Donald Campbell was a British car and motorboat racer who broke 8 world speed records in the 1950s and 60s. He remains the only person to set both
land and water speed records in the same year (1964). Campbell began his speed record attempts using his father's old boat Bluebird K4, but after
a structural failure at 170 mph (270 km/h) on Coniston Water, Lancashire in 1951 he developed a new boat.
The Bluebird K7 was an all-metal jet-propelled 3-point hydroplane with a Metropolitan-Vickers Beryl jet engine producing 3500 lbf (16 kN) of thrust.
Campbell set 7 world water speed records in K7 between 1955 and 1964.
On 4 January 1967, Campbell was killed when Bluebird K7 flipped and disintegrated at a speed in excess of 300 mph (480 km/h). The wreckage of
Campbell's craft was recovered on 8 March 2001 by the Bluebird Project, a group of amateur wreck-diving enthusiasts who share the dream of seeing
the boat being rebuilt to her condition pre-crash, using as much original material as possible.
Frost have supplied tools to help with the reconstruction of Bluebird K7's nose section, skin and structure.
More information on the Bluebird Project, click here
Heh, I saw the title and thought Mr Whippy had decided to renovate his car
In rememberance, I shall return my avatar to something suitable.
That was taken of the full size mockup used for "across the lake" that is now available to view in Holker hall motor museum.
Probably visit Conniston Water in a couple of weeks when we take a trip to the Lakes for a few days.
Hope the weather is better than the day of his funeral 30ish years under the water, then they fish him out and bury him on the bloody wettest day I
can remember, twas a happy occasion though, for a funeral anyway...
Sorry for being a whipper - snapper, but what relevance does this have to locost related?
Is it a memorial day today or something?
Or is just something intersting you found?
Sorry for being dim, but I'm intreged.
quote:
Originally posted by Dangle_kt
Sorry for being a whipper - snapper, but what relevance does this have to locost related?
