Rocket car
A rocket car is a land rocket vehicle powered by a rocket engine. A rocket dragster is a rocket car used for competing in drag racing, and this type holds the unofficial world record for the 1/4 mile.
Rocket cars are capable of very high speeds, and at one time held the land speed record (now held by a jet car). Rocket cars differ from jet-powered cars in that they carry both fuel and oxidizer on board, eliminating the need for an air inlet and compressor which add weight and increase drag. Rocket cars run their engines for relatively short periods of time, usually less than 20 seconds, but the acceleration levels that rocket cars can reach due to their high thrust-to-weight ratio are very high and high speeds are fairly easily achieved.
Kitty O'Neil in 1977 recorded the quickest quarter mile elapsed time of 3.22 seconds at 396 mph using hydrogen peroxide powered engines and made a quarter mile run with a top speed of 412 mph. This is in excess of the performance of more familiar piston engined dragsters.[1]
A different type of rocket propulsion uses hybrid rockets using Nitrous Oxide as the oxidant such as the British Rocket Dragster, 'laffin-gas'[2] which after 5 years and tens of thousands of pounds of investment has yet to make the full 1/4 mile under its own power, so technically it's not a dragster yet.
In America, rocket dragsters fell in to disuse after their hydrogen peroxide propellant became too expensive and they are banned in most events for safety reasons, mostly due to their very high performance. However, they continue to run at several European venues.
Contents |
[edit] History
- Max Valier, Austrian rocketry pioneer
- Friedrich Sander, rocketry pioneer
- Kitty O'Neil in 1977 recorded the quickest quarter mile elapsed time in 3.22 seconds (no official record) at 396 mph (637 km/h) and made a quarter mile run with a top speed of 412 mph (663 km/h). This is in excess of the performance of more familiar Piston Engined dragsters.
[edit] Famous rocket cars
- Opel RAK.1, the first rocket car
- Valier-Heylandt Rak 7, the first rocket car with liquid propulsion
- Heylandt Rocket Car, see Arthur Rudolph
- Budweiser Rocket, the first vehicle (controversially) claimed to have broken the sound barrier
- Blue Flame, a vehicle that held the land speed record
- The Devil at Your Heels a documentary covering an attempt to cross the Saint Lawrence River in a rocket car
[edit] See also
- JATO Rocket Car, an urban legend
- Rocket sled
[edit] References
- ^ "Drag Racing Story of the Day - The Rocketman Checks In: Ky Michaelson Lists All his Rocket Dragsters". Draglist.com. http://www.draglist.com/stories/SOD%20Apr%202002/SOD-040102.htm. Retrieved 2011-08-06.
- ^ "The Laffin Gas Project". Laffin-gas.com. http://www.laffin-gas.com/. Retrieved 2011-08-06.
[edit] Bibliography
- Ky Michaelson, Rocketman: My Rocket-Propelled Life and High-Octane Creations : Motorbooks Intl, 2007 ISBN 9780760331439
[edit] External links
- Early History of the Hydrogen Peroxide Rocket Dragster by Franklin Ratliff
- "Latest Rocket Car Uses Power In Steering", September 1932, Popular Mechanics
 |
This motorsport-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
 |
This vehicle-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
