Aim
- Profile 8, 600 mph.
Set-up
- Track 3, Km 0.2.
- 25C, 921 mb, sunny. Wind 1 o/c 3-6 mph.
- Fuel full.
Run Details
- 0820 local. Red AST failed to start the engine. Green AST best start yet, 45 sec, total engine running 10 min.
- Car positioning ideal close to the road, the ‘reverse turn’ onto the start line worked perfectly.
- Cockpit dust greatly improved, with no build up on the canopy, with just a little drifting dust visible in the cockpit air.
- Some vibration again felt through the suspension at around 500 mph, probably associated with surface texture changes near the causeway.
- Good accel, 180 mph at the road and 500 mph at the causeway.
- The Car handled well throughout, with minor drifting into the variable crosswind from the right, easily controlled.
- Some jumps on the main speedo (subsequently tracked to the Fin GPS). Digital backups good and cross-checked. Lift at just over 600, peak cockpit indication 608 mph. Subsequent GPS download indicated 628 mph peak speed, 1010 km/h.
- Chute at 590 mph, solid jolt as it deployed, good deceleration. Data indicates a minor ‘throttle bounce’ at this point, indicating a need for increased spring loading for future running.
- Brakes on at 250 mph, 45 Bar. L brake 290C.
- Stop at Km 14 (1.2 DTG), one km further than expected, due to increased peak speed.
- AMAD peak 75C.
Summary
A successful 628 mph (1010 km/h) run and chute deployment. This run completes all of the HST objectives.
Procedural Points
- Comms:
- Control radio (handset) failure, well diagnosed and resolved.
- Remember to use (correct) callsigns.
- ‘Reverse’ turn onto the start line gains another 2-300 m of track for high speed runs.
Technical Points
- Dust on the canopy is now mostly fixed, but a further check for evidence of dust ingress would be useful when the Car is stripped.
- Main speedo GPS data needs to be refined to improve accuracy.
- Increased throttle spring pressure/damping required.
