Bloodhound prepares to let rip

It's taking a blooming long time, but land speed records can't be rushed. How ironic.

The Bloodhound supersonic car has been fired up for the first time - and worked a treat. Engineers turned over the vehicle's Eurofighter jet engine in a "tie-down" test at Cornwall's Newquay airfield on Friday. It worked flawlessly, sending a big orange flame out of the rear nozzle. The intention is for the car to begin some "slow-speed" running - about 200mph (320km/h) - at the end of next month.

"It's given us huge confidence going forward. We now know the engine has no limits just because it's in a car. It is an EJ200 with the full performance envelope available to us, under all conditions, from stationary onwards."

October's slow-speed running should have paved the way for an attempt on the world land speed record in 2018, but it looks now as though the project will have to slip another year. In part, this is because there are still technical challenges to do with Bloodhound's rocket motor. This is coming from the Norwegian aerospace company Nammo, and the development work must fit in around the firm's commercial business, which has extended the timeline.

But the Bloodhound project also has to function within its privately generated budget, and although some big sponsorship deals have been signed recently, engineering can only proceed at the rate cash comes into the venture. The decision has therefore been made to wait until 2019 to begin the assault on the land speed record.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-41446557