Dear All,
Apologies to all the loyal followers of the project for the length of time since the last update.
In May we announced that the Bloodhound car has moved to its new location at the Coventry Transport Museum. This move was the result of a lot of effort by all involved to maintain the project throughout this very difficult 18 months period.
First – I want to make it clear that the museum is not a permanent home for the car. With such a strong following, the car should be on display and accessible to those who want to see it and visitor numbers at the museum over the past month have benefitted as a result. Its new location also gives Bloodhound Education a second base centrally located allowing them to continue their fantastic STEM inspiration in collaboration with the museum.
Now that the car is on display, the team can focus its attention on raising the necessary funds to complete the final record breaking phase.
We have worked closely with our partners – South Gloucestershire and Stroud UTC Berkeley Green – who continue to support us, so all required equipment for the project’s next phase remains safely stored. Importantly, the contract for use of the EJ200 engines was extended and renewed – so this is very much still a live project!
From a personal point of view, when I stepped in to save the project in December 2018, I did not expect to end up running the project – merely to help with funding – so the past couple of years have been an unexpected privilege. After restarting the project, our plans were HST 2019 and a new World record in 2020. We did the first bit to great success – but the global pandemic has now effectively meant a 3 year delay. As a result, I do need to be progressing with my other plans in life which I put on hold back in 2018.
The great news that I want to announce is that Stuart Edmondson, who has been the Engineering Operations Manager over the past 5 years has stepped up and taken charge of running the project and is the new CEO. This has allowed me to effectively pass the baton. Over the past few months, I have been handing over responsibility to Stuart as he prepares to restart fund raising initiatives.
As we emerge out of the pandemic, and Richard Branson and Jeff Bezos fulfil their dreams of travelling to space, now is the right time for Bloodhound to burst back on the scene bringing excitement of supersonic, rocket powered travel at ground level attempting to set a new World Record for the next generations.
I trust you will all join me in supporting Stuart as he searches for the last piece of funding.
Thanks always for your unwavering support to this inspiring project.
Ian
