The Insane Engineering of a 1000mph Car

Summary

This script highlights the remarkable journey of Rosco McGlashan, a man with an unwavering passion for speed and engineering. From starting with a rocket-powered 250 mph go-kart to designing the Aussie Invader 5R, a 200,000-horsepower vehicle capable of breaking the 1,000 mph barrier on land, Rosco's story is one of grit, determination, and incredible engineering feats. The video delves into the history of land speed records, the technical challenges faced by Rosco's team, and the meticulous design process behind the Aussie Invader 5R. With a blend of Rosco's wild experiences and the intricate details of the car's aerodynamics, propulsion, and safety systems, this script promises to captivate viewers with a thrilling tale of human ambition and innovation.

Takeaways

• 🏎️ The video discusses the quest of Rosco McGlashan to break the 1,000 mph land speed record with his Aussie Invader 5R rocket-powered vehicle.
• 🚀 The Aussie Invader 5R is a 16-meter-long, 9-ton car powered by a bipropellant rocket engine providing 62,000 pounds of thrust (equivalent to 200,000 horsepower).
• ⏱️ The car is designed to accelerate from 0 to 1,000 mph in just 22 seconds, covering the measured mile in 3.5 seconds for the record attempt.
• 🔬 Designing a vehicle capable of reaching such extreme speeds required extensive engineering considerations, including aerodynamics, chassis construction, and braking systems.
• 👨‍🔧 Rosco has been involved in various high-speed vehicles, starting with a V8-powered motorcycle, a rocket-powered bike, and a rocket-powered go-kart.
• 📈 Previous attempts at breaking the land speed record with the Aussie Invader 2 (in 1994) and Aussie Invader 3 (in 1996) were unsuccessful, with the latter being written off after a crash.
• 🏆 Andy Green and the British Thrust SSC team set the current land speed record of 763 mph in 1997, raising the bar significantly.
• 🚀 The Aussie Invader 5R has been designed with the potential to break the 1,000 mph barrier, with Rosco building the car in his home garage.
• 🛠️ The car's design involves a high-grade steel main frame, massive aerospace aluminum wheels, and a V-shaped underbelly to handle the shock wave at supersonic speeds.
• 💪 Rosco's passion, determination, and grit in pursuing his dream of becoming the fastest person on Earth are highlighted as driving forces behind the project.

Q & A

Who is attempting to break the 1,000 mph barrier on land?

Rosco McGlashan is attempting to break the 1,000 mph barrier on land with his vehicle, the Aussie Invader 5R.

What was the first ever recorded land speed record and in what year?

The first ever recorded land speed record was in 1899 in France, with a car powered by an electric motor reaching 39.24 mph.

When did a vehicle first break through the 100 mph barrier, and what powered it?

A vehicle first broke through the 100 mph barrier in 1904, powered by a 15L machine producing 50 horsepower.

What significant change occurred in land speed record vehicles in 1963?

In 1963, the significant change was the switch from internal combustion engines to jet engines for land speed record vehicles.

What rocket fuel did Rosco McGlashan's rocket powered bike use?

Rosco McGlashan's rocket powered bike ran on hydrogen peroxide rocket fuel.

What is the main difference between a jet engine and a rocket engine?

The main difference is that a jet engine draws in air from the atmosphere to burn fuel, relying on atmospheric oxygen for combustion, whereas a rocket engine carries its own oxygen to burn fuel.

What is the estimated horsepower of the Aussie Invader 5R?

The estimated horsepower of the Aussie Invader 5R is about 200,000 horsepower.

Why are there no tires on the Invader 5R's wheels?

There are no tires on the Invader 5R's wheels because at speeds of 1,000 mph, tires would simply disintegrate.

How does the Aussie Invader 5R plan to stop after reaching its top speed?

The Aussie Invader 5R plans to stop using a combination of engine shutdown, hydraulic air brakes, a high-speed parachute, a low-speed parachute, high-speed disc brakes, and an emergency brake.

What challenges does the Aussie Invader 5R face in its attempt to break the land speed record?

The Aussie Invader 5R faces technical and financial challenges, including dealing with the complexities of aerodynamics at supersonic speeds and ensuring sufficient funding for the project.

Outlines

00:00

🚀 Rosco McGlashan's Quest to Break 1,000 MPH on Land

The video introduces Rosco McGlashan, a passionate motorsport and engineering enthusiast, who aims to become the fastest man on Earth by breaking the 1,000 mph land speed record. It provides a brief history of the land speed record, tracing its evolution from the first recorded speed of 39.24 mph in 1899 to the current record of 763 mph set by Andy Green in 1997. The video also highlights some of Rosco's earlier exploits, including his involvement in drag racing with the Crazy Horse bike and the rocket-powered go-kart.

05:00

🏎️ Rosco McGlashan's Attempts at the Land Speed Record

The video follows Rosco McGlashan's journey in his pursuit of the land speed record. Starting with the Aussie Invader 1, a jet dragster that reached speeds over 300 mph, Rosco made his first attempt at the record in 1994 with the Aussie Invader 2, a car powered by a jet engine from a Mirage fighter jet. Although he became the fastest Australian at 618.3 mph, he couldn't break the overall record. A crash in 1995 ended the Invader 2's run, but Rosco persisted with the Aussie Invader 3, setting a new record of 643 mph in 1996, only to be surpassed by Andy Green's Thrust SSC team's record of 763 mph in 1997.

10:03

🛠️ The Aussie Invader 5R: Engineering a Rocket-Powered Supersonic Car

Rosco McGlashan's latest endeavor is the Aussie Invader 5R, a car designed to break 1,000 mph and potentially surpass the Thrust SSC's record. The video provides detailed insights into the engineering behind this incredible machine, including its 62,000 lbs of thrust equivalent to 200,000 horsepower, its 16-meter length, and its 9-ton weight, mostly from fuel. The car's design features a bipropellant rocket engine, seven 6-meter aluminum fuel tanks with pistons, a high-grade steel tube chassis, and massive 90cm tall aerospace aluminum wheels capable of rotating at 10,000 RPM.

15:04

🚀 Overcoming Aerodynamic Challenges at Supersonic Speeds

The video explores the aerodynamic challenges of designing a car that can safely reach and maintain supersonic speeds. It discusses the importance of optimizing the nose cone design, canards, tail fin, and V-shaped underbelly to maintain stability as the car passes through the sound barrier and experiences transonic and supersonic airflow. The team has relied on computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations and plans to conduct methodical tests to ensure the car can handle the complex aerodynamics at such high speeds.

20:05

🛑 Braking Systems for a Supersonic Car

The video explores the various braking systems employed by the Aussie Invader 5R to safely decelerate from 1,000 mph. These include engine shutdown, hydraulic air brakes, a high-speed parachute, a low-speed parachute, and high-speed disc brakes. The braking process is carefully planned, with each system deployed at specific speeds to ensure a controlled and gradual deceleration while avoiding excessive G-forces that could cause Rosco to blackout. The car also features an emergency brake system, a hydraulic steel ram with a flat metal plate, as a last resort in case other systems fail.

25:06

🏆 The Relentless Pursuit of Speed and Engineering Excellence

The video concludes by acknowledging the immense technical and financial challenges faced by Rosco McGlashan and his team in their pursuit of breaking the 1,000 mph barrier. Despite these obstacles, Rosco's unwavering determination, passion, and engineering expertise are highlighted as driving forces behind his relentless quest. The video also recommends Rosco's book, "Aussie Invader," as an engaging read that provides insights into his wild story and the engineering behind his land speed record attempts.

Keywords

💡Land Speed Record

The land speed record is the highest speed attained by a wheeled vehicle on land. It is a record that has been broken many times throughout history, with engineers and drivers pushing the limits of vehicle design and human endurance to achieve ever-faster speeds on the ground. The script traces the history of the land speed record, starting from the first recorded speed of 39.24 mph in 1899 and progressing through various milestones such as breaking the 100 mph, 200 mph, and 300 mph barriers. It highlights iconic vehicles like the Sunbeam 1000 HP and Malcolm Campbell's Blue Bird, which helped set new records in their respective eras.

💡Rosco McGlashan

Rosco McGlashan is an Australian engineer, racer, and land speed record contender who is the central figure in the video. He has a deep passion for motorsports and engineering, and his goal is to become the fastest person on Earth by breaking the 1,000 mph barrier. The script follows his journey from starting with a rocket-powered go-kart to designing and building the Aussie Invader series of vehicles, each more powerful and advanced than the last, in pursuit of the land speed record. McGlashan's determination, grit, and persistence in the face of setbacks and crashes are emphasized throughout the narrative.

💡Jet Engine

A jet engine is a type of aircraft engine that generates thrust by drawing in air from the atmosphere, compressing it, mixing it with fuel, and igniting the mixture. The resulting high-velocity exhaust gases are expelled through a nozzle, creating a powerful thrust that propels the aircraft forward. Jet engines were instrumental in breaking through the 400 mph barrier in land speed record attempts, as highlighted by Craig Breedlove's Spirit of America, a turbojet-powered vehicle that achieved 407 mph in 1963. The script contrasts jet engines with rocket engines, which carry their own supply of oxygen for combustion and do not rely on atmospheric air.

💡Rocket Engine

A rocket engine is a type of propulsion system that generates thrust by burning propellants (fuel and an oxidizer) in a combustion chamber and expelling the resulting high-velocity exhaust gases through a nozzle. Unlike jet engines, rocket engines carry their own supply of oxygen and do not rely on atmospheric air for combustion. This makes them suitable for applications such as spacecraft propulsion or, in the case of the land speed record, providing immense amounts of thrust for ground-based vehicles. The script focuses on Rosco McGlashan's use of rocket engines in his Aussie Invader series, particularly the Aussie Invader 5R, which is designed to produce 62,000 pounds of thrust (equivalent to around 200,000 horsepower) from a bipropellant rocket engine.

💡Aerodynamics

Aerodynamics is the study of the motion of air and other gases and their effects on solid bodies in motion. In the context of the land speed record, aerodynamics plays a crucial role in designing vehicles that can maintain stability and minimize drag at incredibly high speeds. The script highlights various aerodynamic features of the Aussie Invader 5R, such as the nose cone design, tail fin, canards (small winglets behind the front wheels), and the V-shaped underbelly of the main frame. These elements help keep the vehicle grounded, manage airflow, and prevent issues like the shock wave created when breaking through the sound barrier, which can destabilize the car and cause it to lift off the ground.

💡Thrust

Thrust is the force that propels an aircraft or vehicle forward. In the context of the land speed record, thrust is generated by the engines (jet or rocket) and is measured in pounds or newtons. The script highlights the massive amounts of thrust required to achieve speeds approaching and exceeding 1,000 mph, with Rosco McGlashan's Aussie Invader 5R designed to produce 62,000 pounds of thrust (equivalent to around 200,000 horsepower) from its rocket engine. This immense thrust is necessary to overcome the aerodynamic drag and inertia of the vehicle at such extreme speeds.

💡Coefficient of Drag

The coefficient of drag is a dimensionless quantity used in aerodynamics to quantify an object's resistance to motion through a fluid (typically air). It represents the ratio of the drag force to the force required to overcome the inertia associated with the object's velocity. The script mentions that Rosco McGlashan started the design process for the Aussie Invader 5R by understanding the shape of the vehicle and its coefficient of drag. This information was then used to determine the amount of thrust required from the rocket engine to overcome the aerodynamic drag and achieve the desired speed of 1,000 mph.

💡Chassis

The chassis is the main structural frame or skeleton of a vehicle, to which all other components are attached. In the case of the Aussie Invader 5R, the chassis is a 12-meter-long, high-grade steel tube with a diameter of nearly a meter. The script emphasizes the immense weight of this main frame (2.5 tons) and how it serves as the foundation for mounting other critical parts like the wheels, engine, and cockpit. The chassis must be designed to withstand the incredible forces and stresses generated at speeds approaching 1,000 mph while maintaining structural integrity and ensuring the safety of the driver.

💡Braking Systems

Braking systems are essential components in any vehicle, but they become even more critical when attempting to safely slow down from extreme speeds like those targeted by the Aussie Invader 5R. The script mentions that the vehicle has five different braking systems: engine shutdown, hydraulic air brakes, a high-speed parachute, a low-speed parachute, and an emergency brake. These systems work in a coordinated sequence, gradually decelerating the vehicle over a distance of 8 miles to prevent excessive negative G-forces that could cause the driver to lose consciousness. The braking systems must be carefully engineered to handle the immense kinetic energy and momentum of the vehicle at such high speeds.

💡Fuel and Propellant

Fuel and propellant refer to the substances that provide the energy for propulsion systems like rocket engines. In the case of the Aussie Invader 5R, the vehicle carries both fuel and an oxidizer (a substance that provides oxygen for combustion) as propellants. The script highlights the unique challenges of feeding these propellants to the rocket engine while the vehicle is moving horizontally at high speeds. The solution involves seven 6-meter-long aluminum tubes with pistons that push the propellants into the engine's injector, preventing the liquids from sloshing around and destabilizing the car during acceleration. The script also notes that the Invader 5R carries nearly 3 tons of liquid propellants, which contributes significantly to the vehicle's overall weight.

Highlights

The first ever land speed record was recorded in 1989 in France, just 3 years after the first car was invented, with a car powered by an electric motor that completed a flying kilometer at 39.24 mph.

The 100 mph barrier was broken in 1904 with a 15 L machine that produced 50 horsepower.

The 200 mph barrier was broken in 1927 with the Sunbeam 1,000 horsepower, a car with two 22 L aircraft engines producing around 900 horsepower.

Malcolm Campbell broke the 300 mph barrier in 1935 using a 37 L Rolls-Royce V12 engine producing 2,300 horsepower.

The 400 mph barrier was broken in 1963 by Craig Breedlove in the Spirit of America, a turbojet-powered vehicle that reached 407 mph over one mile.

The 500 mph barrier was broken in 1964 by Craig Breedlove in the Spirit of America Sonic 1, powered by a more powerful jet engine from an F4 Phantom.

The 600 mph barrier was broken in 1970 by Gary Gabelich in the Blue Flame, a rocket-powered vehicle producing 22,000 pounds of thrust, reaching over 650 mph.

The 700 mph barrier was broken in September 1997 by Andy Green in the Thrust SSC, which averaged 763 mph over one mile.

Rosco McGlashan is an Australian engineer and the driver of the Aussie Invader, a series of vehicles he designed and built to break the land speed record.

Rosco's first attempt at the land speed record was in 1994 with the Aussie Invader 2, which had a jet turbine from a Mirage fighter jet producing 36,000 horsepower. He became the fastest Australian, achieving 671.3 km/h (416.9 mph).

In 1995, the Aussie Invader 2 crashed at nearly 600 mph but was rebuilt as the Aussie Invader 3, which clocked 643 mph in 1996, breaking the previous world record but not achieving an official two-way pass.

After Andy Green's Thrust SSC broke the record at 763 mph in 1997, Rosco began designing the Aussie Invader 5R, a bipropellant rocket-powered car capable of reaching 1,000 mph.

The Aussie Invader 5R is 16 meters long, weighs 9 tons (mostly fuel), and is powered by a rocket engine producing 62,000 pounds of thrust, equivalent to 200,000 horsepower.

The Aussie Invader 5R will accelerate from 0 to 1,000 mph in just 22 seconds, covering the measured mile in 3.5 seconds, and then decelerating over another 8 miles using various braking systems.

The aerodynamic design, including the nose cone, tail fin, canards, and V-shaped underbelly, helps maintain stability and control at transonic and supersonic speeds, especially when passing through the sound barrier.

Transcripts

this man is trying to break 1,000 miles

hour on land his name is Rosco mcglashan

and he has so much passion and grit for

Motorsport and Engineering that I think

he might just do it I'm Rosco mcglashan

and I'm going to be the fastest man on

earth I spoke to him to understand how

he's gone from a rocket powered 250 mph

go-kart to designing a 200,000

horsepower vehicle with the potential to

break 1,000 mph and the engineering

behind it so we're talking about the

land speed record here and that's a

record that's been broken many times

over the years so let's take a really

brief look at how the cars have

developed first ever land speed record

was recorded in 1989 in France and I

love this it was only 3 years after the

first ever car was invented the car was

actually powered by an electric motor

and completed a flying kilometer in 57

seconds which is a massive 39.2 4 mph

the competition then quickly raged on

being broken another four times before

passing through the 60 mph barrier with

the first vehicle produced specifically

for this record the Jame contant Just 4

months later it then took another 5

years to break through the 100 m hour

barrier in 1904 with this 15 L machine

that produced a massive 50 horsepower

but it then took 23 years to break the

200 mph barrier with the beautiful

Sunbeam 1,000 horsepower also called the

slug this car had two 22 L aircraft

engines and although it had 1,000

horsepower in its name it was actually

closer to 900 the next Milestone was 300

mph and things were progressing quickly

with this record only taking another 8

years to surpass with Malcolm Campbell

of the wheel in 1935 so Malcolm hopes to

be the first man to achieve a speed of

300 mph again this is a beautiful car

this time using a 37 l Rolls-Royce V12

producing

2,300 horsepower so the next barrier to

be broken was 400 mph in 1963 and this

is when we get rid of the internal

combustion engine and turn instead to

Jets however it is worth noting that a

top speed of 400 mph had already been

surpassed by John Cobb in 1947 400 mph

on the ground using 48 L of internal

combustion engine although not across

back-to- back runs which is required for

the official record but it was Craig

Breedlove who was officially the first

person to break the 400 mph barrier

Craig Breedlove wants to build and drive

the world's fastest car and break the

world land speed record Craig was

driving the spirit of America a turbojet

powered vehicle that got to 407 mph over

1 mile in 1963 but a record that was to

be broken another four times in 1964

with Craig then being the first person

to break the 500 mph barrier in the

spirit of America Sonic 1 with a more

powerful jet from an F4 Phantom 2 600

mph was broken through in 197

by the blue

flame a rocket powered vehicle producing

22,000 of thrust pushing it to a top

speed of just over 650 mph on October

23rd 1970 Gary gabelich secured himself

one more time in the cockpit of the blue

flame a car designed with one purpose in

mind to capture the land speed record it

then took another 27 years to break the

700 mph barrier in September 1997 with

Andy green and the Thrust

SSC this footage was from just 3 weeks

later when the Thrust SSC completed

another run and averaged

763 mph over a mile so what happened

after this well actually this is the

last time the land speed record was

broken 26 years ago so is it even

possible to break 1,000 M hour well Andy

seemed to think so and was more than

right with his production from 1997 you

could build 1,000 M on our car but I

think the technology and the money

involved it would take you about 20

years to do it but don't worry the story

doesn't end there we do have a race to

1,000 mil hour and the contenders are

the Bloodhound LSR team and Rosco

mcglashan with the Aussie Invader 5r who

I spoke to on the driver 61 podcast

Rosco is an incredibly interesting guy

so before we get into the engineering

let me tell you a little bit more about

him and the crazy Machinery he's driven

or ridden from a VA drag bike with no

clutch to a 250 mph rocket powered

go-kart to his land speed record

attempts and his bid to break 1,000 mph

but before we get into Rosco's wild

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back to the video so Ros go speed story

starts with a bike named The Crazy Horse

the Crazy Horse was a V8 Chevy powered

motorbike that was used for drag racing

with a 9.1 second qum best time and a

top speed of 172 mph now I'm all for

going quick in a race car but drug bikes

just aren't for me I mean just look at

at the rider's position the engine's so

big on this thing that he's got nowhere

to put his legs and it didn't even have

a clutch so to start it he had to rev it

up with the rear wheel spinning on the

stand then drop it off the stand and

then deal with whatever wheel spin the

bike had and according to Rosco it only

just started gaining traction towards

the end of the quarter mile if that

wasn't exciting enough Rosco then moved

on to a rocket powered bike which was so

fast it was banned from the Australian

tracks it ran on hydrogen peroxide

rocket fuel which at first was extremely

hard to come by before being banned by

the Australian government so in what

looks like an effort to improve safety

Rosco moved to the protection of four

wheels with a rocket powered go-kart now

I'd be slightly more comfortable getting

in this than the Crazy Horse but not by

much this thing did the quarter mile in

5.9 seconds and reached a top speed of

253 mph to put that into perspective the

Red Bull rb7 F1 car did the quarter mile

in 9.2 seconds and RCN does it in 8.2

and even the Top Fuel dragster only does

it in about 4 seconds but again that

wasn't enough a for Rosco he wanted to

go even faster and so he started his

journey into jet power vehicles starting

with the Aussie Invader one and there he

is the man himself Rosco mcglashan and

the Aussie Invader jet dragstar it was a

dragster that produced

65,000 of thrust and could reach a top

speed of over 300 mph and as you can

imagine this thing was absolutely wild

with lots of fire smoke and noise he

lets the brakes open drives it straight

down the middle of the track it looks

like it's going to be a good one lots of

fire lots of nor Rosco's gone there with

an 874 at 372 kmph but that wasn't fast

enough what Rosco really wanted was to

be the fastest person in the world and

so his first attempt at the land speed

record was with the Aussie Invader 2

Rosco mcglashan came here putting 10

years of hard work and millions of

dollars worth of other people's time and

money on the line and this thing was

serious it had an atar 09 C5 jet turbine

as used in a mirage fighter jet The

Invader 2 was 4,100 kg 8.5 M long and

had 36,000 horsepower I mean just look

at it it's not the prettiest machine but

it does look like it's going to get the

job done and so in 1994 Rosco went out

with the Invader 2 at Lake Gardner in

Australia for context at this point in

time the last record had been set by rid

Noble in the thrust 2 at 634 mph but had

remained unbeaten for over a decade

initially Rosco's goal was to become the

fastest Aussie in the world which he

managed to achieve his wife Cheryl

anxiously watching and waiting asore HED

they'd be a beautiful set of numbers and

they were the average speed for the two

runs was

81.3 km hour we can bring the champagne

so we've got it guys we got it so

mightily impressive but still not enough

for Rosco there was still the overall

land speed record to beat and the title

of the fastest person on Earth so in

1995 the team returned to try again

though things didn't go well at almost

600 mph The Invader tube broke through

the salt surface and veered off course

crashing through timing equipment that

was located 200 meters from the track's

measured mile a timing marker went

through the engine kill this engine Big

Black Plum out the back of the engine

and the noise that made went ahe it's

just absolute mindboggling I got out the

car I'm still alive and that was the end

of the Aussie Invader 2 it was

completely written off but even after a

crash and not managing to break the

record Rosco moves straight on to the

Aussie Invader 3 he gets down and and in

the dumps for probably about 5 or 10

minutes after a disappointment and then

he's back again The Invader 3 was The

Reincarnation of the two so it still had

36,000 horsepower and a Kevlar composite

body again designed and built in

Australia no one could appreciate how

many uh how many mans are going into

building this and how much work and uh

to think that this car has been built

here in this shed and that's what I love

about these projects these guys are

doing incredible things with quite a

small team they are purely driven by

Passion and I think we can all connect

with that and you might ask what's the

point in doing this spending all this

time effort and resource and just going

faster but it's simply to see if they

can so in 1996 Rosco went back to Lake

Gardner to try and beat Richard Noble

634 mph with a new faster car Aussie

Invader 3 Rosco clock

643 mph in 1996 breaking Richard Noble's

World Mark however requiring a two-way

pass to make it official the team was

again beaten by bad weather however

things got even worse for the Aussie

Invader team in 1997 Andy green and the

British Thrust SSC team raised the bar

to

763 mph the biggest increase the land

speed record had ever seen and one that

Rosco knew his Invader 3 couldn't get

close to it just wasn't designed for

that kind of speed so as usual Rosco

picked himself up and started again with

his eyes on this new and incredible

Benchmark he spent the next 10 years

planning and designing a car that could

beat the thrust SSC and potentially

break through the 1,000 mph barrier and

that's where we're up to currently with

the Aussie Ina 5 this is a typical

Suburban Street on perth's Northern

beaches now people build their big

houses here their big garages check out

what this guy has in his garage yes

Rosco is building a car capable of

breaking 1,000 mph in his garage at home

this car has been designed to travel

from zero to 1,000 600 km an hour that's

almost 1 and 1/2 times the speed of

sound in just 20 seconds okay so let me

give you the incredible stats for this

part of the video I've relied heavily on

the interview with Rosco and his book

which again you should check out it's an

absolutely brilliant Story by Mark Reed

so the car it's constructed with a

bipropellant rocket engine providing

62,000 of thrust equivalent to about

200,000 horsepower its size is Big too

with a length of 16 M and a weight of 9

tons which is mostly Fuel and really in

essence this car is pretty simple it's

basically a huge rocket which burns fuel

with exhaust gases coming out of the

back and pushing the car forward so what

will this record attempt actually look

like well the car will take about 3 m

and just 22 seconds to accelerate to the

measured mile this is where the world

record attempt and the speed measurement

begins and hopefully at this point Rosco

will be doing the s estimated 1,000 mph

once Rosco gets to this marker he'll

actually throttle back slightly reducing

power but maintaining speed otherwise

the extra speed would literally rip the

wheels apart as he'll be traveling at

1,000 mph the mile will be covered in

just 3 and 1 half seconds after which

his only job will be to stop the vehicle

as safely as possible the deceleration

period will take another 8 mil which

seems like a long way but it's for good

reason first if you were to shut the

engines off too quickly Rosco would

experience a high negative G and would

probably pass out which wouldn't be

great and second the wheels would likely

lose traction again not what you want in

1,000 mph braking zone so where do you

even start when designing a car like

this well you start with the main thing

stopping any car from going faster the

air before knowing what was needed from

the rocket Rosco needed to understand

the shape of the vehicle he was going to

be pushing through the air and most

importantly the coefficient of drag once

he had that he sent the findings to

Rocket expert and CEO of Rocket lab

Peter Beck to understand how much thrust

he was going to require which as

mentioned was £62,000 worth and capable

of getting to 1,000 mph in 22 seconds

and I'll be honest I have no idea what

200,000 horsepower or 62,000 of thrust

really means or what it would look like

so here's a video of a rocket producing

£ 54,000

and for a moment just imagine being

strapped to that now one issue with

rocket engines compared to jet engines

is that they're much less predictable to

drive which isn't great for the dri and

you might also be asking what is the

difference between a rocket and a jet

engine well a jet engine draws in air

from the atmosphere in order to burn the

fuel relying on the oxygen in the air

for combustion whereas a rocket engine

carries its own supply of oxygen to burn

that fuel now there are many technical

challenges but one of the biggest

problems to solve is the fact that this

rocket is driving along the ground not

flying off into space this means that

feeding the rocket with fuel is a

problem as it's moving horizontally and

not vertically to resolve this the car

has seven 6 M long aluminium tubes that

have Pistons to push the propellants

into the engine's injector then when the

propellants meet the engine they ignite

spontaneously and a load of thrust is

created and another reason these tanks

are configured like this with pistons is

so the liquid doesn't just slush around

the last thing you want when

accelerating to 1,000 mph is almost 3

tons of liquid moving about side to side

and front to rear that isn't very good

for the handling of a car and what's

incredible is that Rosco's team have

designed all of this themselves as

apparently they couldn't find anything

off the shelf which isn't really a

surprise so we've got enough power but

how do we we hold everything together

the main part of the chassis is 12 M

long with the whole Invader 5r being 16

M now that's very long about 1 and a

half times the length of a bus and it's

so long purely because of the amount of

fuel that it needs to carry the main

frame is a high-grade steel tube which

is just under a meter in diameter it was

rolled from a flat piece of 10 mm thick

steel and seam welded at the join and

just this Mainframe alone weighs 2 and

1/2 tons that is a of metal mounted from

the main frame are the wheels two at the

back with a 2.3 M track and two

positioned very close together at the

front and these wheels are a really

beautiful piece of engineering the front

wheels are positioned under the Bodywork

for aerodynamics and they're placed only

30 mm apart now the Invader 5r could

just use three wheels with one at the

front but that means that it then

wouldn't qualify for the world record

for which it needs four each wheel is

made from some very expensive sounding

Aerospace aluminium and they're massive

90 cm tall and almost 20 cm wide and

they weigh 140 kg each now just take a

moment and think about what the wheel is

actually doing here yes they're big for

the stability and the weight of the

vehicle but they're also spinning

incredibly quickly at 1,000 mph they'll

be rotating close to their 10,000 RPM

limit put that into perspective that's

about 10 times the RPM of a road car

wheel and tire and that's one of the

reasons The Invader 5 doesn't have tires

at those speeds they simply disintegrate

and the car could actually accelerate

faster but the team are holding it back

because of the Integrity of the wheels

if the car speeds up too quickly the

wheels which aren't driven wouldn't be

able to spin up quickly enough this

could mean that the wheels are all

spinning at different speeds to each

other and a different speed to the

vehicle as a whole this in turn could

cause a loss of traction which gain

isn't what you want but with the tanks

taking up so much space where exactly

does the driver sit and what are the

considerations for the cockpit well

first of course it needs to be as safe

as possible so Rosco will have a web of

thick and strong tubing around him along

with all the safety devices you'd find

in a race car but one thing that you

might not think about is the potential

for not being able to see exactly where

you're going Rosco is going to be

strapped to a rocket with solid wheels

and very limited suspension the

vibration are going to be huge and if

you can't see where he's going then

it'll be a massive problem so the seat

will be mounted on rubber and the roll

cage will be strategically mounted to

the main frame in order to reduce the

vibration as much as possible and the

position of the cockpit within the

entire car is also important for example

Spirit of America and Thrust SSC have

their cockpits and Drive-In position

just behind the front wheels according

to Rosco sitting in that position means

you can see and feel what the front of

the car is doing but you have little or

no idea what's happening at the rear so

if the rear of the car is losing control

the driver might not feel it right away

and that's a huge problem but the

Invader team realized that the best

place for the driver is to sit about 2/3

of the way down the car just behind the

center of gravity there Rosco can feel

what's happening at the back of the car

while still seeing the front and the

team have learned from other previous

attempts as well when driving the Sonic

arrow car at 650 mph Craig breed was

thrown to one side which in turn caused

his foot to get jammed on the throttle

pedal so to protect from this The

Invader team have two throttle pedals

instead of one if Rosco lifts his foot

from either pedal the engine will shut

down avoiding the issue that breed have

had okay so we have power we have a

chassis and we have a small space for

the driver but how do we keep it all on

the ground after all this car is

basically a massive rocket and Rockets

are designed to go that way well this is

where aerodynamics come in and as you

know we love aerodynamics on this

channel aerodynamicists around the world

are still understanding and evolving the

theory of aerodynamics it's deliciously

complicated unfortunately William didn't

join me on this video but the arrow is

still

delicious the main things for the arrow

are the nose cone design the tail fin

the canards which are the winglets just

behind the front wheels and the v-shaped

underbelly of the Mainframe all of these

things will help keep the wheels

connected to the surface when driving at

1,000 mph first let's talk about the

normal Arrow before we get into the

problem of passing through the sand

barrier which is quite a big problem

actually just behind the front wheels we

have these canards basically they're

little winglets that arej just the way

over the front wheels and help keep the

car stable and it's important to think

about how the car's weight will be

reducing quickly during the run as it

uses its propellant the center of

gravity will also be changing and so the

balance of the car the canards are there

to offset that issue as the car Burns

propellant the front of the car becomes

lighter and lighter and so the canards

will add more angle and therefore more

load to the front wheels to keep them

connected to the surface on the other

side of things if they have too much

load which could cause the front to dig

into the surface the canards will help

unload now one of the most important

error parts of the Invader is the nose

cone as with an F1 car the nose sets up

the air flow over the rest of the car

but when you going through the sand

barrier the aerodynamics get a bit weird

back in 1979 St Barett was the first

person to break through the sand barrier

in the Budweiser rocket but things went

wrong and he was extremely lucky to

survive when a car or a plane passes

through the speed of sand it creates a

shock wave which can really disrupt the

air flow and stability but compared to

planes the effect on a car is stronger

because the ground bounces that shock

wave back into the car so when the

Budweiser rocket created the shock wave

it lifted its rear wheels off the ground

for over 250 M at which point it's pure

luck as to whether you crash or not

luckily Stan did not Stan had broken the

sound barrier as he'd approached mark

one his two back wheels left the ground

he'd gone Supersonic and come

dangerously close to death so the

invaded team designed the chassis with

an unusual vshape this is for stability

when the car crew creates the shock wave

the vshape softens the blow somewhat and

keeps the car more stable now

controlling the shock wave is one thing

but there's more when the car is running

subsonic below the speed of sound a lot

of the airflow can be predicted as

there's a decent amount of data

available on cars running at this speed

but the problem comes when traveling at

transonic and supersonic speeds now

transonic speed is when some parts of

the car have subsonic airflow and other

parts have supersonic air flow what what

exactly does this mean and how does it

happen well to use an example imagine a

car is around the speed of sound you

have air flowing over the car under the

car and around the sides but the air

flowing under the car might move faster

in areas than the air flowing over the

car that means that you'll have some air

that's subsonic and some that's

supersonic basically when the car

reaches and passes through the speed of

sound it causes complex aerodynamics

around the car with different air

pressures and forces acting on it but

all you need to know really is that

ultimately it reduces the stability of

the car as you might imagine there's

very little real world data about

supersonic cars running on the ground as

opposed to supersonic planes so the team

have used cfd to design the nose cone

and the rest of the car to optimize for

Trans and supersonic speeds but while it

provides good insights they know they

need real world data so they plan to run

preliminary trials and methodical tests

to ensure that they step their way up to

speed pretty safe in the knowledge that

the car isn't going to take off or be

too disrupted by unusual air flows so

imagine Rosco's averaged over 1,000 mph

over the timing mile he's done it it's

all great but now he needs to slow down

and ideally from his own instruction and

we want to slow down quickly but not too

quickly in fact it's going to take over

8 miles but for good reason if Rosco

just shuts the engine off at 1,000 milph

he'd experience negative 16g at which

point he'd black out and not be ready

for the champagne at the end of the run

and we want to make sure that we're belt

and braces here so the Invader has five

braking systems engine shutdown

hydraulic air brakes a highspeed

parachute a lowp speed parachute and an

emergency break now that sounds like a

lot but he will be doing 1,000 mph after

all first the engine shutdown basically

Rosco lifts his foot off one of the two

throttles and the engine will transition

into deceleration mode don't forget the

car is creating so much drag it will

actually decelerate incredibly quickly

then at 800 mph he'll deploy the air

brakes they're located just behind the

driver and continue to slow the car

before the high-speed parachute is

deployed at 600 mph then the low speed

parachute is deployed at 400 mph and

finally at 200 mph The Invader will use

highp speed disc brakes to bring the car

to a complete stop but what about the

emergency brake well of course this is

only to be used if one or more of the

other braking systems fail and it's very

simple it's basically a hydraulic steel

Ram with a flat metal plate on the end

it can be lowered from the bottom of the

car and would dig into the ground to

stop it probably not the best way to

stop the car so let's hope that Rosco

doesn't need to use it and so the big

question will Rosco and his team

actually make this happen well there's

no getting around that technically and

financially it's a huge challenge but

having spoken to him on the podcast I

can safely say that he will never give

up and I absolutely love that grit and

determination I've also read his book

which is a wild story that confirms his

True Grit and is actually very

interesting from an engineering

perspective too I really recommend the

read you can find the book at Aussie

invader.zim ating engineering check that

out just here or click here for more

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