Every bump and wobble you feel when your driving is exponentially worse at such high speeds. It took British Royal Air Force fighter pilot Andy Green an intense amount of control, concentration, and composure just to be able to maintain a straight line. Not to mention the issue of sand getting in the engines. The most remarkable aspect was the breaking of the sound barrier itself.
“It’s the loudest, highest-pitched scream I’ve ever heard,”
Though the difficulty in controlling the beast was worth mention.
“The car tended to pull—because of the way it was constructed with the staggered rear wheels—tended to pull hard left at around 600 miles per hour, and that was requiring up to ninety degrees of steering lock to keep it straight.”
It was so intense he actually had to tone it down until he could recenter himself on the line, once he did, it was back to full power.
They did it, they drove past the sound barrier. They weren't done though; for a record to be set, it needs to have been done twice within an hour. A task they managed to accomplish with no problem.
On October 15, 1997, Andy Green set a World Land Speed Record of 760.035 mph, and Thrust SSC became the first and only car to break the sound barrier.
For how long? The Bloodhound SSC is currently in development and will be running later this month, in hopes of reaching 1000mph.
