new water speed record attempt

Discussion in 'Boat Design' started by whitepointer23, May 19, 2014.

  1. whitepointer23

    whitepointer23 Previous Member

    on sunday ken warby rang in on abc radio to announce that he and his son have almost finished a new boat and are fitting the jet engine this week . his son is going to pilot it and try to beat his dads best of 511 kmh. i thought this might be of interest to the speed freaks out there.
     
  2. Mr Efficiency
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    Mr Efficiency Senior Member

    I wonder what mum thinks.
     
  3. daiquiri
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    daiquiri Engineering and Design

    So true. :D
     
  4. whitepointer23

    whitepointer23 Previous Member

    he promised to do the dishes for a week if she let him play.
     
  5. whitepointer23

    whitepointer23 Previous Member

    i always wonder if jet powered boats like warbys and campbells truly qualify as boats. to me they are more like hybrid aircraft. should a boat attempting a water speed obtain its thrust in the water by propellor ?. if you put a long skeg under a jet fighter and fly it with the skeg touching the water you could claim a water speed attempt. i think this topic has been mentioned before but i would like to know what others think.
     
  6. waikikin
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    waikikin Senior Member

    I think it's still a boat, floats, starts & finishes in the water, rudder is in the water. hope all goes well for them.

    Jeff.
     
  7. daiquiri
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    daiquiri Engineering and Design

    Usually it doesn't go so well.
    Statistically they have an 85% chance of pilot getting killed during the attempt: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_speed_record.

    But, in spite of this bitter cynicism of mine, I truly hope Warby's son will make it.
     
  8. whitepointer23

    whitepointer23 Previous Member

    i see your point jeff but you could say that about an amphib aircraft as well. are there seperate records for water and jet propulsion. daq , ken warby mentioned the 85 percent mortality rate to. he knew a lot of the people who died . he does have a successful track record though and sounds pretty confident. the second time he broke his own record was by 29 mph which is a huge advance for a second attempt.
     
  9. rwatson
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    rwatson Senior Member

    "Ken bought a couple of Rolls Royce jet engines from Italy, some timber, and they were away. "
    http://www.abc.net.au/local/stories/2013/10/09/3865536.htm


    Blokes like Warby are an inspiration. Hands on entrepreneurs. Might mention another recent hero who died the other day - the only guy ever to build his own car to win a Grand Prix, Jack Brabham.
     
  10. whitepointer23

    whitepointer23 Previous Member

    brabham and hafey. 2 legends in one week.
     
  11. Mr Efficiency
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    Mr Efficiency Senior Member

    Warby ( the elder ) had some boffin in his camp who was a key man in the successful designs, if he is no longer involved ( wasn't a young man then, probably gone to eternity by now) I would not be so confident it will turn out the same way.
     
  12. Mr Efficiency
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    Mr Efficiency Senior Member

    Jack Brabham was a humorous man, he said he wanted to die without an enemy in the world, by outliving the ******** !
     
  13. messabout
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    messabout Senior Member

    What is it about the Aussies? They are either crazy or they have bigger balls than anyone else. Is it something in the water? I admire their courage and abandon greatly, but maybe not their absence of aversion to danger.

    Sir Jack Brabham was a legitimate hero. May he RIP along with Fangio, Nuvolari and the rest.
     
  14. rwatson
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    rwatson Senior Member

    I dont think we can say that they are crazy - in the case of Brabham, he was an experienced mechanic, and Warby had the help of some clever academics for the design.

    I note that neither of them have died from risky behaviour, unlike a few less forrtunate people.

    For determined men, you might like to get a copy of the film "worlds fastest Indian", New Zealander Burt Munro's world motorcycle speed record for an interesting story.
    http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0412080/
     

  15. tom28571
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    tom28571 Senior Member

    That is a valid argument but it also comes into play on land speed records. At least on land, there seems to be more recognition of classes on whether the car is being driven by power to the wheels or by a jet with no connection to the ground. I don't place jet water speed records in the same category with propeller or any other water reaction driven record. Still, Ken Warby is a true hero in the waterspeed field.

    I also suspect that it would be no small task to build a prop driven float aircraft that could beat this record.
     
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