First look at the FIREHAWK!

The foam insulation sponsored and applied by GREER, certainly did it's job as the plastic body although sort of warped it didn't melt down or take fire.

This was only one of the suggestions to come from our Fire Meeting and Cold Corona session. Some others were Blackhawk, Fire Chicken, Old Smoky and Crispy Critter just to name a few.

Post Fire Meeting

As you can see the first order of business was to de-stress with a cold Corona from the Docs fridge. Kevin was healing himself and everyone was discussing the "incident" and a fellow racer is surveying the damage to the Goldenhawk. I want you to focus on the yellow decal in the last photo. Thanks to Mike Tonelli and his company ACME FIRE in Burnaby the car suffered only minor heat and smoke damage.

Crash & Burn run #5 2010

Well here is my story and I am sticking to it!

We left the line and Werner was concerned that I was not moving into the centre of the course, but as I said possible tire damage could happen. The car was driving like a Mercedes smooth easy to steer, and very comfortable. However, the boost was not developing so I began to focus on the instruments as I tried one nitrous injection controlled by the switch on the steering wheel. I was also turning the overdrive off and on to see if that made a difference. Nothing helped and as I cruised along at 130MPH, I think the wind died a little bit and the car drifted to the right approx 4-5ft, so when I looked back out the canopy there was a red course marker bearing down on the right front of the Goldenhawk. I tried to correct but never had time so I clipped the marker which made a thump but nothing seemed to be damaged so I continued playing dyno operator until at mile 4 I dropped the chute. Everything was going fine so I let it coast on the chute until just pasted our pits and then turned left. As the Hawk crossed the little ripples of salt between the graded course and the return road, a little wisp of smoke came out from the front of the hood panel. Ah- ha, I thought the transmission has burped and fluid is on the exhaust, no problem, a split second latter the smoke puffed out from another couple of panels. Should I pull the ACME Fire system? Decided not because it would mean a delay to get them refilled. One more nanosecond later smoke is coming out everywhere, pull the engine fire system turn off the main electrical switch, apply heavy brakes. Now the smoke is pouring into the cockpit, the thickest brown smoke you ever could imagine, pull the cockpit fire system, unlatch the belts, canopy release and prepare to bail out. The car is still moving but stopping quickly as I free up the shoulder belts, I can only see the inside of the helmet, the smoke is that thick! Now comes the real lesson, I remembered during the safety inspection when we were doing bailout procedures with the new HANS device that the belts sort of hang up as they slide over the shoulders, so I took my right hand and the left belt giving it an exaggerated swing up to clear the device. Oops now the smoke is coming in the breath!! I have knocked the fresh air tube from the helmet. The words death by smoke inhalation flashed to my brain (too many aircraft accident reports as a kid in the RCAF). I try to hold my breath as I push open the canopy, but I am filled with adrenaline and control of the respiratory system requires concentration and my concentration is focused on getting OUT! Remember this is all happening in about 4 to 5 seconds. As the canopy opens the smoke raises and I see the grill of the fire crew's truck coming to a stop. The fire guys helped me out and proceeded to spray fire extinguishers into any openings they could find. Thanks to Wendover Fire Dept and all the volunteers that dedicate themselves to our safety. I will have a video prepared/edited soon to post for you to see as Dean captured some of it on his camera as he was on the scene from the pits and Kevin was videoing from the push truck.

The last Pass, amen.

After more than hour wait, we are finally off to make another test run. The set up on the drive train is, OTT doubler set at 1:1 the transmission overdrive will be engaged. We are hoping this will help develop some boost. However, we discover later that the video cameras timed out/ ran out of memory just as we were about to leave the start. Sorry, our mistake, next time we will turn them on later and maybe there will not be an extra hour of sitting in the stage lanes.

Werner does a great job of following me as we set our position to run near the right side marker. The starter has cautioned me to that course because of the possibility of glass on the course from the wreck.
Better be safe than sorry!

Oh yes there is a 10mph side wind from the East (right) and this year there was no black line at the edge of the course but extra markers.

Hurry and Wait!

Just as we pull up to make our run the car ahead of us has had a slight mishap. The starter say no one is injured but we will have to wait while they clean up the debris.

In true military fashion it is HURRY UP & WAIT!

All set to go!

Were ready, Let's go!

The Doc and the crew are stuffing the fat guy in the blue suit in the cockpit and belting him up so he doesn't flee.

Scenes on the way to the start

This folks is a lakester, because although streamlined,it has no fairings over the wheels

This is Terry Nish's Royal Purple streamliner, very nice creation and extremely fast.







I love the Studebaker, they are one of the reasons I developed an interest in Bonneville when I was a teenager. Yes Sir Sanchez's lowboy went 212+ with an early hemi back in the late 1950's

Kaptain Kevin Knox and Werner Sprenger co-driver and partner in the project since the beginning, were getting a lot of attention. I think it is the Canadian flag!

Ready to push out for Wednesday run.

The GOLDENHAWK, aka, APEX FINISHING Ltd. "SPECIAL"

FROM BURNABY BC.

is ready to be pushed out for Werner and the crew to take it to the staging lanes.

BC fan has very respectable ride!

Just neat!

Check this out, they are from BC and this is a wonderful creation. Check the door decal, I understand it is authentic!

Unfortunately I have lost the owner's name. Please email me if you know it.

Randy

click on photo to enlarge.

Wednesday Team Goldenhawk Sunrise

This is the spot and the time of day every racer hopes and works for, it is the start and it is when the record runs are taking place to backup yesterdays qualifying run!

Dean had stayed behind to help care for his mother. She is battling cancer, but she insisted he not miss the races because of her. So Monday morning in Delta BC. , Dean packed his toothbrush and mounted the big Victory motor scooter and in just 15 hours of sun burned riding covered the 900 miles (1500KM) arriving at the hot rod show about 10 that night. He was pretty red and tired and the bike was begging for rest indicated by a reluctance to fire up instantly. They both were refreshed in the morning.
Dean and I are watching as Cody airs up the shifter accumulator and Kevin is fastening the body on for an early start. Werner is due to arrive shortly with more supplies and his very pretty 4x4 Dodge push truck.

Cheer up Doc!

SURREY CENTRE OPTOMETRY

Surrey Centre Optometry

Doctor R.G.Dyck

You can just tell from the expression on his face that Glenn is not likely enjoying the run up in the pits where his job is to be the driver. He will really be smiling when it is his turn at the wheel on a 200+ run,

a day which is coming!

This is also the sponsor for our great triple axle flat deck trailer that carries all this equipment to Bonneville, plus he makes his motor coach available to for the driver to get dressed in a calm cool environment. You will also find him at the start line assisting in the launch preparations.

Landspeed Louise

I am honoured by the presence of greatness in the automotive world and Louise Noeth is indubitably the greatest when it comes to landspeed racing. Her book BONNEVILLE SALT FLATS is a treasure and Cameron received his copy today,on his birthday and it is one of the last copies available as it is out of print. Well girl time to write a sequel and I want one of the first off the press. As you can see the crew is getting their copies signed, the Doc, Kevin and Dean were fortunate to be here today for the last copies. When the video is edited we will witness the team and Landspeed Louise singing happy birthday to Cameron. (Last year it was Roger Manson's birthday, so hopefully it will be an annual ritual!)

Cameron the Driver

Cameron was enjoying his birthday. Not many young folks can say they were behind the wheel of a streamliner at Bonneville salt flats on their birhday!

Target 550

Now here is a project that just might have the power and the car to hit 525!

Check out (click this link)www.target550.com

I have visited with Mr. Jim Hume and checked out the car, it is a work of utter craftsmanship and a work of art. Jim is well known for his fabrication of very successful fuel drag cars. He is a very gracious host and quite a treat to spend time with him. He does a lot more than build race cars. His card reads,
"JIM HUME creator of unique and curious things"
and it is very evident when you see his workshop in a rural Washington setting. Thanks for your time Jim.

And Away We Go!

This is the moment we all are working for, to make a run, to see the result and to learn what to do next.

This run was to test the gear ratios and to see what the maximum gearing would achieve. This configuration given enough power and rpm would run just over 525 mph at 5500 rpm. (I know it would take tremendous horsepower and I know we are never going to use that much GEARS but we also know that from there we can work back to what we can achieve. By the way with no boast the engine was able to push the car 98mph. Think of it this way the engine makes 1 1/4 revolution (2 cylinders only fired on the 4 stroke) and the wheels (28inch in diameter) turn 1 revolution. That is equivalent to 1:1.25 overall gearing, imagine riding a bicycle that had the same size front sprocket as the rear and you will understand the level of power required to go 525mph.

Contact Point

Werner Sprenger eases up to the push bar and when the starter gives him the sign he begins to push the Goldenhawk. The engine is running and the crew has it warmed up in the starting line, however the reason we push it until we reach a certain speed is because we don't have a torque converter or clutch, therefore it must be moving before the driver hits the air shifter to engage the drive. This is usually around 50 - 80 KM or 30- 50mph.

Birthday boy Cameron

At the long course start line waiting our turn Cameron and his dad DQ are taking pictures and watching the cars leave for their trip to the "speed zone".

Today is Cameron's birthday!

Notice the Irish has a cowboy hat on. He is becoming western dude in preparation for his trip to California at the end of Speedweek and to carry on his North American experience.

We all hope he will make it back for 2011 and get to drink some bubbly when we set the record.

Video coming?

Please be patient with me as I am struggling to learn the video editing program so that I can post some footage for you to see. I may have to let/get someone to actually do it. I was a photographer and I know how to make film strips to movies but video is different and I am not a computer whiz, but I will keep trying.
Randy

Pre-run briefing

Once the Agnew Bailiffs Goldenhawk streamliner is checked and rechecked it is pushed out on the salt. At this time the "SALT TEAM" holds a briefing to discuss how the procedures are to unfold. Example: who will take the car to the line, what lane will we go to,where the driver will dress and when, who will attend to the cameras, the body work, the safety items that need to be addressed just before we roll to the starter, who is going to go with Werner in the push truck and several other details. planning these little details is important especially for a rookie team like us and

considering that the team takes turns with a different task each run. We may be new at this land speed thing but we becoming a smoother operation. The driver not so much and you will see why in the next posts.

Racer's Days Start Early

Long before the first light, the world in the Wendover area begins to rumble as the many hot rods are fired up, they are kept respectfully as quiet as the beast will allow as crews start heading for the Salt Flat Cafe or similar eatery prior to getting out on the salt as the first light comes streaming from the east. The spectators and the late night owls are still fast asleep.

The Doctor is in the Pits!

You can tell from the long shadows that it is early morning in the pits and the guys have started preparing the Goldenhawk for the next test run. The big motorhome is Dr.Glenn's, he arrived last night with his brother Les from either Lethbridge, Alberta or Mazatlan, Mexico depending on the season. They are traveling in style and are having a blast spending time together.

Cody and Cameron thrashing!

As you can see the boys are hard at drilling holes (9/16"diameter) in 1/2 inch steel plate. Not easy with a hand held drill motor and no big bench/vise.

DQ & CQ join the Goldenhawk Team

In the pits following the first run which was uneventful and resulted in a turn out or aborted run due to a drive minor line problem, the crew is preparing for the next run tomorrow, Tuesday. While Cody works on the push bar for Werner's truck, he is joined by Cameron Quiring. Cameron's father, says "I got to get a picture of this, my son actually, taking an interest in working!" as he struggles to get out his Camera

Agnew Bailiffs prepare for test run.

Alan Slattery, our Irish import player, tightens the belts of the World's Fastest Bailiff!
Cody Gillis, Kevin and Chris Sprenger are assisting at the start line.

Kevin and Bryson are great help in getting "in costume" to drive the Agnew Bailiffs and Financial Adjusters entry the "GOLDENHAWK" .

Agnew Bailiffs / Carpe.ca ready at Speedweek 2010

The car is presented at the start line at Speedweek with air conditioner cooled cockpit and two GOPRO HI-DEFINITION cameras set to video from the tail mounts it awaits its turn down the long course on the famous Bonneville Salt Flats.

Monday pushing down to staging area

It was Monday morning as Werner pushed Kevin the five miles to the starting area. Notice the air conditioner sitting on the rear cowl of the cockpit. It is used to cool the cockpit and driver when suited up and belted while waiting in the car for the call to the starter at the line. This took about an hour on the Wednesday pass because a car in front of us had a slight crash and the safety crew had to clear the track.

The Canadian flag drew many waves and a lot of photos were taken all along the push road.

Ron Hamel 10,000 RPM Industries

We were pleased to have Ron Hamel, the grandfather of nitrous, the man that started it all way back in the day at 10.000 RPM. The man that we early manufacturers of kits, like Instant Horsepower (Randy Pierce & Bob Green), NOS (Mike Thermos) NX Express (Mike West), had as our mentor. (pictured here with Werner taking a refreshing break from the sun and relaxing. Ron, accompanied by Jay, came to the pits to assist us in properly jetting our auxiliary nitrous made by me from an old INSTANT HORSEPOWER Diesel 600hp nitrous equipment i had left from the good ol' days. And good thing Ron did, because I had forgot to put the jets in the fitting so Kevin Knox and Jay manufactured some in the pits so we could head to the start line in the morning for our first run. We proudly display the "10,000 RPM" Decal on the Goldenhawk.

Kevin Wheels Maggies Motorhome

The motor home was graciously loaned to the team to tow the car again this year, Thank you Maggie.

This rig is very long and bordering on overloaded and the additional length of chassis beyond the rear axle makes for very intense moments for the teamster and the crew are white knuckled every few minutes by the swaying of the rig. When Dean decided to remain at home to spend time with his ailing mother, our intrepid (x transport owner/driver), Kevin Knox stood in for Dean and after a brief round the block familiarization run we departed for the salt flats. Kevin did a yeoman's job of herding the beast through one province and four states over several mountain passes, without incidence, but it was very stressful and we vowed to get a proper tow vehicle.

We left Wednesday morning, Werner followed in his Blue Dodge 4x4 looking very pretty as it headed off to service the pits and push the Goldenhawk. Chris, Werner and Cheryl's son, at first was not going to come but after we drove away he had second thoughts so about noon he took off after us in the his Viper powered black pickup. he must have really been haulin' ass for he caught us away before dark somewhere in Idaho.

We arrived at the Salt Flats for Speedweek 2010 on Friday morning The crew was quick to set up the pits and unload the car. We spend more of the rest of the day preparing for the tech inspection as we knew it would be moved up a notch by the tragic death of Barry Bryant last year. This was very every true and it is good to see that his life has contributed to the safety of others that race today.

We towed the car down to tech on Saturday morning and waited all day in the line up. Inspections were thorough and therefore took more time. It was reported that every volunteer inspector was working steady all day and it was rumoured that some of the cars that had ran for many year were being being rejected for as many as 60 infractions. Thank goodness we had our tough inspection last year so we were very prepared. The day ended and we left the Hawk in line for inspection Sunday morning.

We had to retest our bailout procedures with the (new) Hans device which was a good thing, because it caused a change in the driver exit movements from a tight cockpit. Of special note: Our Tech inspector was Jeff Bryant, a very dedicated person, experienced in landspeed racing for many years with his Father Sonny and his late brother Barry. Our hats are off to this man!

Agnew Bailiffs & Financial Adjusters Ltd.

Agnew Bailiffs and Financial Adjusters Ltd

has a new look in the brand department for

CARPE.CA

Thanks to Judy Vaughan who also does our Goldenhawk website.

Seven Years of Goldenhawk Streamliner

First off I see that my number of posts for 2010 is off significantly and that there is certainly no "order of flow" they are just indicative of the way my life has been. To make this project happen and get it herded to its present state in equipment design, development parts and completed testing has consumed my life. Fortunately I have always been able to multi-task and this has helped, however, had I known the thousands of hours I would have to dedicate to a project that no one knew or understood I may have just closed my eyes and made the thoughts go away.

Anyway, that is hind sight and as I glance back today, I think it is all worth it. The project has attracted some of the most talented, creative persons and companies in the country. It has brought people together for a common goal and united them in the resolve to "Get 'Er Done" with the least amount of money and the greatest amount of ingenuity and much generosity, giving of their time their creativity, their assets , but most of all their hearts. So to thank and honour each one of you be you whether you a be donor sponsor, crew, or supporting fan forwarding this to your "car/speed" friends and family, I will try to do a better and more consistent journal.

To begin with I am going to go through the photos and notes that are somewhat stale but at least you will know I was thinking of you.

Best wishes , Remember our Veterans and our troops here and abroad, 'Lest we forget"!

Randy