Turbinator

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The Turbinator is a turbine-equipped record car with which Don Vesco set a speed record for wheel-driven land vehicles at 739.4 km / h on October 18, 2001 .

From the idea to the usable concept

Although the land speed record has been a domain of vehicles with jet engines or rocket propulsion since 1963 , the Americans Don and Rick Vesco , sons of a father who was also involved in racing , began thinking about how to break the existing speed record especially for wheel-driven land vehicles. They chose a rather unscientific approach and determined things according to the judgment they had acquired through years of work in the profession: What turned out to be useful and cost little was used, the car should never see a wind tunnel . All the dangers of " overengineering " disappeared of their own accord . Rick was responsible for the design and assembly (mainly the chassis ) and Don designed and built the drive parts. Originally the frame was intended for engines of the Chevrolet “small-block engine” type , but Don Vesco sent two turbo Offenhauser midget engines that are generally regarded as reliable - if they are not “fudged” .

From the "banana helicopter" into the "record cigar"

Don Vesco gained the advantage of a different drive when he attended a demonstration of Bernie Little's racing boat, called Miss Budweiser , but a usable Lycoming T 55 gas turbine could not be easily obtained. Two years of economical management were necessary to be able to buy such a machine from a record driver colleague, which unfortunately soon collapsed. Number two was, after all, a patched up, no longer airworthy specimen from 1967 from a Chinook helicopter, as it was used in the Vietnam War . Instead of the previous name “111”, the project and vehicle were now given the name “Turbinator” . In order to avoid petty nuisance, the turbine outlet was placed so that the exhaust jet was directed vertically upwards - nothing but the four-wheel drive would move the car.

Trial and record drive

The complexity of the 5-speed gearbox used delayed the completion of the car, then Don Vesco lost an eye in an accident in 1995, which banned the Turbinator into the garage for years. In 1997, three brake parachutes failed while driving and caused the car to race over rough terrain, in 1998 one of the parachutes pulled sideways, Vesco went off course at 627 km / h and at times drove on two wheels. In August 1999 they drove 672 km / h, but the attempt did not meet FIA conditions. One particular problem had not been gotten rid of until 2001: A gearbox that reduced the high speed of the turbine by half was installed in front of the air inlet, thus obstructing the flow of air into the compressor part of the unit - resulting in cooling problems. Vesco had to take measures several times during its journeys to keep the outlet temperature below 815 ° C. On October 18, everything came together on the Bonneville Flats : an average speed of 739.4 km / h from trips in two directions set the world record.

Further planning

The Turbinator reached at the end of the measurement path a speed of 756 km / h, still accelerated. Therefore, after the death of his brother, Rick Vesco decided to exceed the 500 mph mark (804 km / h) with another driver , ideally on the five-mile salt strip that he used on the Bonneville Flats during " Speed ​​Week " Available. However, there would only be a good three miles left to stop. In order to facilitate the passage of air through the turbine, the car was lengthened by 70 centimeters and the reduction gear was moved. The goal was 4400 shaft horsepower at 16500 revolutions per minute.

In 2016, the team announced that they would get 4,500 hp and, together with driver Dave Spangler, achieved an average speed of 558 km / h at the World of Speed ​​on September 12th on the Bonneville Salt Flats. Damage to the car caused by a burst tire prevented further attempts. In 2017 they competed again and reached 701 km / h with driver Eric Ritter at least in one run. A rough salt surface and the defective shaft of the fuel pump caused the failure this time. After years of difficult conditions, Bonneville Speed ​​Week 2018 was able to take place on an exceptionally good salt surface: On August 13, Dave Spangler again drove the fastest flying mile at 745 km / h, but did not beat Don Vesco's record on average over two runs. This was achieved on September 15th at the World of Speed ​​event: Spangler set a new national record in class 3 / T with 777 km / h. The 500 mph (804 km / h) was close enough to touch, and they started again at the following World Finals and reached 793 km / h - a second run was still missing. That one was canceled due to the onset of rain. Meanwhile, all American national records this season had no prospect of recognition by the FIA . Team Vesco wants to look for a different route.

Technical specifications

length 9.50 m
width 0.91 m
Height (stern fin) 0.81 m
wheelbase 5.70 m
Weight 1536 kg
bikes two-part, made of a special alloy
tires 622 × 190 mm, tubeless
drive Lycoming T55-L-11A SA helicopter turbine with eight-stage compressor, 3750 WPS at 16000 min −1

swell

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ World of Speed ​​2016 results list of the Utah Salt Flats Racing Association (accessed September 25, 2016)
  2. ↑ Tom Wharton: Turbinator II clocks 435-mph run at World of Speed ​​on Bonneville Salt Flats , The Salt Lake Tribune, September 21, 2017 (accessed September 7, 2017)
  3. ↑ Phillip Thomas: 463.038MPH - Turbinator II takes the HOT ROD Magazine Trophy at Bonneville Speed ​​Week 2018! , Website "hotrod.com", August 17, 2018
  4. ^ Rob Stumpf: Wheel-Driven Car Sets New Bonneville Speed ​​Record at 483 MPH , website "thedrive.com", September 18, 2018
  5. ↑ Dave Spangler roared into history as the first wheel-driven automobile to exceed 500MPH on Utah's Bonneville Salt Flats , website "racingroundup.com", October 2, 2018
  6. ↑ Daniel Strohl: Rain dampens Team Vesco's attempt for 500 mph wheel-driven record , Hemmings Daily, October 8, 2018