Speeder...

The Loony Bin ( loonies@bloodaxe.demon.co.uk )
Thu, 20 Jun 1996 07:34:10 +0100


Hiya Loonies...

This is supposed to be true, although I have no confirmation of it...if
anyone deserves to be called a Loony, it's this idiot...sadly no longer
around to accept the honour...

Wishes & Dreams...

- ANDREA
        xx

************<andrea@bloodaxe.demon.co.uk>************
******************<ajc6@ukc.ac.uk>*******************
***                                               ***
***                THE LOONY BIN                  ***
***          loonies@bloodaxe.demon.co.uk         ***
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******************Internet Goddess*******************
*********************ANDROMEDA***********************

  ------- Forwarded foolishness follows -------

The Arizona Highway Patrol came upon a pile of smoldering metal embedded
into the side of a cliff rising above the road at the apex of a curve.
The wreckage resembled the site of an airplane crash, but it was a car.
The  type of car was unidentifiable at the scene. The lab finally
figured out what it was and what had happened.

It seems that a guy had somehow gotten hold of a JATO unit (Jet Assisted
Take Off - actually a solid fuel rocket) that is used to give heavy
military transport planes an extra "push" for taking off from short
airfields. He had driven his Chevy Impala out into the desert and found
a long, straight stretch of road. Then he attached the JATO unit to his
car, jumped in, got up some speed and fired off the JATO!

The facts as best as could be determined are that the operator of the
1967 Impala hit JATO ignition at a distance of approximately 3.0 miles
from the crash site. This was established by the prominent scorched and
melted asphalt at that location. 

The JATO, if operating properly, would have reached  maximum thrust
within 5 seconds, causing the Chevy to reach speeds well in  excess of
350 mp and continuing at full power for an additional  20- 25 seconds.
The driver, soon to be pilot, most likely would have experienced G-
forces usually reserved for dog-fighting F-14 jocks under full
afterburners, basically causing him to become insignificant for the
remainder of the event.  

However, the automobile remained on the straight highway for about 2.5
miles  (15-20) seconds before the driver applied and completely melted
the brakes,  blowing the tires and leaving thick rubber marks on the
road surface, then  becoming airborne for an additional 1.4 miles and
impacting the cliff face at a  height of 125 feet leaving a blackened
crater 3 feet deep in the rock.

Most of the driver's remains were not recoverable; however, small
fragments of bone, teeth and hair were extracted from the crater and
fingernail and bone shards were removed from a piece of debris believed
to be a portion  of the steering wheel."