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Windjet Officially exceeds 100 mph |
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Wednesday, 05 December 2001 |
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| During today's test session, the Windjet land craft was officially clocked at over 100 mph, raising the British record to 102.3 mph (165.3km/h)
Taking to the Waddington runway at 1540h after a wave of Harrier aircraft, Windjet was able to fit fourteen full runs in before darkness closed in. Utilising a piece of GPS positioning equipment supplied by MTech Race Timing, speed readings could be taken five times per second. The same equipment has been used in the past during other officially recognised speed runs.
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"The level of detail in the readings taken from those fourteen runs is astounding," said Jenkins after reviewing the data. "For the first time we have been able to accurately scrutinise the performance of the craft many times per second which will enable us to optimise the acceleration process still further."
Speeds in excess of 90 mph were recorded on each of the fourteen runs
while three runs exceeded 100 mph. The fastest run of the session was
officially clocked at 102.3 mph (164.6 km/h).
Due to the recent unusual weather in the UK, this was the first real
high speed test opportunity since the first record challenge, at the
end of October. The modifications that have been made to deal with the
very gusty conditions at Waddington worked perfectly, with the vehicle
achieving excellent efficiencies.
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