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In 1993, Rosco with the help of 25 professionals, all volunteers, assembled his first Land Speed Racer known as "Aussie Invader II". This car was powered by a 36,000 hp Mirage Jet Fighter Engine. This racer was a culmination of 10 years blood, sweat and tears. On the first outing Aussie Invader II reached a speed of 450 mph. Due to bad weather, the team were forced away from their Salt Lake race venue, in central Australia and back to their base in Western Australia, to prepare for their next attack on the Australian Land Speed Record of 403 mph.
1994 saw a revamped Aussie Invader II and a much more experienced race team. Rosco McGlashan became the "Fastest Aussie On Earth" with an official 500 mph two way pass. Not being content to settle with an Australian Record, Rosco convinced a nervous team that he would have a go at the World Land Speed Record, despite poor salt conditions, rain and bad light.
Rosco ran his racer southbound on a track in very poor condition. At 580 mph Aussie Invader II broke through the salt surface and tram-lined through the timing equipment, 200 yards away from the tracks measured mile. Aussie Invader II was a write-off. Immediately the team went to work on a newer, sleeker and more powerful car known as Aussie Invader III.
The Aussie Invader Team returned to Lake Gairdner in South Australia in 1996. After some test passes, the car recorded a peak speed of 643 mph which was faster than the World Land Speed Record held by Richard Noble at 633 mph, however to claim a new world record, two passes must be made in opposite directions within one hour and again bad weather prevented the team from achieving this goal.
In 1997 the British in their twin jet engine car ran 763 mph, creating the biggest jump in the history of the Land Speed Record, with their car going supersonic on the way. This effectively made Aussie Invader III redundant.
After witnessing the success of Spaceship One’s historic flight, Rosco knew he needed a BIG rocket motor to set his next record and consulted Rocket Legends Bob Truax and Ken Mason. From that meeting came an introduction to Rocket Lab in NZ, with the aim to get him to the holy grail of a 1000 mph LSR.
After many years of planning and testing, different designs and propulsion formats, work is now underway on Aussie Invader 5R.
Aussie Invader 5R is unique in design, being built around a 40' bisalloy 36" tube, using 4 x 15.5k lbf H2O2 / bio-fuel rockets, with a combined thrust of 62,000 lbf. This vehicle is designed to have a dry weight of 14,000 lbs and will go from a standing start to 1000 mph in 19 seconds. As the car enters the measured mile, one rocket motor shuts down, not wanting to exceed the magic 1000 mph barrier by more than 15 mph, to limit the max rpm of our wheel safety rating.
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The Kids Cancer Support Group is made up of a group of parents who have all had a child diagnosed with Cancer or who have lost a child to Cancer. They give emotional and practical support to other families whose children are receiving treatment at Princess Margaret Hospital in Perth WA. Visit their website www.kcsg.org.au
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Rosco would love to run his Land Speed Record attempt in Nevada, due to the mud lake surface found at the Black Rock and Diamond Valley location. The 4000' altitude means there is less drag and the zero fly population is very attractive.
Securing 50 tonnes of propulsion grade hydrogen peroxide in the US is proving a real headache, this product is readily available in China and Belgium, but shipping it into the US is tough.
Our car is making steady progress, as I have mentioned to several of my LSR contacts around the world. I can build this car in my home state of Western Australia for comparatively little cost, and that is what we are doing. However it is hard to put a completion date on our project, all we can do is "keep on keeping on".
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