Waldo Stakes
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Waldo Stakes | |
|---|---|
 Waldo Stakes | |
| Born | 23 November 1955 Chicago, Illinois, United States |
| Occupation(s) | CEO of Land Speed Research Vehicles, LLC |
| Spouse | Denise Alley (2001–present) |
| Children | Stephanie Barden (34), Nicole Stachurski (32), Tone Stakes (30) |
Waldo Stakes (born 23 November 1955) is a designer of land speed vehicles based on NASA Propulsion systems.[1]
Stakes' first participation in land speed started at the age of 20, he designed an aerodynamic body for a Hydrogen Peroxide fueled rocket dragster that set track records in the United States during the 1970s. Currently he is CEO of Land Speed Research Vehicles, LLC and co/owner and builder of the Imagine LSRV land speed rocket car.
Early life
Stakes was born in Chicago, Illinois to Waldo and Celia Stakes. At 10 years old he was designing and flying homemade model rockets. and at 14 he was modifying motorcycles to increase their speed and decrease their drag. He was married at 19 years of age and was the father of three children by the age of 23.
At age 28 he moved his family to southern California to build his first rocket powered unlimited land speed record vehicle, Sonic Wind.[2] The vehicle was funded from his income as a contractor and built with the help of two friends, Ken Mason who handled propulsion and Larry Hayes a race car fabricator.
Land Speed Qualifications
Stakes honed his fabrication skills and began working on or campaigning land speed motorcycle streamliners and various class cars running at SCTA meets at El Mirage and Bonneville.[3] He was voted into the well known SCTA club the "Land Speed Racers"[cite] and has worked on vehicles[citation needed] which have set over 30 land speed records in many different SCTA classes[citation needed]. He has helped and consulted most of the fastest teams[citation needed] and current land speed record contenders on Earth[citation needed] and is known by many as Dr. Landspeed.[citation needed]
Land Speed Vehicles
Imagine LSRV - [4] land speed record contender that uses a Rocketdyne LR-105 engine as its propulsion system, an engine from the Atlas ICBM. Imagine LSRV has current projections of achieving Mach 2 or 1,400 mph[citation needed]. The team at Land Speed Research Vehicles LLC has the capabilities[citation needed] and equipment[citation needed] to increase the tank capacities on Imagine LSRV to possibly reach Mach 3 or 2,200 mph[citation needed]. Currently no other car being built can even come close to the expected top speeds of Imagine LSRV because of its unique rocket technology[citation needed].
Sonic Wind - [5] a bipropellant rocket powered ice racer constructed to exceed the speed of sound on ice. The initial goal of Sonic Wind is to break the Land Speed Record on ice of 247 mph and then push the record to over 1000 mph. Sonic Wind has wind tunnel tested[citation needed] to achieve Mach 2 (1,400 mph) and with an engine from the Bell X-1 record setting supersonic test plane it has the propulsion to go that fast as well[citation needed]. Sonic Wind is completely built[citation needed] and ready for testing in Southern California, waiting for the right weather conditions and location to test run. Sonic Wind has been to the ice two times in the past[citation needed] and each time warm weather was not cooperating making the ice too soft for a trial run.