These are all
fabricated by hand from sheet
Support
aluminium and trial fitted to ensure a
BLOODHOUND bespoke fit for the driver. The panels will
The 1K Club
be powder coated with a light grey, nonBuy unique presents reflective paint.
from
Trial fit of the upper chassis Titanium
BLOODHOUND
skin
BLOODHOUND's upper chassis will hold the state-of-the-art
EJ200 jet engine. Titanium stringers and skin panels will
transfer the thrust from the engine into the rest of the car's
structure. Each panel has to be lined up perfectly before the
11,000 rivet holes are drilled and assembly can begin.
New hybrid rocket partner
We're proud to announce a new
partnership with NAMMO, the rocket
propulsion specialist. The company,
based in Norway, will supply its hybrid
rocket technology for use in the
BLOODHOUND 1,000mph supersonic car.
NAMMO rockets are used by the European Space Agency to
separate the stages of Ariane 5, the world's most reliable and
commercially successful satellite launch vehicle. The company
is now developing a new family of powerful yet compact hybrid
rockets at its test facility in Raufoss, Norway. A combination of
these motors will be used in BLOODHOUND SSC to provide
around 27,500lbs (123.75kN) of thrust which, when combined
with 20,200lbs (90kN) thrust from the car's EJ200 jet, will
generate the equivalent of 135,000 thrust horse power (thp) eight times more power than all the cars on a Formula 1
starting grid combined.
Find out more about NAMMO and the BLOODHOUND
partnership on our website at
http://www.bloodhoundssc.com/news/rocket-experts-nammojoin-bloodhound-project
Latest news from the desert track
At the end of 2013 the
BLOODHOUND SSC project
passed a significant milestone
with the completion of the
communication masts in the
South African desert. These are
right by the track where
BLOODHOUND will make its record-breaking runs and will
send video and data from the car to audiences in 220 countries
in 2015 and 2016, allowing viewers to watch on-board action,
in high- definition, in real-time.
The masts, which range from 15m to 70m tall, and their support
infrastructure, are being provided by our sponsor MTN and are
vital to the project's success. Solar and wind power are being
widely used for both masts and communications, with one of
the four towers totally powered by renewable energy.
MTN's installation will not only enable Bloodhound
communications, it will provide 2G and 3G mobile connectivity
to the wider community. So now, despite its very remote
location in north-east South Africa, Hakskeenpan has better
mobile and Internet connectivity than parts of the UK!
Connecting local communities and their schools to the wider
world is an important part of the Project's legacy.
Read more at http://www.bloodhoundssc.com/news/deserttowers-built
BLOODHOUND Aerodynamicist recognised in
Queen's New Year honours list
BLOODHOUND's Chief
Aerodynamicist Ron Ayers, 81,
has been awarded an MBE in the
Queen's New Year honours list.
Ron was also Chief of
Aerodynamics on Thrust SSC, the first car to break the sound
barrier in 1997 when driver Andy Green reached a top speed of
more than 763mph.
His MBE is for services to engineering, having worked in the
industry since 1950. He said: "I am very pleased to have been
chosen. I think it is very much a credit of all the people I have
worked with, because engineering is such a team activity."
Ron was also responsible for the shape of the JCB Dieselmax,
a 'streamliner' that used two digger engines to set a record of
350.092mph and became the World's fastest diesel powered
car.
Ambassadors in schools and clubs
BLOODHOUND ambassadors
play a vital role in fulfilling the
project's promise to promote
Science, Technology,
Engineering and Mathematics
(STEM). Our ambassadors are
trained and given the resources
to go into schools where they
explain the technology behind The BLOODHOUND Project, as
well as giving updates on the project's progress. There is
plenty of information about the ambassador programme on the
BLOODHOUND website, and a new film on its way, but here is
what it has meant to one of our long-term supporters.
A former teacher, Chris Henley has been an ambassador for
four years, starting with a Science Museum Open Day at
Wroughton Airfield near Swindon, where he and the team
helped visitors build around 1,000 balloon-powered cars! Since
then he has run over 30 BLOODHOUND sessions at schools,
Cub Scout packs and other establishments and assisted on
BLOODHOUND stands at events such as the Royal Bath &
West Show and the Royal International Air Tattoo.
Chris also runs two school BLOODHOUND clubs, one of which
has been going since 2009 - so far he's led around 170
sessions. One of the first members of his original club is now
working towards her GCSEs and is aiming to be an engineer,
for which Chris must have been one of her inspirations. After
speaking to nearly 3,000 people about BLOODHOUND and
helping around 1,400 people build their own balloon-powered
car you'd think Chris might want a break - but not a bit of it, as
he's started his third school BLOODHOUND club in January.
If you'd like a BLOODHOUND ambassador to come into your
school or club to talk about the car and engage children with
hands-on projects, please contact Dawn Fitt on
dawn.fitt@bloodhoundssc.com
Education update
In addition to its usual activities within schools and clubs, the
BLOODHOUND Education team is very excited to be focussing
on its Department for Education (DfE) contract to deliver
education and training in computer science associated STEM
resources. The DfE has provided funding support for 240 days
of workshops in England over the next 18 months. To
maximise impact we are teaming up with local authorities,
further education colleges and DfE designated teaching school
networks, to train those partners to continue to work with local
schools over the next three years and beyond.
The DfE programme will consist of one day per school for Key
Stage 2 and 3 students to attend and experience two to four
BLOODHOUND STEM and computer science workshops at
the hub venue. Then, in addition to the usual access to all
BLOODHOUND learning materials, live tests and live runs,
schools and students are provided with access to 6 weeks of
STEM and computer science materials on the BLOODHOUND
Blast platform. Any schools that are interested should contact
their local authority, FE college or designated teaching school
to ask to be put in touch with the BLOODHOUND Education
Team.
We have completed delivery of the first of the DfE Programmes
at Hereford Group Training Association (HGTA) through
Wigmore School, Hereford, which was very successful.
Events
Find out more about any of these and other future events on
the BLOODHOUND SSC website at
http://www.bloodhoundssc.com/events
The Big Bang - UK Young Scientists & Engineers Fair
13th-16th March 2014National Exhibition Centre,
Birmingham
See the BLOODHOUND show car and try out the activities on
the BLOODHOUND stand at the annual fair that demonstrates
how fun science and engineering can be! Register now - 13th
and 14th are reserved for schools groups and then the fair is
open to families and community groups on the 15th and 16th.
Find out more on The Big Bang website at
http://www.thebigbangfair.co.uk/
The Goodwood Festival of Speed
26th-29th June 2014
Goodwood Estate, Chichester, PO18 0PX
Find BLOODHOUND in its large pavilion on the cricket pitch at
the largest motoring garden party in the world! It will be a fitting
place to find out the latest news about our preparations for the
trip to the desert next year as the theme for Goodwood 2014 is
"Addicted to Winning - The Unbeatable Champions of Motor
Sport". Sounds just like BLOODHOUND!
Find out more on the Goodwood website at:
http://www.goodwood.co.uk/festival-of-speed
Visit the BLOODHOUND track in South Africa
We've received numerous enquiries about visiting
Hakskeenpan, the location of the BLOODHOUND World Land
Speed Record campaign, both before and during the runs, so
have put together a guide to visiting the Pan, which you can
find on the BLOODHOUND website.
Hakskeenpan is in the north west of South Africa, in the
Northern Cape province, which is accessible by an internal
flight from Johannesburg and then a 150 mile drive. The
nearest major town is Upington. Access to the site is limited to
prevent damage to the track itself, following the extensive
preparation work that has already been done, but it is possible
to visit the general area. In due course we expect that tour
operators or the Province itself will offer package holiday style
trips to coincide with the car running. We'll keep you posted so
watch this space or register your interest here
Support BLOODHOUND - The 1K Club
Support for the BLOODHOUND Project
continues through the 1K Club. At the
last event in Bristol in December more
than 120 supporters visited the build
centre and were treated to presentations
from the design and build team members - this was a
fascinating opportunity to hear first-hand the background to the
build of BLOODHOUND SSC.
At this event there was also a brilliant talk from the team from
Heathland School in Hounslow, describing how they built their
record-breaking 200mph+ rocket cars and ran them in their
playground. They then discussed how they are using CFD and
the output from their high speed videos to try to build a small
rocket car capable of 400mph. The BLOODHOUND SSC team
has helped them to secure Santa Pod for the runs and I hope
many of the 1K Club supporters will come and cheer them on!
Richard Noble was at the event too and, as ever, brilliantly
outlined the difficulties associated with running such a complex
programme of activity and the complexity of keeping the
momentum going. He echoed again the huge contribution the
1K Club has made to the project, not just in financial terms, but
also in providing a demonstrable indication of the level of
support and goodwill the project has. Richard had raided his
garage and brought some memorabilia for auction that went all
the way back to Thrust 1. Everyone who attended had a
brilliant day, as summed up by one of the attendees who said
he was nearly in tears and was proud to be British!
Now that we have settled into the new centre and have much
more to show in terms of the build of the car we will be running
visits much more regularly and, now that we have someone
responsible for the visits, the process will become much
smoother. Please look out for the unique Technical Centre
visits in our emails as the places sell out very quickly.
Find out more about 1K Club supporter benefits by visiting our
website.
Buy unique presents from BLOODHOUND
The BLOODHOUND online shop has a great range of unique
items for adults and children that would make ideal presents.
New items are being added all the time - the Corgi models
have returned after we sold all of the models in the country,
and at only 10 pounds (+ postage) is a really inexpensive
memento. The 'name on the tail fin' programme continues to be
a really popular gift. For those looking to learn more about the
history of land speed world records, the DVD "For Britain and
the Hell of it" (the story of Thrust2) contains additional footage
and commentary from Richard Noble and Andy Green,
providing a fantastic introduction to the next stage of the
BLOODHOUND Project and the difficulties that need to be
overcome to run the car.
Other unique presents include a range of DVDs, models of
BLOODHOUND SSC and Thrust SSC, mugs, sports bottles,
bags, clothing, badges, our beanie dog, a children's pack,
posters and a balloon car kit.
Come and explore the BLOODHOUND online shop at
http://www.bloodhoundssc.com/shop