Now the true character of BLOODHOUND is becoming clear – we had a highly successful launch in October at the Science Museum and generated over £3m AVE of publicity, and 20 TV documentary offers while 9,000 people made it to our 5 day exhibition. Richard Knight our head of Comms was quick to pick up the key point ‘ Look,’ he said ‘the media are endorsing the project, they are not disputing or trivialising it –there is real serious enthusiasm for what we are trying to do ‘
Gradually the message is getting home – the Land Speed Record is about the only high technology challenge where all the data can be shared with the schools, as the project happens. Motor sport can’t do it- they are into secrecy and exclusivity, space can only show pictures and the defence industry is mired in military secrets and commercial IPR. But because the LSR design restrictions are so minimal, it means that each challenger car is likely to be very different in design and the technology (which in many cases is unproven) is unlikely to transfer easily to a competitor – even if they wanted it! In most cases of course the competition will have their own ideas. So the LSR projects are probably unique in that they can share all data with schools. So Lord Drayson had it right when he asked Andy Green and I to create an iconic engineering project which could be run through all UK schools. In fact we are starting to get activity from American schools!
Early in December the BLOODHOUND Education Team known as the BET decided that their August 2008 objective is 10% of all UK primary and secondary schools. Since there are the better part of 25,000 schools, I became very concerned that the BET were being over ambitious and suggested that they reconsider. I was unable to attend their December meeting but according to the minutes there was a spirited revolt and so 10% it is !! By mid January 514 schools had made contact and indicated they intend to use BLOODHOUND in the classrooms. I think the BET are going to get there and boy am I glad that they didn’t listen to me ! This is a great example of how a flat company works – the BET team take responsibility for what they are setting out to achieve and they make their own decisions . In an old style hierarchy company, like a bank, they would have been forced to reduce their targets because (as in this case) the chief Exec was out of touch and thought they were being too ambitious!
Over in Australia Rosco McGlashan is underway with the Aussie Invader R a huge 10 tonne rocket car – and we have learned that there is an unannounced US Program developing – so we could end up with three 1000mph contenders. That will really change Motor Racing on a global platform! Also it looks as if 2009 is going to be the year for the North American Eagle people – after 2009 there is going to be 1000MPH hardware.
On December 7th Ian Glover (known as The Presidente) hosted the first 1K club get together. We all hoped it would go something like the way the ThrustSSC meetings went, but we really didn’t know what to expect, after all this a new project with new people and ThrustSSC was 11 years ago. 250 members turned up and the goodwill was just amazing particularly when you consider we had had quite a few teething problems with the web sign up system, which caused intense frustration all round. There was huge interest and everyone seemed to leave the superb UWE lecture facility on a high – the formula seems to be working and Ian is absolutely determined to achieve over 20,000 members – 4 times the ThrustSSC Mach One Club membership. As I write this we are fast approaching 900 paid up members in just over 80 days – the 1K club is on the move big time . The membership should spread by geometric progression and the growth rate should increase fed by BLOODHOUND appearance at shows exhibition and car club evenings.
Back at UWE John Piper , otherwise known as JP and the design team had come to the same conclusion. The Project is advancing strongly on a very wide front and we now have to take on the credit crunch head on. Of course there is always the comfortable option of delaying the build until we have easier economic times and the banks have begun being banks again. But the LSR has never been about being comfortable – and of course a tough fight to get our car built serves to toughen up the team for the big battle ahead to get to the magic 1000mph - and of course also take the low level air speed record on the way!
At one of our December meetings JP made the point that 'we have to build it in a year – the project is developing fast and with a huge wave of enthusiasm. Conor La Grue who looks after the product sponsorships has done £1.1m since the launch. I think we go for it and get the car rolled out early in 2010’.
I agreed – the project is clearly getting a very encouraging reception from the public and schools and holding back on the build would send very mixed messages. Credit crunch or no credit crunch we have to go forward to build. It’s a bit like being a surfer - we have the wave and we have to go for it .
So that’s our plan – sign off the design by end March, into build by May - and roll it out by March 2010 - its so easy if you say it quickly! But there’s a huge amount to be achieved – firstly Daniel Jubb has to get his firings underway with the full scale 27,000lbs thrust rocket in Mojave - he has been delayed by the issuing of the necessary export permits – but now that has been achieved the rocket motor, V-12 and pump are on the way to the US. Time and time again the fast moving project gets slowed by third party bureaucracy – and being on the critical path it really costs.
The problem is that the hierarchy organisations cannot move as fast as BLOODHOUND and we have to avoid involvement if we can. We had one deal take 6 months to achieve and another took 4 months of extreme frustration – but we are in clear water now with both deals confirmed . So now JP and the design team have to tidy up the rest of the car design, sort out the main structure which is being developed with Arup and of course deal with the last aero concerns. John Davis has to build up the systems which is a huge undertaking and then there are other major opportunities (we have no difficulties – just opportunities!) like finding or creating an entire 250sq metre workshop and visitor centre by April. The design team would ideally like to remain in Bristol where they live and where we can maintain our close relationship with the UWE. UWE have offered us the use of the their large carpark on what was the HP Campus on which to erect a massive temporary building. Somehow this has to be done at minimal cost. Just in case the UWE project does not work we are looking at other alternatives and it looks as though we are on the way to a number of good offers.
As you can figure the project is growing very fast now and it is a dangerous time because of two elements - cashflow and communication. In cashflow terms each month is a nightmare – we generally start each month with ambitious targets and we have to get everyone paid by the end. Communication is a big problem - as the project grows and new people join, it takes them time to adjust to the culture of fast decision making and fast communication. To help us Tony Parraman has joined to look after the internal communication – every time you access us via the web, your mail goes to Tony who quickly streams it to the right person. We have also instituted the TonyGramme a weekly electronic team update which enables everyone to report their weeks activities.
So how the Hell are we going to build a £4m car in the middle of a severe credit crunch? It was amazing timing: the big companies went into financial hibernation just about the time we launched the project! The strategy we have adopted is to build up Conor’s product sponsorships to achieve the maximum resource at minimal financial cost, thus reducing the amount of finance needed to meet the build costs. In parallel with that we have introduce the stripe sponsorship – we have given the car livery a thin horizontal strip and we are selling lower cost sponsorships enabling branding on the stripe. According to my calcs we can sell 12 of these Stripe Sponsorships and generate over £1m per annum, without affecting any of the big blocks of advertising space on the BLOODHOUND hull.
The first Stripe Sponsors are our friends at Rainham Industrial Services – a company that provides industrial support and maintenance facilities for the big power generators. Chris Boocock and the team at Rainham are specialists in health and safety and appropriate risk analysis and this is going to be hugely valuable . We have always tried to be a very safe organisation - but I really appreciate their help because we are going to learn a great deal from them. Also the law has changed and if we get it wrong it means a spell for the Project Director in the cooler at Her Majesties Pleasure!
In parallel with all this Andy Green has been driving up the desert selection programme. We have learned a great deal and realise just how important and unique The Black Rock Desert was. Now that we plan to have the car by March 2010 – we now have to plan three record attempts for 800,900 and the magic 1000mph.
So whats it like to work on BLOODHOUND? Well frankly its bloody tough, like ThrustSSC it’s a very big programme (much bigger with the education programme) - and we just don’t have the funding for a large office to handle all this work. Like a charity the overhead must be kept to absolute minimum in order that maximum funds be made available for the design and build. The education programme is separately funded via DCFS and the EPRSC – the idea is that those funds are not to be used for the engineering project. Most of us start very early just to get through the workload, if you don’t, the project starts getting ahead of you, you have difficulty in keeping up and you are effectively slowing everyone else. Tricia Frith my long suffering PA bangs on the door at 7.30am and I seem to finish about midnight. Getting enough sleep is a becoming a serious problem. But to keep up the pace you have to start off a new deal every day.
Earlier this month we had a small stand at the Autosport International show at the NEC. The public response was very solid and we put on the better part of 150 1K club memberships. We put one of the EJ200’s on the stand and it was quickly described as an engineering jewel. As the message gets around the education establishment we find more and more teachers appearing at the stands and taking serious interest. At Autosport there was also a superb character who was very concerned that his company was not taking part . ‘We could do it standing our bloody heads’. He went off to lobby the company board with a massive petition. BLOODHOUND is starting to build very solid mass, controversy and plenty of emotion. We must be making progress!
Can we really get BLOODHOUND SSC built by March 2010? None of us knows but that’s not going to stop us doing it.
Richard Noble
January 2009
