It was a scene that brought on thoughts and feelings of what it could have been like to watch Craig Breedlove, Art Arfons, Nathan Ostich, Walt Arfons, or any of the other land speed heroes of the 1960s unload one of their massive machines from its place of slumber. Instead, the reality of the situation was 100% cooler than any fantasy that we could dream up because we were right there to watch it happen ourselves. What you see here is the North American Eagle land speed car owned by Ed Shadle being unloaded at the back of the Las Vegas Convention Center for display at the 2014 SEMA show. The photos below will have you watching a 14,000lb, 40,000+ horsepower, former F-104A-10 fighter jet now with clipped wings being unloaded from a very unique and cool hauler than it lives in. The car has gone well in excess of 400mph during test runs and the objective is to someday break the sound barrier and perhaps the 1,000mph barrier that Richard Noble and the entire county of England is shooting for with the Bloodhound SSC. With a massive J-79 turbine engine making the power out back and a talented driver in the form of Jesse Coombs, the sky is potentially the limit.
This whole scene came to us by happy coincidence as Chad and I were driving to another event on Monday evening. Passing by the back of the Las Vegas Convention Center, I looked to me right, saw the tail of this monstrous creation coming out of the trailer and yelled to Chad some swear words that I cannot repeat here. Her promptly slid his Suburban sideways into the exit road of the convention center and we drove right up it, passing a security person who we assured that we were just a couple of lost idiots that were turning around. Then we parked the truck.
We stood and talked with Ed Shadle and the crew guys on hand who were unloading the car for a while and simply took the whole scene in. To be brutally honest, this is a SEMA memory that will hang with me for the rest of my days. Chad and I were the only two guys there and to see this whole thing happen truly was awesome (one of the few times I have ever used that word in the correct context).
The trailer looks like it started life as a moving trailer and has since been modified to carry the massive car. It has a giant sliding sling lift inside it that controls the loading and unloading process. Using a huge rubber belt as a sling, the car’s nose is lifted and the whole thing is gently guided to the back of the trailer and down the ramps. When the car is close to being completely out of the truck it is placed on some steel stands, the rig is pulled forward and then the belt is repositioned for the car to be lowered to the ground. It was an intense process to watch but one that the team has down pat. As you can imagine they were being very careful!
Shadle and crew have had the car out nearly a dozen times now and each trip has been a learning experience. They were hoping to get out and start to lean on it this year but the conditions did not make the thoughts or expense of that trip worth it. Some people may scoff at the idea of these guys actually trying to run down the big numbers against Richard Noble and the entire county of England who will be bringing the full force of the Bloodhound to bear next year but we can’t help but to be completely enthralled. It is like the old days of the California hot rodders chasing down the records set by rich British guys in cars that the had constructed themselves. This is a 56-foot long, 14,000lb, 40,000hp David and those other guys are Goliath. The fact that the power is coming from a J-79, the same style of engine used by all of the heavy hitters in the 1960s land speed wars that consumed the hot rodding rags and budgets of tire companies at that time makes it even better.
We’re going to continue this story through the week. Stay tuned and more importantly, scroll down to see the North American Eagle leave the confines of its trailer here at SEMA 2014.
SCROLL DOWN TO SEE PHOTOS OF THE MASSIVE NORTH AMERICAN EAGLE LAND SPEED CAR BEING UNLOADED FROM ITS UNIQUE HAULER –
This is what I’m talkin about!
Some proper old school hot-rodders buy an old obsolete jet fighter, saw the wings off stick some wheels under it and hit 1,000 mph before those toffee-nosed Brits have even got their creation off the computer screens!
Eat American dust Richard Noble – this is real life
Yeah .. except these guys have yet to of run a wheel in genuine anger despite being at it now for well over a decade . Now don’t get me wrong … I’m all for them and keep hoping they’ll get it together slapping those over financed Brit boys up their snide little faces . But presently the facts are .. the only dust Noble is likely to be eating anytime in the near future is the dust he kicks up himself … unfortunately .. Which is to also say … when it comes to ‘ real ‘ life as you put it versus the big bucks British money machine behind their past and present efforts … £’s talk .. with real life takes a very long walk into obscurity
Sad and a bit cynical to say the least . But thats the way things are these days ..
Hey Coloradokid, I’ve run speeds up to 515 MPH at the Alvord Desert. We only had 7.8 miles of track available so I think we made some good runs “in anger”. If you have a way to convince the BLM to allow us to run at Diamond Valley in Nevada, please do so. There is 15 miles available there. Even Jessi made a pass at 447 mph and ran a two way average over the measured mile, within one hour for an average of 398.6001 mph. After 44 test runs, we’re ready to get-it-on if you can get the BLM to forgo the permit fee of $37,480 to run at DV.
Ah, Jeez!
At 1st glance of the driver’s name, I thought of the gal from the DIY TV infomercials and Overhaulin’.
A little research showed it would not be her.
All’s better, now…
Actually it is the Jessi Combs from Extreme 4X4 on Powerblock.
she is a living BADASS!!! she competes in the Ultra 4 offroad championships. I believe she won her class at King of the Hammers 2013.
Ha, ha!
First of all, check the name spelling differences.
Secondly, would the fact a person can spin wrenches, strike an arc, and compete in [relatively slow] dirt-based racing give her creds to pilot a vehicle capable of attaining the speed of sound or 1,000 MPH, as the article mentions?
Think about it.
I’m being serious here and would expect others to respond in kind.
It’s the same chick, and she has already driven the car to almost 400MPH.
That is so cool.
It’s wild that it is an old F-104 Starfighter with it’s wings clipped off. They were designed to do one job, chase down high altitude Ruskie bombers and shoot them down. They had incredible climb rates and I believe Chuck Yeager took one up to 87,000 feet before it came apart and he had to bail out. Their wings were in name only. Literally razor sharp. Ones I have seen in the museums have rubber caps on the leading edges to keep people from cutting themselves.
The last time I saw the Eagle it had nothing to protect the driver if things “go South”. Have things changed? I don’t think so.
To John: If things go South at 700+ mph, no rollcage will protect the driver. If a rollcage would do that, all fighter jets would have one. The ThrustSSC didn’t have one and the new Bloodhound is a carbonfibre monocoque tub with no rollcage. The G forces from a crash would kill the driver anyway. We do have a harness, the driver breaths compressed air and wears a SFI 20 firesuit. There is halon fire suppression. The driver sits in an ejection seat but it is not armed. The concept must focus on stability and control, that is why we have run as many as 44 runs so far and utilize over 52 sensors on the car to give feedback to the aerodynamics team to compare the characteristics against the CFD analysis we have been conducting on the design.
it is her, she is “bad ass”