Craig Breedlove
Encyclopedia
Land speed record
The land speed record is the highest speed achieved by a wheeled vehicle on land. There is no single body for validation and regulation; in practice the Category C flying start regulations are used, officiated by regional or national organizations under the auspices of the Fédération...
holder. He was the first to reach 400 mi/h, 500 mi/h, and 600 mi/h, using several turbojet-powered vehicles, all named Spirit of America.
Land vehicle speed records
In 1962, he made his first attempt, in a freewheeling tricycleTricycle
A tricycle is a three-wheeled vehicle. While tricycles are often associated with the small three-wheeled vehicles used by pre-school-age children, they are also used by adults for a variety of purposes. In the United States and Canada, adult-sized tricycles are used primarily by older persons for...
(ignoring FIA
Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile
The Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile is a non-profit association established as the Association Internationale des Automobile Clubs Reconnus on 20 June 1904 to represent the interests of motoring organisations and motor car users...
rules requiring four wheels, at least two driven; in the event, FIM
Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme
The Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme is the governing body of motorcycle racing. It represents 103 national motorcycle federations that are divided into six regional continental unions....
happily accepted it) powered by a General Electric
General Electric
General Electric Company , or GE, is an American multinational conglomerate corporation incorporated in Schenectady, New York and headquartered in Fairfield, Connecticut, United States...
J47
General Electric J47
|-Specifications :-Nuclear-powered version – The X39:In the 1950s, interest in the development of nuclear-powered aircraft led GE to experiment with two nuclear-powered gas turbine designs, one based on the J47, and another new and much larger engine called the X211.The design based on the J47...
engine. On 5 August 1963, this first Spirit made her first record attempt, using just 90% of available thrust to reach 388.47 mph (625.2 km/h) over the measured mile. The return pass, on 95% power, turned up a two-way average of 407.45 mph (655.7 km/h). Spirit of America was so light on the ground, she did not even need to change tires afterward.
For 1964, Breedlove faced competition from Walt Arfons
Walt Arfons
Walt Arfons is the half brother of Art Arfons, his former partner in drag racing, and his competitor in jet-powered land speed record racing. Along with Art, he was a pioneer in the use of aircraft jet engines for these types of competition.Walt's mother, Bessie, was half Cherokee, and died in...
' Wingfoot Express
Wingfoot Express
The Wingfoot Express was Walt Arfons and Tom Green's jet-powered land speed record car, driven by Green to a record on October 2, 1964, after Walt suffered a heart attack just prior. The Express was powered by a Westinghouse J46 engine and hit the 413 mph record mark.-History:At a trade fair in...
(piloted by Tom Green
Tom Green (designer)
Tom Green worked with Walt Arfons to design and drive the Wingfoot Express, the jet-powered land speed record car. Green drove the car to a world record speed on October 2, 1964...
), as well as from brother Art Arfons
Art Arfons
Arthur Eugene "Art" Arfons was the world land speed record holder three times in 1964 – 1965 with his Green Monster series of jet-powered cars, after a series of Green Monster piston-engine and jet-engined dragsters...
in his four-wheel FIA-legal Green Monster. With more engine power, Breedlove upped the record to 468.72 mph (754.3 km/h) "[w]ith almost insolent ease", then to 526.28 mph (847 km/h). making him the first man to exceed 500 mph (804.7 km/h). This pass was not without incident, however, for one of his drogue parachute
Drogue parachute
A drogue parachute is a parachute designed to be deployed from a rapidly moving object in order to slow the object, or to provide control and stability, or as a pilot parachute to deploy a larger parachute...
's shroud lines parted, and Spirit of America ran on for 5 mi (8 km) before near-missing a telegraph pole and coming to rest in a lake. This record stood all of twelve days before Green Monster broke it, recording a two-run average of 536.71 mph (863.8 km/h).
In response, Breedlove built an FIA-legal four-wheeler, Sonic 1, powered by a 15000 lbf (66.7 kN) J79. 2 November 1965, Breedlove entered the FIA record book with a two-run average of 555.483 mph (894 km/h). This lasted even less time than before, for Green Monster came back five days later at 576.553 mph (927.9 km/h). On 15 November, Breedlove responded with a 600.601 mph (966.6 km/h) record (after turning in an amazing 608.201 mph (978.8 km/h) return pass), which held until 1970. (It would be broken by Gary Gabelich
Gary Gabelich
Gary Gabelich was a Croatian-American race car driver who set the land speed record with his rocket-powered vehicle "Blue Flame" on October 23, 1970, achieving an average speed of . Only 13,000 lbs. s.t...
's Blue Flame, which reached 630.388 mph (1,014.5 km/h).) To take the record back, Breedlove planned a supersonic rocket car, "complete with ejector seat!" (After winding up in a lake, this is understandable.) Also in 1965, Breedlove's wife, Lee, took the seat in Sonic 1, making four passes and achieving 308.506 mph (496.5 km/h), making her the fastest woman alive, and making them the fastest couple, which they remain.
During 1968, Lynn Garrison
Lynn Garrison
Lynn Garrison is a Canadian pilot and political adviser. He was an RCAF fighter pilot from the 403 City of Calgary Squadron, commercial pilot, film producer, director and mercenary...
, President of Craig Breedlove & Associates started to package a deal that saw Utah's Governor, Calvin Rampton provide a hangar facility for the construction of a supersonic car. Bill Lear
Bill Lear
William Powell Lear was an American inventor and businessman. He is best known for founding the Lear Jet Corporation, a manufacturer of business jets...
, of Learjet fame, was to provide support, along with his friend Art Linkletter
Art Linkletter
Arthur Gordon "Art" Linkletter was a Canadian-born American radio and television personality. He was the host of House Party, which ran on CBS radio and television for 25 years, and People Are Funny, on NBC radio-TV for 19 years...
. Playboy
Playboy
Playboy is an American men's magazine that features photographs of nude women as well as journalism and fiction. It was founded in Chicago in 1953 by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from Hefner's mother. The magazine has grown into Playboy Enterprises, Inc., with...
magazine hoped to have the car painted black, with a white bunny on the rudder. TRW was supplying a lunar lander rocket motor. A change in public interest saw the concept shelved for a period of time.
They also negotiated for the use of the late Donald Campbell's wheel-driven Bluebird CN7 record-breaker.
After a lengthy break from world records and making his name as a real estate agent, Breedlove began work on a new Spirit in 1992, eventually named Spirit of America Formula Shell LSRV. The vehicle is 44 ft 10 in long, 8 ft 4 in wide, and 5 ft 10 in high (13.67 m by 2.54 m by 1.78 m) and weighs 9,000 lb (4,100 kg), construction is on a steel tube or space frame
Space frame
A space frame or space structure is a truss-like, lightweight rigid structure constructed from interlocking struts in a geometric pattern. Space frames can be used to span large areas with few interior supports...
with an aluminium
Aluminium
Aluminium or aluminum is a silvery white member of the boron group of chemical elements. It has the symbol Al, and its atomic number is 13. It is not soluble in water under normal circumstances....
skin body. The engine is the same as in the second Spirit, a J79, but it is modified to burn unleaded gasoline
Gasoline
Gasoline , or petrol , is a toxic, translucent, petroleum-derived liquid that is primarily used as a fuel in internal combustion engines. It consists mostly of organic compounds obtained by the fractional distillation of petroleum, enhanced with a variety of additives. Some gasolines also contain...
and generates a maximum thrust of 22,650 lbf (100.75 kN).
The first run of the vehicle on October 28, 1996 in the Black Rock Desert
Black Rock Desert
The Black Rock Desert is an arid region in the northern Nevada section of the Great Basin with a lakebed that is a dry remnant of Pleistocene Lake Lahontan...
, Nevada ended in a crash at around 675 mi/h. Returning in 1997 the vehicle badly damaged the engine on an early run and when the British ThrustSSC
ThrustSSC
ThrustSSC, also spelt Thrust SSC by secondary sources, is a British jet-propelled car developed by Richard Noble, Glynne Bowsher, Ron Ayers and Jeremy Bliss....
managed over 700 mi/h, the re-engined Spirit could do no better than 676 mi/h. Breedlove believes the vehicle is capable of exceeding 800 mi/h, but has yet to demonstrate this.
In late 2006 it was announced that Breedlove sold the car to Steve Fossett
Steve Fossett
James Stephen Fossett was an American commodities trader, businessman, and adventurer. Fossett is the first person to fly solo nonstop around the world in a balloon...
who was to make an attempt on the land speed record in 2007, marking the end of an era of land speed record breaking. Fossett died in a plane crash in 2007. Breedlove's vehicle, renamed the "Sonic Arrow", was rolled out on the Black Rock Desert
Black Rock Desert
The Black Rock Desert is an arid region in the northern Nevada section of the Great Basin with a lakebed that is a dry remnant of Pleistocene Lake Lahontan...
for a photo opportunity on October 15, 2007. The effort to run the car continues with the team presently recruiting drivers.
Speed records in an AMX
American Motors
American Motors Corporation was an American automobile company formed by the 1954 merger of Nash-Kelvinator Corporation and Hudson Motor Car Company. At the time, it was the largest corporate merger in U.S. history.George W...
(AMC) in 1968 to prepare the automaker's pony and high-performance cars, the Javelin
AMC Javelin
The Javelin was a production version of one of the AMC AMX prototypes shown during the 1966 AMX project nationwide tour. Intended to rival other pony cars such as the Ford Mustang and Chevrolet Camaro. American Motor's Javelin debuted on 22 August 1967, for the 1968 model year...
and the AMX
AMC AMX
The AMC AMX is a two-seat GT in style and approach sports car that was produced by American Motors Corporation for the 1968 through 1970 model years. The AMX was also classified as a muscle car, but "unique among other American cars at the time due its short wheelbase"...
, for speed and endurance records.
In January 1968, one month before the official introduction of the AMX model, Breedlove, his wife Lee, and Ron Dykes, established fourteen United States Automobile Club
United States Automobile Club
The United States Auto Club is one of the sanctioning bodies of auto racing in the United States. From 1956 to 1979, the USAC sanctioned the United States National Championship, and from 1956 to 1997 the organization sanctioned the Indianapolis 500...
(USAC) and Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile
Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile
The Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile is a non-profit association established as the Association Internationale des Automobile Clubs Reconnus on 20 June 1904 to represent the interests of motoring organisations and motor car users...
(FIA) certified speed records for cars of any engine size, and 106 national and international speed and endurance records for cars with less than 488 CID.
Two cars were prepared for the speed runs. The shattered records included a Class C AMX (standard (290 CID engine
AMC V8 engine
American Motors Corporation produced a series of widely-used V8 engines from the mid-1950s before being absorbed into Chrysler in 1987. Chrysler kept the AMC V8 in production until 1991 for the Jeep Grand Wagoneer....
with 4-speed manual transmission) 24-hour average of 140.79 mi/h that was set by Craig and his wife Lee. New records in a Class B AMX (390 CID V8
AMC V8 engine
American Motors Corporation produced a series of widely-used V8 engines from the mid-1950s before being absorbed into Chrysler in 1987. Chrysler kept the AMC V8 in production until 1991 for the Jeep Grand Wagoneer....
with a 3-speed automatic) included a 75 miles (120.7 km) flying start at 174.295 mi/h, and 173.044 mi/h for 100 miles (160.9 km) from a standing start.
After the cars were displayed at the Chicago Auto Show
Chicago Auto Show
The Chicago Auto Show is held annually in February at Chicago's McCormick Placeconvention complex. It is among the largest auto shows in North America....
in February 1968. Breedlove took the AMX to Bonneville. He established a USAC sanctioned record of 189 mph (84.5 m/s) as well as an unofficial run of over 200 mph (89.4 m/s).
Awards
He was inducted in the Motorsports Hall of Fame of AmericaMotorsports Hall of Fame of America
The Motorsports Hall of Fame of America is a Hall of Fame and museum for American motorsports legends. It was originally located in Novi, Michigan and it moved to the Detroit Science Center in 2009.-Museum:...
in 1993.
In 2000, he was inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame
International Motorsports Hall of Fame
The International Motorsports Hall of Fame is a Hall of Fame dedicated to enshrining those who have contributed the most to auto racing either as a driver, owner, developer or engineer...
.
Records
| August 5, 1963 | Breedlove reached 407.45 mi/h in Spirit of America at Bonneville Salt Flats, Utah, thus earning him the land speed record Land speed record The land speed record is the highest speed achieved by a wheeled vehicle on land. There is no single body for validation and regulation; in practice the Category C flying start regulations are used, officiated by regional or national organizations under the auspices of the Fédération... . |
| October 13, 1964 | Breedlove reached 468.719 mi/h in Spirit of America Sonic 1 at Bonneville, reclaiming the record from Art Arfons. |
| October 15, 1964 | Just two days later, Breedlove broke his own record and breached the 500 mph barrier at 526.277 mi/h, in Spirit of America Sonic 1 at Bonneville |
| November 2, 1965 | Breedlove reached 555.483 mi/h in Sonic 1 at Bonneville, reclaiming the record from Art Arfons. |
| November 15, 1965 | Thirteen days later, Breedlove breached the 600 mph barrier at 600.601 mi/h in Sonic 1 at Bonneville. |