Art Arfons
Arthur Eugene "Art" Arfons (* 3. February 1926 in Akron , Ohio ; † 3. December 2007 ) was an American Dragster - and Powerboat - racers , Tractorpuller and three-time land speed record holder .
In 1964 and 1965, Arfons improved the land speed record three times with his special vehicle called the Green Monster on the Bonneville Flats in the Great Salt Flats . Arfons built and designed his wagons, boats and tractors largely himself together with his half-brother Walt Arfons (1916-2013). These mostly had a jet engine .
Record vehicles
The first Green Monster was a three-wheeled dragster in 1952, powered by the six-cylinder engine of an Oldsmobile - painted in green tractor paint. From vehicle number 3, green was no longer the dominant color, but the name remained. When the brothers competed with the original Green Monster for the first time, the announcer said: "Okay folks here it comes; The Green Monster". The vehicle only reached 137 km / h.
Monster Green Number 2 was a 6 m long six-wheeled vehicle driven by an Allison - aircraft engine 2000 HP. This time the maximum speed was 435 km / h, with a starting speed of 225 km / h after eight seconds. Green Monster Number 6 was the first dragster, which the mark of 150 mph (241 km / h broke) on the quarter mile. With Green Monster number 11, Arts favorites, they hit 191 mph, beating Don Garlits . Then the Arfons brothers parted as dragster drivers.
The most famous Green Monster was powered by a General Electric J79 jet engine with up to 17,000 hp , which came from a Starfighter jet fighter . Art had bought the engine from a scrap dealer for $ 600. When he attached it to trees in his garden for a push test , the neighbors complained. The vehicle won the land speed record three times in 1964/65 with 434, 536 and 576 mph. In 1966 it only achieved an average of 554 mph in Bonneville . In the seventh run, a frozen ball bearing caused a crash at 610 mph (982 km / h). He then built a new Green Monster, which he sold to a Californian farmer. In 1989 he competed in Bonneville with Green Monster number 27.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Do it yourself . In: Der Spiegel . No. 48 , 1964, pp. 98 ( online ).
Web links
- Arfons victim "Gene Thomas" at motorsportsmemorial.com (engl.)
- Arthur E. Arfons Obituary at Ohio.com (Eng.)
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Arfons, Art |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Arfons, Arthur Eugene |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American racing driver |
| DATE OF BIRTH | February 3, 1926 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Akron , Ohio |
| DATE OF DEATH | December 3, 2007 |
| Place of death | Akron , Ohio |