Now I don't claim rocket science status, but this sounds like a Texas
story, I have heard it before, so maybe not. I suspect that it didn't
happen, the end results are believable if someone was to try something
like that on the highway. Now at Bonneville the results could have been
different. Think about it Keith, this may be better than nitrous!
Tom, Redding CA - #216 D/GCC
Dick J wrote:
>
> The following was sent to me as "supposed true
> story" on my other e-mail. I want a genuine
> rocket scientists opinion. Trught or ????
>
> > -Idiot Story-
> >
> > 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 and 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 the JATO ignition at a distance
> of approximately 3.0
> > miles from the crash site. This was determined
> 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 miles per
> hour and continuing 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.
>
> =====
> Dick J
> In East Texas
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> http://personal.mail.yahoo.com/
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