Spirit of America

 

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Date Location Driver Driver Country Vehicle Power Speed over
1 Km
Speed over
1 Mile
Comments
September 5, 1963 Bonneville Salt Flats, USA Craig Breedlove USA Spirit of America
J-47 Jet Engine
JT
Turbojet
408.312 mph (657.114 km/h) 407.447 mph (655.722 km/h) First person to set record over 400 mph, first to use Jet Engine
Record not accepted by FIA as the car was three wheeled and not powered through its wheels but it was recognised by the FIM as a 'motorcycle and sidecar'

Spirit of America is the trademarked name used by Craig Breedlove for his land speed record-setting vehicles.

The Spirit of America was the first of the modern record breaking cars, build within new rules with its three wheel design, narrow stream-lined shape and most significantly turbojet engine. Like most of the other competing vehicles the engine was ex-military, the first Spirit had a GE J47 engine from a F-86 Sabre and was tested at Bonneville Salt Flats in 1962, where difficult handling resulted in failure. Before trying again a new stablizer was added and a steerable front wheel. He set his first record on September 5, 1963 at Bonneville, the first man to exceed 400 mph

After setting the record it was broken in October 1964 by Tom Green and further extended by Art Arfons. Breedlove returned to Bonneville with Spirit and pushed the record over 500 mph, setting it at 526.277 mph on October 15, a record that stood for almost two weeks. In setting the new record, at the end of his second run, the Spirit lost its parachute brakes, skidded for five miles, through a row of telephone poles and crashed into a brine pond at around 200 mph, Breedlove was uninjured. The Spirit was recovered and taken by the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago as an exhibit.

External link

http://www.spiritofamerica.com

spirit of America
Craig Breedlove's "Spirit of America", 1965

spirit of America

spirit of America
Craig Breedlove's "Spirit of America", 1963

spirit of America

spirit of America

spirit of America

spirit of America

spirit of America