Starting some years ago one of my passions for speed led me to becoming an active member of the North American Eagle which is a challenger built to take back the Supersonic land speed record from the Brits and return it to the United States. Our goal is to break the existing record of 763 mph by reaching 800 mph! The main power plant for this awesome machine is a J-79 turbojet jet engine that was originally was used in the Phantom F-4’s. There is also the possibility of utilizing a small 6,000 lb. thrust liquid propellant motor for added boost. The car weighs about 13,500 lb., but instead of the approximately 180 hp V-8 engine under the hood, the North American Eagle has 39,000 hp! It would take about $10,000,000 dollars to build the car today, which includes developmental, engineering and non-recurring costs. Someone once asked, “Can you drive this car on the street?”… The answer is no. For some reason the state highway patrol have problems with cars that shoot 70 foot flames from the tailpipe! You think you gave fuel economy problems? In full afterburner this car consumes about 10 gallons of jet fuel every second! In one mile it burns 50 gallons. Do the math… that works out to .02 miles per gallon, or about 105 feet per gallon. All of a sudden $5.00 a gallon to fill my 22 gallon pickup doesn’t seems so bad.
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