The Blue Flame - Speedquest
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- Опубликовано: 17 мар 2013
- In 1970, The Blue Flame became the world land speed record holder. It was the last American team to set the world land speed record, and the last on the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah. The car was designed and built by Reaction Dynamics, Inc. (Pete Farnsworth and Dick Keller) in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and driven by Gary Gabelich of Long Beach, California. It had a rocket motor using liquefied natural gas (LNG) and hydrogen peroxide as the fuel. The world record set was 630.388 mile per hour in the kilometer, also the first automobile record over 1,000 kilometers per hour - at 1,014.656 kilometers per hour. That record was finally broken in 1997. Watch the RUclips video "Break the Record" to see more of the story.
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Thank you very much for posting this historical video. The Blue Flame fascinated me when i was a kid and i have been a fan of lsr ever since.
I am really glad that you met Gary. He was a very versatile and capable driver - dragsters, boat dragsters, jet cars, and finally The Blue Flame. He set a record (630 mph in the kilometer) that lasted 27 years. And now the Bonneville Salt Flats is in peril and may never see another world land speed record.
Pretty cool.
What a treat this is! You're an amazing fellow, Mr Keller.
I'm sitting here thunderstruck. When I was a kid, it seemed like every kid knew the Land Speed Record was held by Gary Gabelich at 622 mph. It all seemed so fantastic, mysterious, and unattainable. Now 40+ years later, I listen to a modest gentleman describe how he and a couple of friends hatched a plan to break the LSR. This is the internet at its best.
It is with much gratitude that I get to share our experience on the World Wide Web. Back in 1970 there were 4 commercial TV channels and Public Broadcasting TV. While we did get our share of notoriety, it became obscure history over the decades. While we were left with the feeling of unfinished business without the Mach 1 record, designing, building, (owning), and setting the LSR with The Blue Flame remains a singular high mark in our lives. Thank you for watching.
I was born in 1965 and remember seeing this entry in my Guinness Book Of World Records as a boy.. Seemed quite unreal!
As a kid in the early '70's I would check the latest Guiness book and go straight to see if the Blue Flame still held the record, information was a lot harder to get in those days, Guys like Breedlove and Garry were my heroes. Its good to learn about the guys who built the cars.
When I was a kid in the late 60s to 70s gary and the blue flame were KING...
Mr. Keller, thanks for posting this extraordinary behind the scenes story of The Blue Flame. when I was a kid we had a poster hung on the wall of our garage and it showed profile views of all the fastest land speed record holders and of course the blue flame was at the very top! It is also hands-down the most beautiful record holder ever made. This film is inspirational for all the independent can do types out there .
Thank you for your kind words. The point of my film was that 3 young guys with an engineering background - and no real money - could, through planning and determination, achieve a seemingly impossible goal. I, too, saved and hung photos of my Indy, drag race, and land speed record heroes. It's good to have these heroes - to emulate their deeds - and try to succeed.
@@630lsr And succeed you did, bu golly! I'd love to attend the 50th anniversary commemorative event.
Thanks you so much for sharing this important history.
This is so cool.
I saw The Blue Flame at The National Museum of Transportation in St. Louis when I was a kid. I have been fascinated with it ever since.
I just discovered Ken Carter and found you in the comments.
That is how I found this video.
Thanks for sharing!
What a fantastic video.
A great piece of modern history.
Thank you for taking the time to make it and upload it.
Thank you for taking the time to watch it. Tell your friends.
As a kid in school I read about John Cobb and the earlier land speed record holders in the pre-World War 2 era in the Encyclopedia Britannica. The drag racing jet cars got my interest in the 1950s and 1960s. Then, they went to Bonneville. Now, I am looking forward to the Aussie Invader rocket car of Rosco McGlashan to take the next big step advancing the supersonic record - hopefully in the next year or so. My team mates and I were disappointed when the weather ended our 1970 runs. There was still a little more speed available. Worse, we were not able to return with the rocket the next year at full thrust. But, we set the first absolute land speed record over 1,000 km/h, and that was GREAT!
Thanks for sharing this! I was too young to remember when this actually happened, but when I got a little order, I became obsessed with the land speed record. I voraciously read anything I could find about it and used to draw these cars all the time. My favorite was The Blue Flame and I still vividly remember the picture of it in the Guinness Book of World Records shortly after it was turned loose on the salt flats.
Getting to see the history of this epic car and achievement really made my day.
Thanks again!
Glad you liked it. Hard to believe this was in 1970. It all started when I was in 8th grade and several friends got together forming a hot rod club "Igniters Auto Club of Chicago". We read about all the Bonneville racers and drag racers, never expecting to become one of them.
Love this video from a man who made it happen! I always loved LSR racing, and thought that the Blue Flame was the most beautiful vehicle to ever go after the record. I wish it had been possible to run her at full capacity, but I guess she probably would have gone into orbit! Thanks Mr. Keller
At 8 years old this was my thing the "Blue Flame" when I was 16 driving my moms blue station wagon .... it was the ""Blue Flame" found out at around 87 mph the aerodynamics caused it to start getting squirrely . Now sending this video to my grandson.... good luck world. Thanks.
Get the book - SPEEDQUEST-Inside The Blue Flame - at my web page: www.speedquestbook.com
Dick, fantastic documentary; great technical detail. I was in awe of the famous LSR cars and drivers of the '60's onwards. In 2013 I went to the Goodwood Festival of Speed in UK and there was Blue Flame with other LSR cars displayed on sand - representing the salt. And I always thought Reaction Dynamics was a huge corporation!
+alanvcraig I was at the Goodwood Festival of Speed in 2007 when The Blue Flame was part of a retrospective Bonneville exhibit. Reaction Dynamics was just three speed nuts - with engineering and racing backgrounds.
Great video Dick, when the Blue Flame did the show car circuit in the early seventies, it was displayed at an autorama in Hartford Ct., I met Gary Gabelich and got his autograph, I was 13 years old
That's great to see all this and have memories stirred from boyhood! I had a 'Blue Flame' pull-out from a magazine or newspaper up on my bedroom wall for several years.Great stuff!
Wonderful documentary, I remember being fascinated by the Blue Flame when I was a kid in North Yorkshire, England. For me, out of all the Land Speed Record Cars, The Blue Flame looks the most Futuristic and I just love it...
Thanks Mr Keller for posting the fascinating story of The Blue Flame. When I was a kid at school in Belfast in the 1970’s the story of The Blue Flame setting the Land Speed record was one that really interested me. I was too young to remember the 1960’s and the famous ‘Battle of Bonneville’ when the record was swapped between Art Arfons and Craig Breedlove in ‘Spirt of America.’ To me The Blue Flame was always the.best looking Land Speed record holder, and in many ways marked the end of a golden era of land speed record attempts between 1963 to 1970. Indeed after The Blue Flame took the record in 1970 not much more happened in land speed records until Thrust2 took the record back to the UK in 1983 and even then they were I ‘only’ around 4 mph faster than ‘The Blue Flame.’ It has only been comparatively recently in history when ThrustSSC took the land speed record beyond the sound barrier that things have started to get exciting again. I certainly hope that we do get to see ‘Bloodhound’ get a crack at the record in the not too distant future. Loved the video. You Sir are a true legend.
Wow, congratulations on the record! A great piece of history. Thank you very much for making this documentary!
You are welcome, Paul. I began filming the project in the beginning to document our progress and convince potential sponsors that we could, indeed, design, build and successfully campaign what became The Blue Flame record vehicle. Later, I was able to assemble some of the films as a historical record of sorts. The AOGHS later let me narrate what had been just a visual record - Speedquest. I also posted Break the Record, which was the AGA sponsor’s publicity film. Because that film didn’t tell the whole story of we three young guys from Milwaukee, who achieved our dream to set the world land speed record I edited and released my documentary you see here.
I was infatuated with this machine as a kid. I'm really glad to know the story behind it now. You guys must have been a sharp bunch. Designing, engineering, testing, measuring, welding, unreal! Actual rocket scientist.
Thanks for putting this together. Very well done and great film footage.
check out the book for the complete story with details. Amazon books
I was an undergraduate student in Aerospace Engineering at Ohio State with a part-time job (mostly doing drafting work) at the Aero Lab when the wind tunnel tests were being conducted. The original plan was to have a conveyor belt running at 600 mph to simulate the car running on the road, but the belt formed waves at high speed and that plan had to be dropped and a flat plate used. We were all super excited when the Blue Flame broke the record!
I really enjoyed working with the Aerospace Engineering staff at The Ohio State University. We made critical decisions based upon the data derived from the transonic wind tunnel test. The result was the best handling LSR vehicle ever in t he 600 to 700 mph range.
Wow. As a kid, I would look in the Guinness Book Of World Records and see that grainy black and white picture of the Blue Flame with the speed record printed under it. Blew my mind. Thank you for making and sharing this piece of history. Incredible.
Thank you. For the complete story with all the contributors, check out my book SPEEDQUEST available on Amazon. It was a gas!
Nice little shot of Doug Rose of Green Mamba fame. Thank you for this terrific video!
Doug Rose was a good friend, and lived in Milwaukee. He was on our list of potential drivers for The Blue Flame, but since both his legs were below-knee amputated following a race accident, the AGA sponsors were concerned of negative publicity should he be injured in our car.
Amazing video...and told from one of the men that made it all happen. Thank you for your story.
Thank you for watching. It is hard to believe we did that more than 50 years ago. It really seems like only yesterday.
Great video Mr. Keller-also got to watch "Break the Record"-also a fantasic video presentation about The Blue Flame and its journey onwards towards the world's land speed record-fantastic presentation and a job very well done : ) thank you
Thanks for doing this film. It is great to see some footage of the building the car and you telling us what was going on. I have been going to Bonneville off and on since 1973 and this car plus others were my favors. Thanks again.
I think this may be the most interesting film on youtube! The commentary is excellent - thanks so much for posting it.
My grandfather, Ray Besasie of Milwaukee, fabricated the nose cone and canopy-fin assembly in his east side shop. He is pictured (old guy with baseball cap and sunglasses) in the scene where the guys are polishing the nose cone. He was an amazing man.
Ray Besasie was the fabricator of all the compound shaped panels on The Blue Flame. The following year he did the same for the Honda Hawk motorcycle streamliner that went 286 mph. I recently gave a PowerPoint presentation on The Blue Flame to the Ancient Aviators of Alabama where I described Ray Besasie as "the most interesting man in Milwaukee". Ray was an aviation pioneer, designing and building the monoplane "Sonny Boy" in 1932 - and the radial engine that powered it. He was an innovative designer of turbochargers for piston engines. He designed and built numerous vehicles for Brooks Stevens as well. Ever hear of the Excalibur?
Sadly, I didn't have good photos of Ray working on The Blue Flame since he made those panels in his backyard shop. And he could really spin a yarn! What a great man.
Fascinating film. Had graduated high school in June and to me as a car guy this was quite an effort and always wondered about the details. Remember seeing pictures of Gary racing in "Hot Rod" magazine with the plume on his helmet when he drove the Beach City Chevrolet Corvette funny car.
Read the whole story in my book "SPEEDQUEST-Inside The Blue Flame" available on Amazon. It was a blast!
I was intrigued by this vehicle when i was young in early 70's,made so many drawings of this car also.
Why don't you look at my book "SPEEDQUEST - Inside The Blue Flame. It is loaded with data and design details.
Thanks for sharing such an incredible story!
Thanks so much for putting this first hand account together. Like many others here, I was fascinated by the project as a young kid, and I too was living in England at the time, although I am American. The record stood for so long, and brought the age of Bonneville based land speed record runs to a close. Hopefully someday the record can return to the US. A few years ago I was lucky enough to finally see the car in person, at its current home in Germany.
It's still the fastest ever run at Bonneville. I really wanted to emphasize that The Blue Flame was the product of three young guys in Milwaukee, with no money, who worked hard to achieve their dream after convincing their eventual sponsors they could make it happen.
Thats the story right there Dick , we Aussies and kiwis have always admired those who beat the odds, and get in there themselves and do the impossible , self made engineering is a dying thing and the worlds a poorer place for it.
Your story will never be forgotten and shows how a few mates and the will to succeed, can over come any obstacle.
My Dad always had a go at things , regardless of prior knowledge and passed that to me , Ive made homemade buggy's . bikes , trailers , with that same example set by you and others.
Many thanks , Simon , Perth , Australia.
Great to see this ... have been a fan since I was a child and i saw it in the 1978 guiness book of world records. Always loved the design. Great that you were able to document this and thanks for publishing it.
Glad that you like the film. This is the 50th anniversary year of our setting the last world land speed record by an American car and driver. Three guys from Milwaukee, in our 20s, got an idea and were thinking outside the box - set the world record on our first try. We will be celebrating this Fall in the Sinsheim Museum where The Blue Flame resides.
When I was in 4th grade I did a report on the Blue Flame and read it in class. I don't remember much of what I wrote just that I loved the "car" because it was the fastest. I likened it to the Hulk, I think. Thanks for posting this documentary.
Thanks So much for this Dick - love seeing the beautiful workmanship and hearing about your design process . - Such a shame the gas company never let the car run again - Rocketry seams such a perfect match for Landspeed cars - so much more elgant than Nobels jet jugerenaughts !
Glad you enjoyed the film. Now read the book SPEEDQUEST available on Amazon Books. Lots of detailed information.
Instead of the moving ground surface, the model was modified and placed in the test chamber mounted above the thickness of the flat plate boundary layer. Dr. John Lee of OSU consulted with Dr. Paul Torda and grad student Tom Morel of IIT on the transonic test procedure. The result? The Blue Flame, running in the transonic speed region (660 mph peak speed) was the most stable 500+ mph land speed record vehicle up to that time (1970). A job well done.
Remember seeing the Blue Flame in person at the Minnesota State Fair in front of the Minnegasco building in 1970 or 1971 or so, one of my earliest memories classified under "fast cars". I was in awe of it. Glad to see there is a video detailing the history.
Must have been 1971. Like you, I was in awe of Breedlove's 'Spirit of America' and Arfons' 'Green Monster' land speed record cars when I saw them in the 1960s in Chicago. I appreciate your comment.
Awesome video... awesome car & crew!
Thank you. More information on The Blue Flame project in my book - SPEEDQUEST Inside The Blue Flame.
This is great stuff! It sure brings back memories. Would love to see all you guys get together and go for another record someday. Maybe pass the tourch! 😆
Though I never appeared in this vid, I did develop and build high performance capacitive discharge ignition system as a backup should the spontaneous combustion system not work according to design. To my knowledge, it did. It was a dream come true for me.
Thank you for your work on the ignition system. There were about 60 unsung heroes that contributed to this project in design and fabrication. Again, thanks.
Inspiring stuff,i live in England and remember this remarkable vehicle from my childhood,its nice to hear a first hand account of its development,glad you are well and my condolences on the loss of your friends.
+Black Box Glad you enjoyed the history of our project. I was inspired, too, by Englishman John Cobb and his beautiful Railton-Mobil Special. I had a news film of his tragic demise attempting the water speed record in his jet-powered boat. Very sad.
Ask any boy circa 1975 what was the fastest thing on wheels?and the answer would be the "Blue Flame" 622 mph !
Girls like fast cars too! Favorite "Wide World of Sports" episode of mine is the coverage at Bonneville!! I was 9 yrs old but knew then I liked fast cars!
You said it..
doccyclopz
I doubt that very much. Not everyone was following the LSR like they did in the ‘60’s...
The answer to the fastest thing on wheels at that time would be relegated to people not the name of cars like Evel Kneivel (tried to jump a canyon with a rocket car-still counts as fast) Andretti, Donahue (Mark), Garlitts, Stewart, Prudhomme, Unser, Petty, or Foyt because the general public was more tuned in to those forms of speed, and related items in the toy market.
Therefore the Blue Flame was not THAT household of a name, let alone that record speed as your suggesting; not to mention Craig Breedlove’s name would often be mentioned first instead of the man who piloted the Blue Flame for some reason, likely because he set and broke several records on his way to 600 mph. In America, fair or not, he’s the most well-known to this day.
I didn’t even know about the Blue Flame until I saw it in the Guinness Book of World Records much later in that same decade. I still thought Breedlove had the record until I saw it in Guinness, so clearly by ‘75 less and less people either paid attention or cared and by the end of the decade interest was little to none in the common spectrum.
The ‘60’s is where all the excitement was regarding the LSR. It was book-ended by the Space Race, and the rise of muscle cars along with the growing interest in auto racing from dragsters, IndyCars and stock cars where the larger crowds were going.
I suggest you read the book “Speed Duel” if you haven’t already, to get a better understanding of how huge the LSR was at the start of the 1960’s to the mid-60’s, which this video touches on.
@@moonytheloony6516 Your forgetting Swede Savage, Niki Lauda, men tough as nails....Oh did i mention the Champion Spark Plug ad i own of the Blue Flame, faster gary faster.....champion spark plugs...
This video is so fascinating!
Well done! Thanks.
Glad you liked it. Fortunately, I had cinematography as a hobby, and a 16mm Bell & Howell 70DL film camera (professional newsreel camera) since 8th grade. I shot most of the film to document what we were doing to promote sponsorship for The Blue Flame project. Fortunately, I kept the film and was able to edit this documentary.
last US team to hold world record (1970). Car designed and built in MILWAUKEE.
My (and Pete's) company, Reaction Dynamics, WAS in Milwaukee's Northwest corner across the street from Butler, WI. We shared our commercial building with Marker Machine (Del Fisher and John Yarmark) where much of our precision parts were made. Del was a retired fuel dragster driver.
This was definitely NOT a California project, although Gary Gabelich, the hired driver was a lifelong Long Beach resident.
Wow!!! Where has this vid been all my life🦾😎🚀
This is the story of we 3 guys in Milwaukee and our land speed record project. The news media focused on the driver, naturally, who we hired to drive The Blue Flame, period. The natural gas industry focused on their message - see "Break the Record". When we lost the ownership of The Blue Flame, we lost our moment in LSR history, and the car is in the Sinsheim Museum in Germany where it is honored as the first over 1,000 km/h. 50th anniversary this year! Thank you for your comment.
Hi, Dick! I saw this video on Facebook, posted by Rick. I remember visiting you when you were a student at IIT and I was a high school senior attending Saturday seminars about genetics at the IIT campus. Mother used to chauffeur me there. The video is fascinating!
Very interesting. I recall having a Blue Flame model as a kid. Today, it seems kids are more interested in other things.
Love this video, as a kid "The Blue Flame "was it for me. I actually made a model of it using a Estes D engine, it went well until the end and it got air borne.
Glad you liked it. I shot my video on 16mm Kodachrome film - there was no video tape then. I was building balsa wood "rocket" models as a kid, too. We used CO2 cartridges bought at the army surplus store after the War for power. To keep it on the ground we used a fishing line through 2 small eye screws under the car. Worked every time.
wow what a great tech video. really great insight into the record setting car & driver :)
Glad you liked it. The real message is that we reversed the process of land speed record design. Ostich, Breedlove, Walt and Art Arfons, all purchased surplus turbojet engines and tried to see how fast they could go. We calculated the power required to achieve our record and designed and built the rocket to develop the necessary power. So far, the only one to do it that way.
At 7:13, I love that Fuel altered in the background
Good eyes. That beautiful fuel altered was a contemporary of the X-1 - and sort of illustrates the "out of the box" leap we were making with our rocket project. As I have stated elsewhere, several of the LSR racers back then bought military surplus turbojets and tried to see how fast they could go. We decided how fast we wanted to go and built our powerplant (rocket) to go that fast. We did it!
I remember Dick Keller working with stuntman Ken Carter in preparation of a Rocket car jump at Westgate speedway in 1983 ..
That particular 3500lb motor is still around..
I had that poster of the Blue Flame in my room till I was a teen....But I always was amazed at the speed being I went to the drags since I was 6 at Englishtown, N.J. But the only one who really impressed me was Jungle Jim and he broke his own record almost every run. True story, I was playing basketball at a friends and was about 7 and the ball hit my pinky finger, It HURT! About an hour later we were at the track and Jungle Jim's car flipped when the body lock broke...They flew him to what was Robert Wood...So I told my dad after the race and my pinky was swollen so he took me to the hospital. One of the head nurses back then was my neighbor and I told her about the crash, She said OH YEA! The next thing I know she brought JUNGLE JIM IN A WHEELCHAIR IN THE HALLWAY AND YA KNOW WHAT? AFTER FLIPPING THAT CAR AND ROLLING IT ALL HE DID WAS SPRAIGN HIS SAME PINKY! TRUE STORY. He said hey kid what did ya do? I was like same as you MR. Jim.....He laughed and rolled away. Ya see when I was a kid they all stayed at the HO-JO's on RT 1 in New Brunswick right up the hill from my house, I used to help them wash cars, Dump oil...{I didn't know any better} And got to sit in every car you can name! From SOX & MARTIN TO DON PURDOME. OH Yea, Thank you for posting this and all the people who had anything to do with the "BLUE FLAME"
I am very glad that you enjoyed the story - and the poster. I am still amazed at how we "old guys" influenced the youngsters back then. When I was growing up in the 1940s and 1950s there was no internet - there was no TV! We had a couple of local drag strips near Chicago where the local guys raced on Sundays - Half Day and Oswego - and Hot Rod Magazine that showed us the big picture - drag racing and the Dry Lakes. I hope these RUclips videos will encourage the new generations.
There it is...the Blue Flame. I wish there was more film footage of the car and the record. Richard Noble and Andy Green's attempts received much more fanfare, but growing up, we all knew about Gary Gabelich and the Blue Flame...it was in Guinness Book of World Records. Beautiful car. Impressive story.
Thank you. We were contemporaries of Walt and Art Arfons, as well as Craig Breedlove, my idols. Richard and Andy proceeded to accomplish what we had intended with The Blue Flame. Kudos to them.
I was very surprised that The Blue Flame and Gary Gabelich hadn't come up in other videos about land speed records. Gross omission. I remember this world record run and was in awe of the effort. It was on "ABC's Wide World of Sports." Anyone remember that show?
Unfortunately, The Blue Flame has been ignored or actually censored from several historic documentaries. The first problem was that Gary received very bad advice from his California friends and refused to sign a contract with Goodyear Tire Company. They even erased his name from the car on their ads following the record. There is also a censoring campaign to deny us our historical place in land speed record history. For example, in November 2020 the Smithsonian Museum will open an exhibit - "A Nation of Speed". That exhibit will exclude the fastest (speed) record by an American (nation) car. Outrageous! That exhibit is a joke.
Didn’t they also change the rules for the car that broke the Blue Flames record? Changed the mile down to around 100 feet. And the 1 hour turnaround was changed.
@@mikekridner2433 You are thinking about the phony Budweiser Rocket fiasco. They never broke any record. Richard Noble in Thrust II set a new mile record in 1983 at 633 mi/h. The Blue Flame's 630 mi/h kilometer record was broken in 1997 by Andy Green in the Thrust SSC when he went 763 mi/h - WOW!
Very nice
The Blue Flame toured for two years in the US and Europe. Gerard Brennan hauled it on our trailer. It never made it "down under". The natural gas company in France made a full size mockup for their own display. That may have been sent to NZ. Wouldn't have been in Wynn's colors at any rate.
Awesome!
Now you should read the book - SPEEDQUEST
My best friend did the Blue Flame as his pine wood derby car. I did a sprint car I saw race in Granet city Illinois. Good times...
Ahh, pinewood derby cars. I was a cub scout and later a Cub Master leading a Pack of young boys on the Scouting trail. That experience as a cub scout fueled my interest in auto racing that lasted into adulthood. I hope The Blue Flame inspired many other youngsters to dream and follow their dream into adult careers.
Where is the Blue Flame now?
@@donaldbelobraydic9996 The Blue Flame has been the feature exhibit since 1972 at the Sinsheim, Germany for technology and transport. As the first land speed record over 1,000 km/hr it remains a strong exhibit alongside the Concord supersonic transport.
Great job Dick.
Thanks for the reply,I thought I saw the German team with a design much like the Blue Flame it's interesting to see the different concepts.
Bring back rocket cars!! I remember as a young child watching these cars
The X-1 was the first successful rocket dragster which we ran for 2 years until we started working on The Blue Flame. The X-1 rocket was later installed in the first Pollution Packer dragster which unfortunately crashed at the Darlington Speedway track, killing Dave Anderson. Unfortunately, later accidents resulted in a ban on the rocket dragsters.
Dick Keller my father Donnie Holm was one of the first guys to make a machined billet cylinder head for fuel and alky cars in 81-82 . Some say Ken Vinny was first some say my dad was. I was way to young so it’s up in the air. I remember watching rocket cars as a young child on the west coast like OCIR and Baylands. I remember a go kart rocket and a rumor about it taking flight. Any truth to that most say it’s a urban legend
Dick Keller you videos are so cool I watch them over and over again. Thanks for the great content
@@groomlake51 There were two or three rocket go-karts back in the 1970s. Turbonique produced a small rocket that was used on at least one go kart. I believe there was at least one other using a bespoke hydrogen peroxide rocket motor. I am not aware of any crashes of these mighty mites.
@@groomlake51 Also check out Sam Hawley's "Land Speed Legends" RUclips videos. He did The Blue Flame parts 1, 2, and 3 which are excellent.
Gregg, the fact is, the car as it sits in the museum is pretty much just the shell. All of the fuel tanks and lines were removed to save weight for its world victory tour. The rocket motor internals were also removed. It would be death-defying to try to run the 43 year old chassis at any speed (corrosion, etc.). Actually, the wheels would be the most sound component remaining.
I seem to remember years ago seeing footage of the car at a drag strip, doing a demo run. A fixed camera was looking at the car side on, a whoosh and it was gone.
Several photographers had that experience. We should have had a "countdown" to help them.
Thanks for posting this rare footage; a great record of your unique achievement. At the time, i never saw any film footage of the Blue Flame, just a couple color px, but that was enough to sparkle my admiration for the car. I was particularly fond of the color scheme.Could you tell us more about i? I.e. who designed it, who did the paint job?
The paint scheme was designed to simulate the color of a natural gas flame, such as seen on a kitchen gas range. We had an outstanding master painter in Milwaukee, Emil "Butch" Brinza. His shop for several years was Concours Paint Works. Originally he was contemplating a fish-scale look but finally decided to keep the smooth fade from blue to white in a pearlescent finish. You just have to go to the Technik Museum in Sinsheim, Germany to see the real deal.
Dick Keller Thanks for the answer! Didn’t know it’s in Germany now(how did it end up there btw? I will definitely go and visit the Technikmuseum.Thanks again for posting this wonderful footage.
@@paulderyck2573 The (new) owners of The Blue Flame (IGT) didn't want it to run again and sold (gave) it to a Belgian North Sea gas executive for his private collection. Later, he donated it to the Sinsheim museum. We plan to participate in a 50th anniversary celebration there October 23, 2020.
Do you plan on making more videos regarding the Blue Flame Rocket Car or other Speed related projects?
+SanFranciscoBay No. Just the three I have now.
Thanks so much for sharing this.
I have been fascinated with this car ever since I saw it in person at the Museum of Transportation in St. Louis MO as a young child.
Anyone know where the car is now?
The Blue Flame is proudly on display in Sinsheim, Germany at the Museum fur Auto und Technik. Since it was the first land speed record to exceed 1,000 km/h it is held in high regard in Europe and remains the most popular automotive racing exhibit at that fantastic museum.
One of the best Top Trump cards! Seeing the other vehicles nearby makes you realise just how much this design was before it’s time.
Yeah, and that was 50 years ago.
heyy awesome video!! ive seen the Blue Flame myself in the museum here in germany! have you ever gone to see it? other question, why didnt you try to go supersonic? upgrade the wheels and go full thrust? seems like an option that could have been tried, maybe?
Chris, good questions. First, the wheels and tires were already tested and adequate up to 850 mi/h. Goodyear just wanted to reduce the risk of catastrophe since that was our first ever land speed record attempt. So, they arbitrarily limited us to a maximum speed of 700 mi/h in 1970. Goodyear owned the tires (we designed built, and owned the wheels). Just to assure that we would not exceed 700 mi/h, we "detuned" the rocket motor to 60% of maximum thrust. This involved using a smaller LNG fuel tank. Since the ideal run profile
was to accelerate at full throttle (foot pedal), we peaked at 660 mi/h - safely below the 700 mi/h self-imposed limit. Unfortunately, Pete and I (Reaction Dynamics) lost title to The Blue Flame because we did not get the car ready to run in 1969 per our contract with the American Gas Association. They (AGA) did not want the car to run again because they believed the risk exceeded the possible benefit. So, The Blue Flame instead went on a U.S. and European publicity tour after we removed the propellant tanks and other hardware. Then, they "sold" it to a Dutch collector who donated it to the Sinsheim museum. The car was designed and wind tunnel tested (scale model) to exceed Mach 1 with full power (22,000 pounds thrust). It was perfectly stable at 660 mi/h, and the instrumentation verified the test data when running the car. Our original plan was to return in 1971 for the supersonic attempt - but did not happen. I've been to the Sinshem museum and The Blue Flame looks great - the first automobile to exceed 1,000 km/h!
Thank you Dick for taking the time to reply to my questions, much appreciated! Awesome machine you had built there! also my sincerest condolences for the loss of your friend Chuck
Really impressive acheivement Man and speed
Glad you liked it. Read the book - Speedquest - Inside The Blue Flame - to get the whole story
It's was First page picture off Blue Flame in Color memories
Always my favorite fast car 🏆
Mine too! Glad you liked it.
I'm using my wifes facebook to ask,if you got the record at less then 100% thrust why didn't you come back for more.I think your design is timeless and with some safety improvements and new rocket a real chance to hit 1k mph also.Thanks for the memory's sincerely Dave L
Our sponsor, the American natural gas industry, took ownership of The Blue Flame after we missed our original schedule to run the car in 1969. We de-tuned the rocket in 1970 to comply with the temporary speed limit imposed by the Goodyear Tire Company, which owned the tires. The original plan was to return in 1971 with the rocket at full power to attempt a supersonic record speed. The sponsor, now owners, decide that the reward of a new record would not justify the risk and scrubbed the project.
Could you comment on the similarities/differences between the Blue Flame and the Budweiser Rocket powered cars?
+SanFranciscoBay The Blue Flame rocket motor was a bi-propellant using LNG as the fuel and HTP as the oxidizer. Bud used a liquid/solid hybrid design with HTP as the oxidizer. It also used a solid fuel rocket lashed on to add thrust (sort of a RATO). The Blue Flame was also a bit larger in frontal area, and the rocket motor combustion chamber was regeneratively cooled with a "water jacket" with HTP circulating inside.
How similar or how different were the exterior shapes/dimensions of the Blue Flame and the Budweiser Rocket Car? Fom a distance, they look identical. Amazing how long, skinny and rocket like their shapes were as compared to the jet powered cars of the mid 60's
Acceleration wise, was the Budweiser quickest? Both seem to take off very quick in the videos, wonder what the potential could be if allowed/handle full thrust
We timed The Blue flame in the Standing Start 1/4-mile a few times to check performance. On September 18, 1970 Gary drove The Blue Flame to a 6.724 seconds elapsed time. We didn't time the top speed. By comparison, the 1970 Top Fuel qualifier at NHRA Supernationals in Ontario, California was 6.68 seconds. I guess The Blue Flame was quick as well as fast!
This thing is badass
Not too shabby considering the whole thing was done with slide rules, electro-mechanical calculators, pencil and paper drawings - 50 years ago. We still feel badly that we were not able to return in 1971 with full power and attempt the supersonic record.
Hello, I understand that somewhere in Europe, perhaps France, there is a fiberglass copy of the Blue Flame? Where might it be? Thank you.
What would it take to get it out of the museum, refurbish it, replace the wheels with ones capable of higher speeds, and see if it could go supersonic?
OMG ! @11 just wereing disposable plastic gloves to handle the H2O2 !! Those were the days! 😁
Yes, those were the days. You can't even purchase HTP any more.
There was full size mockup of The Blue Flame displayed in France after the record. I have a photo of a display at Gaz de Strasbourg in 1972, I believe. The latest I heard is that someone at GDF Suez, the French natural gas company, may know if it exists yet, but nobody returned my request for information. The car itself is in Germany at the museum in Sinsheim.
+Dick Keller. Who built the mock up car and how close was it to the original car?
+SanFranciscoBay It was a very accurate replica. Nobody currently at GDF Suez seems to know anything about it now.
I found this on wikipedia: Sammy Miller in 1984 at Santa Pod Raceway recorded the quickest quarter mile elapsed time ever of 3.58 seconds at 386.26 mph using a hydrogen peroxide powered engine car called Vanishing Point. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rocket_car
Kitty O'Neill piloted a hydrogen peroxide powered rocket dragster, in 1977 in the Mojave Desert, built by Ky Michaelson's Space Age Racing Team with an average speed of 279.5 mph (449.8 km/h), setting an all-time record pass in the quarter mile at an incredible, never before achieved 3.72 seconds at a top speed of 392.54 mph. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kitty_O'Neil
+SanFranciscoBay Sammy's first two rocket funny cars - 'Spirit of 76' and 'Vanishing Point' used my rocket systems. He continued on with a rocket dragster, 'Oxygen'. I believe there are RUclips films of his cars running in the UK and EU.
Was the car designed to fit inside of a shipping container or the enclosed trailer of a Class 8 type truck? Wikipedia page says: The vehicle is
37 feet 4.6 inches (11.394 m) long,
8 feet 1.5 inches (2.477 m) high to the top of the tail fin,
7 feet 8 inches (2.34 m) wide
wheelbase is 25.5' (7.8 m).
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_Flame_%28automobile%29
+SanFranciscoBay No. Our trailer was not enclosed. We did design within the 8 feet truck width limit to avoid tickets.
Dick, do you still keep in touch with Pete & Leah?
We lost their info when moving interstate back in 2000.
If you do please say a big G'Day from their friends Garth & Cathy from Australia.
Thanks
I was just at the 50+1 anniversary celebration on Sunday; we filmed the event. I would love to have this video on our Hometown TV station any chance of getting it on the station? Thanks Pete Malinger
I can email it to you via wetransfer.com. It allows me to send large MP4 files. You can then download and save on a jump drive. Or, have the TV station email me and I can wetransfer it to them. I hope you had a good time at the party, which I missed.
And I did enjoy it thanks
Do you have any of the facts on the acceleration and deceleration? For example, how many seconds to it's top speed, how fast per second, and how fast did it slow down, G Forces involved...?
+SanFranciscoBay We did make standing start 1/4-mile runs on the Bonneville Salt Flats while preparing the car. We were running with the reduced thrust settings at the time. The car did the SS 1/4-mile in 6.724 seconds with an AVERAGE speed for the distance of 133.849 mi/h. Probably 250 mi/h peak speed. The car was under power for 20 seconds for the mile record, maximum velocity with onboard instruments was 660 mi/h near the middle of the measured mile.
How many Rocket Powered Cars were there during this period of time, 1960's- 70's for land speed record attempts? There was your car the Blue Flame, the Budweiser Rocket Car, the Wingfoot Express 2 JATO Car, any others worth mentioning?
+SanFranciscoBay There is considerable discussion on this topic at: www.landracing.com/forum/Discussions on absolute land speed records
+Dick Keller. Your link is dead for me. Is this the link you wanted under this topic: Thrust-powered Land Speed
information-Discussions on absolute land speed records: www.landracing.com/forum/index.php?board=39.0
+SanFranciscoBay Look under the topic "last American team..." in the Discussions on Absolute Land Speed Records
How did the driver steer the car during the speed runs? Do you steer by turning the front wheel like a car, or do you steer by the rear tail like an airplane?
+SanFranciscoBay The Blue Flame is an automobile. Per the FIA regulation - four wheels, not in a line, steered through two.
Hats off to Chuck.
Chuck Suba was a terrific racer. He also was a great engine tuner and chassis builder in his own right. Also, a good friend of Pete and me. While his death was a great loss personally, he went out at the very peak of the drag racing game.
At least he won’t be forgotten. And it seems that the stories and deeds for which he’ll be remembered aren’t the typical run-of-the-mill sort. Not to mention the technical strides he and his experience no doubt helped to usher into the world of unreasonably fast vehicles, and all that entails. Keep the stories going Mr. Keller! My hats also off to you, sir.
Thank you for this, sir! Early in the wee hours of this morning I finished the long stretch of I-80 (which I wish had an unlimited speed limit lane on it) while heading west into Nevada, and I stopped into the Bonneville Sinclair right there. I grabbed a Blue Flame post card! Curiosity led me to this video, and it's some really cool history. The post card says 622.407 mph, but the video says 630.88. Any idea why?
During the course of the land speed record project, which formally began in August 1968, the American Gas Association's public relations writers were always talking up the "magic mile" when referring to the world land speed record. The absolute world land speed record is the fastest world land speed record. The kilometer and mile records are timed simultaneously, the kilometer speed traps are inside the mile. The PR guys were so anxious to get the news out after our record runs, they ignored the kilometer speed whish was faster. Joe Petrali the USAC/FIA chief steward noticed the error in the days following the publicity burst, informing the AGA, but the horse was already out of the barn so to speak. The jet cars always ran faster mile speeds because they were accelerating through the whole mile. The Blue Flame reached its peak speed in the middle of the mile (about 660 mph) and coasted through. Because the kilometer was offset to one end of the mile, it was substantially faster. I have been trying to correct this mistake for the last 50 years.
@@630lsr Well either way, this was an awesome accomplishment. Presumably y'all just had to hope there wouldn't be some strong crosswinds that cropped up out of nowhere? Though I'd imagine the forward momentum of the vehicle would make it hard for a strong wind to have much of an effect.
@@runhardhooah Actually, the day before we set the record, October 22, all runs were cancelled due to cross winds. We ran on the 23rd, then the morning of the 24th it snowed. Season over.
@@630lsr That's miraculous. But wasn't there still going to be some chance that a crosswind or gust could come out of nowhere on a perfectly calm day?
@@runhardhooah Actually the weather at the Bonneville Salt Flats is highly predictable, coming from west to east, for the next 12 to 24 hours. We had a few days earlier in our stay on the salt with high wind conditions as well. Also, it is advisable to run at sunrise before the sun heats up the air causing more likelihood of winds.
How does one go about building a car and rocket engine for the Blue Flame? Where does one get the information so it stays together and goes straight at 600mph?
+SanFranciscoBay I am writing a book - SPEEDQUEST - which will chronicle that story.
+Dick Keller. How about building a website with a forum? I think it would be more interactive and easier to edit than writing a book.
ياساتر المواتر كلها كلاسيك
A very simple & efficient vehicle . It could had gone faster ...
Astute observation. Keeping it simple was the key to the accomplishment.
Great video , as an Aerospace eng I like the Tech info,, looks like the vehicle was well within its design limits. Why didn't they push the record higher ? Regards from Bonny Scotland 😊
The AGA sponsor was happy to get the record, period. They were more concerned about negative publicity if The Blue Flame would crash trying to go faster. Actually, we were prepared to raise the record on the next day, October 24th, but it snowed and the LSR season was over on the salt flats. The Blue Flame went on a national and European tour for a year, then stored away from view. Finally, it became the feature exhibit in the Sinsheim Germany auto and technical museum.
@@630lsr Those tires must have been pretty special, to handle the centrifugal forces. Especially having the trust in them to operate at higher speeds.
@@atomicbonds6790 Goodyear did a terrific job on the tires. They tested the tires on our wheels at up to 850 mph.
Waiting for Rosco McGlashan to really push the record over 1,000 mph.
@630lsr I wish him only well and the best of Scottish luck,, but is it really wise to take such a massive step above the current record ? One small step at a time.
Bloodhound will never move again, The Britts are skint & have no Balls, so no threat from them.
Here are a few photos recently taken with Blue Flame Car at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, Goodwood House, West Sussex, England: facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.656216021074779.1073741833.359703307392720&type=1
www.goodwood.com/flagship-events/festival-of-speed/
One question. Why did you not try and push it a bit more, in the video you state you thought 800mph was possible? You only pushed it up 22 mph? Was it budget or safety fears?
The first issue is that Goodyear owned the tires and imposed a maximum speed limit, under contract, of 700 mph in order to prevent our going "banzai" the first time out. We had reduced the maximum thrust available in 1970 to comply. The tires and wheels were tested to 850 mph, so that wasn't the problem. We ran The Blue Flame at full (available) power, reaching maximum speed (660 mph) in the center of the measured mile/kilometer speed traps. The 630 mph was the average speed for the kilometer, not the maximum speed. Starting the car with a push gave us about 2 seconds extra thrust at the maximum speed. We actually pushed it a little faster than 22 mph.
@@630lsr Fascinating Dick and thanks for the reply, when you consider Noble was pushing the hell out his Avon to get his record, it is conceivable that you could have gone much faster before and only SSC would have perhaps beaten a 670-700 record set by Blue Flame. Either way a beautiful and well thought out car, and remarkably safe, just like ours!
I think I remember seeing this car on a display at Brookfield square shopping mall somewhere in early 70’s ??
Can someone verify what year that may have been??
I believe we displayed The Blue Flame at Brookfield Square in early 1971, shortly after we set the world land speed record. Afterward it was on a national, and then world tour for 2 years.
@@630lsr thank you so much for your reply!
I can remember seeing that car there as a 10 year old like it was yesterday!
So cool to make that connection to the past!!
@@jonnyjetstreamer997 You can see it again - at the Technik Museum in Sinsheim Germany where it as been prominently displayed for decades. Check out my book - SPEEDQUEST - to get all the details on The Blue Flame.
Dick, is that Bob Rosenberg around the 9:58 mark standing behind the Blue Flame?
Dr. Bob Rosenberg is the gentleman in the black suit standing behind the X-1 and gesturing, pointing out the rocket's features to the natural gas industry executives. This event sealed the deal for industry support of The Blue Flame.
thanks
Do you think the Budweiser Rocket Car achieved the speed of 739mph on December 17, 1979? Here is the video: ruclips.net/video/-0n2hwWnF3Q/видео.html
Here is the Wikipedia link on the car: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Budweiser_Rocket_Car
i'd like to know the purity of the hydrogen peroxide formula. I believe the space shuttle uses %80 pure mixture
I am not certain what the HTP concentration is on the space shuttle. Initially, The Blue Flame used 90% concentration HTP as the oxidizer with the LNG fuel. Later, after a change in the catalyst screens from pure silver to silver-plated nickel raised the catalyst melting temperature, we raised the HTP concentration to 98%. This increased the rocket motor specific impulse and thrust, adding about 50 mi/h to the top speed.
This was when life was good!
It was certainly simpler. Everyone was excited by the race to the Moon. Breedlove and the Arfons brothers were able to produce terrific results on modest budgets and resources using surplus turbojets. The Blue Flame project was different in that we approached the task from the opposite direction. We determined our speed objective first, then designed and built the (rocket) powerplant to meet that goal. As you can see, we had no fancy accommodations on the salt flats. Fortunately, we had a large cadre of enthusiastic supporters in all phases of the project; design, construction, and running The Blue Flame on the Bonneville salt flats.