Budweiser Rocket

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The Budweiser Rocket was a rocket vehicle with which the sound barrier was unofficially broken for the first time by a land vehicle on Rogers Dry Lake ( Edwards Air Force Base ) .

In 1979 Hollywood stuntman Stan Barrett tried to break the magic Mach 1 mark with the Budweiser Rocket Team . The vehicle was designed and built by William L. Fredrick from Chatsworth and owned by stuntman Hal Needham . With the predecessor model SMI Motivator , Kitty O'Neil had already broken the world speed record for women.

Initial trials on the Bonneville Flats failed: The surface of the track proved to be too rough, the 48,000 hp strong rocket engine developed not the necessary thrust and Barrett reached with the vehicle only about 1,100 km / h. So the team bought 6 solid fuel rockets from the US Air Force . Such an additional drive should be used for each record attempt. During the first launch with a solid rocket rocket, the enormous acceleration hit Barret in the neck and broke a cervical vertebra.

The record attempt was made on December 17, 1979 . Barrett reached a speed of 1,190 km / h with his Budweiser Rocket , which meant supersonic speed at the low temperatures in the area. The record is not officially recognized by the FIA , however, as the rocket car only had three wheels , only covered the distance in one direction, and the accuracy of the speed measurement was in doubt.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Stan Barrett: "Been there, done that." motorsportmagazine.com, accessed November 8, 2018.
  2. ↑ Land Speed ​​Mark at 638,637. The New York Times , September 10, 1979.
  3. ↑ Stunt Man Breaks Sound Barrier on Land. The New York Times, December 18, 1979.

See also

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