The Insane Engineering of a 1000mph Car
Summary
TLDRThis 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
🚀 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.
🏎️ 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.
🛠️ 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.
🚀 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.
🛑 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.
🏆 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.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Land Speed Record
💡Rosco McGlashan
💡Jet Engine
💡Rocket Engine
💡Aerodynamics
💡Thrust
💡Coefficient of Drag
💡Chassis
💡Braking Systems
💡Fuel and Propellant
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
thanks for watching and please consider
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