Bloodhound... 1,000 mph !

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Gotta wonder how much actual control the "driver" of such a vehicle has, and how much is actually done by some type of sensor-driven, computer-processed autopilot system.

On one hand, it takes some of the awe and admiration out of the effort to think the driver is not much more than a cargo consignment along for the ride. On the other hand, considering the history of fatal and near-fatal crashes in pursuit of various land speed records, there's something to be said for a vehicle that can drive itself, with 200 pounds of sand sitting in for a human driver, on a few test runs before a real person takes the controls.

I was an elementary school student in the early 1960's when several attempts at the land speed record were made at Bonneville, Utah. Our class had a "current events" session once or twice a week, when students were expected to bring in a news story from the newspaper or magazine and explain it to the class. I recall the day when half the boys in class brought in the SAME news story - featuring graphic crash photos of one of those jet-powered cars. (As I recall, the driver was unhurt and returned to set a new record the following season.)

Dale
 
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I can remember watching the videos of the first super sonic car doing its runs and went as far as buying a scale model of the car.
 

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