Recent content by Dr. X

Controlling pitch and ride height would be very tricky, but if the wave could be centered under the boat's c.g. it might be possible for the boat to ride it like a surfboard.

Concluding remarks.

Design by aeronautical engineer Darrol Stinton for ram-wing jet boat.

That's a good question. Might depend on which way the hatch is hinged. It seems like if the hatch were hinged on the side so that the driver could hold the rope behind the hatch that might work okay.

Unlimited hydros and Grand Prix boats have moved to fixed canopies with ingress and egress through a hatch in the top (a concept pioneered on the Crag Arfons water speed record boat). Drag boats have stayed with a hinged canopy. However, given a number of failures in drag boat capsules, I'm...

Donald Campbell's Bluebird boat at various stages in its evolution. The version with the flat-sided canopy and both sponson spars at the same height was the 1955 original.

Lee Taylor's Hustler. Rich Hallett hull with J-46 jet engine. Hallett described it as a "big banzai."

Hopefully, some sort of steel forging would have worked.

In his new book on the water speed record, Doug Ford (Lockheed engineer and former aerodynamicist for the Miss Budweiser team) discusses the rocket boat design proposed in 1987 by my late friend Arvil Porter. "ARVIL PORTER AND HIS ROCKET BOAT CONCEPT As was the case for Donald Campbell, Sir...

Apparently, it was run but the account I found doesn't provide any details. International Hydrofoil Society "Brennan, Walter X., "The Newest Hydrofoil Boat," Yachting, Jan 1936, pp. 55 & 88. Contemporary news and background on the U.S. 3 hydrofoil racing boat (incl. 3 small B&W photos)...

Lee Taylor's rocket boat, despite its flaws, was the last time anyone has attempted to apply fundamentally new technology to the record.

Great webpage with many fascinating photos going back to 1900. Dark Roasted Blend: The History of Hydrofoils

Hydrofoil boat built back in the thirties for an attempt on the record.

In the June 1985 issue of Popular Mechanics, Lee Mize discussed plans to go after the record with a rocket drag boat. However, the Popular Mechanics article remains the only thing I've ever seen about the project.