Ed Shadle will perform medium speed test runs in his 50,000hp highly modified
F-104, land speed car, the North American Eagle, in preparation of becoming the
fastest man on earth by exceeding 800 MPH to shatter the World Land Speed
Record.
"Continuous testing is the key to our success-clearly the horsepower is there
and we know it will go fast. Testing to date has been limited to 375 mph by the
rubber aviation tires. With the addition of wheels machined from a block of
forged aluminum, we will be able to test at much higher speeds," said a proud
Shadle.
"The Eagle will also continue testing with alternative fuels. Preliminary
tests show positive results using the green fuels. Government and corporate
researchers are looking into ways to power commercial jet engines with
alternative fuels. We continue to lead the way by working with Seattle
BioDiesel, a leading biodiesel refinery and research laboratory," stated
Co-owner Keith Zanghi.
October 18, Steve Fossett, aviator, sailor, and balloonist, announced that he
also plans on challenging the current land speed record. He purchased the car
that failed 1996-1997 record attempts from racer Craig Breedlove.
With Fossett being new to land speed racing and Shadle's 40 years of racing
experience, next October is shaping up to be the biggest and ultimate extreme
racing event of the 21st Century.
"There is nothing like old-fashioned competition to get an American's juices
flowing," remarked "LandSpeed" Louise Ann Noeth, author of Bonneville: Fastest
Place on Earth. "More than a decade has rolled by since the British took the
absolute record and that's long enough. This nation certainly has the talent to
recapture that honor."
Noeth added, "With the goal beyond Mach One, it will require an inordinate
amount of intestinal fortitude to knock the crown off Andy Green's head. Fossett
seems to enjoy conquering near impossible odds, so he setting himself up for a
supersonic match race. The former Spirit of America machine is a sad study of
wasted potential, Fossett has his work cut out for him; the North American Eagle
is already in its testing phase, but lacks the fountain of financing that
Fossett commands, so both teams need to hustle if either wishes to be the new
King of Speed. Either way, a tasty velocity battle is brewing."
To contribute to a discussion about the North American Eagle's plans to break the land speed record click here.
