The Bloodhound SuperSonic Car (SSC) team sped into Cornwall College Camborne from 11th to 13th March during National Science and Engineering Week with a full-size replica of the car they hope will break the Land Speed Record.
Measuring over 12 metres long and nearly three metres tall at the fin, the show car was impressive and gave an incredibly true representation of what the actual car will be like once it’s built.
The model also showcased some of the revolutionary design features that will set it apart from the norm, including the impressive Eurofighter Typhoon EJ200 jet engine and custom designed hybrid rocket, which create what the team believe will be the ultimate Land Speed Record car.
The Bloodhound SSC team brought the show car to the Camborne campus ready for the National Science and Engineering Week (12th to 16th March) celebrations, and there were several opportunities for members of the public to visit.
On Sunday 11th March, the College threw open its doors for the public to view this amazing piece of technology up close, have a go on the Bloodhound Driver Experience Simulator and meet the team who will be building the car and using it to attempt to break the Land Speed Record.
Jess George, 4 from Brea, visited with her mum Jenny, who said: “The car is amazing. It’s really great for the College and for Cornwall to have it here. I can’t believe how fast it’s going to go. My daughter Jess, son Sam and his friend Tanan have really enjoyed themselves.”
Bob Nicholas from Helston, who spent many years as a mechanical engineer for the MOD before retiring, also paid a visit to see the car. He said: “I feel very strongly that we shouldn’t be importing skills into the Westcountry. This type of event gets people engaged and gets youngsters interested in this type of career. We’ll always need engineers.”
The winning team from Penair
Students from schools across Cornwall visited the College on Monday 12th March, and in addition to trying out the simulator and meeting the Bloodhound SSC team, they took part in the Rocket Car Challenge where they raced rocket propelled model cars down the College’s track, and the Pasta Tower Challenge where they constructed a tower out of pasta and marshmallows that could support the weight of a chocolate egg. After competing against each other throughout the day, Penair School were eventually crowned overall champions.
Jessica Jacka, 14 from Mounts Bay School, said: “We designed the car together, brainstormed, picked the best ideas and put them together. We designed the fin on top to help steer and a flat shape to make it air resistant. I think we did pretty well on our first run and I’ve really enjoyed the whole day.”
James Tetley, 13 from Looe School, said; “I liked racing the cars and the simulator best. I eventually want to do marine biology and today has been really great.”
Richard Noble, Director of the Bloodhound SSC Project, was on hand to meet the school teams and also gave a guest lecture at the evening event on Monday 12th March. Richard said: “This entire project is funded by sponsors and public support and we’ve spent approximately £6.3million so far. The public love this project because of the education element and the fact that it’s so engaging. I must say that the events at Cornwall College have been organised extremely professionally and generated a huge amount of interest, which will have a massive impact on the College.”
Dave Linnell, Principal of Cornwall College, said: “We are very proud that the Bloodhound Project visited the College to help us celebrate National Science and Engineering Week, and enjoyed welcoming Richard and his team. There has been so much public interest and support for the events over the last few days, it’s been fantastic. I fully appreciate the tremendous amount of work that has gone into staging such a high profile event, and would like to thank everyone involved.”
The BLOODHOUND Project is an international education initiative focused around a 1,000 mph World Land Speed Record attempt. The core aim is to inspire young people to pursue careers in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) by showcasing these subjects in the most exciting way possible, by building the ultimate racing car.
