North American Eagle Project

North American Eagle Project
The land speed record car

The North American Eagle Project is a jet-powered automobile that is intended to challenge the 763 mph (Mach 1.02) land speed record set by the ThrustSSC in 1997. It is a cooperation of Canadian and American engineers, pilots and mechanics. Their goal is 1,300 km/h (808 mph), or Mach 1.058. [1]

Contents

The vehicle

Length - 56 feet (17.07 m)

Weight - 13,000 lb (5,900 kg)

Chassis - F-104A-10 Starfighter with North American Eagle design suspension and systems integration.

Powerplant

Engine - General Electric LM - 1500 Turbojet (a variation of the GE J79) supplied by S&S Turbine Services, Ltd., Ft. St. John, BC.

Thrust:

  • Stock Engine for low speed testing: 42,500 hp (31.7 MW)
  • Specially Enhanced Engine for record: 52,000 hp (52,700 metric horsepower)

Fuel Consumption - Stock engine

  • Idle: 40 US gallons (151 L; 33 imp gal) per minute
  • 100% military: 80 US gallons (303 L; 67 imp gal) per minute
  • Full AB: 90 US gallons (341 L; 75 imp gal) per minute

Braking Systems

Four methods are used to decelerate the vehicle. (1) High speed air brakes, formerly used as dive brakes on the F-104. (2) High speed parachutes deployed at 700 mph (3) Low speed parachutes deployed at < 350 mph (4) Anti skid neodymium magnet or NIB magnet, neodymium iron boron — Nd2Fe14B rare-earth magnet

Aviation History

Lockheed F-104A-10 Starfighter, tail number 56-0763, serial # 1051 was manufactured in the Lockheed Burbank factory. The aircraft was designed by Kelly Johnson, Lockheed Skunkworks. It was assigned to Edwards AFFTC (Air Force Flight Test Center) from August 29, 1957 until 1970 when it was retired. Initially the aircraft was used as a GE test platform for the J79 engine. It was later used as a chase aircraft for the X-15, SR-71(A) Blackbird and XB-70A Valkyrie test programs. It was flown by Joe Walker, Scott Crossfield, Pete Knight, Bill Dana, Chuck Yeager, Joe Engle and Bob Gilliland among other notable pilots.

Test Runs

Fourteen engine test runs were first conducted in June of 2004, with the last two in full afterburner. These were performed on a test stand at S&S Turbine Services, Ft. St. John, BC, Canada. In December 2004, the first engine runs in the vehicle were performed. A total of 23 test runs have been completed between March 2006 and June 2008. Speeds as high as 400 mph have been claimed, but not verified. Testing has been conducted at Toledo Airport in Washington State, Edwards AFB, CA. El Mirage Dry Lake, CA. and Black Rock Desert, NV.

See also

External links

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