Wow.
It's not often you find someone crazier than I am. This story is something of a progress report on these guys who are attempting to break the current land speed record set by Thrust II.
How are they doing it, you ask? Well...
The team's mission is to break the world land-speed record by doing zero to 800 mph in 19 seconds. The British set the last record on U.S. soil in 1997, hitting 763 mph. That caused the NAE team to abandon a vehicle it was working on at the time.
Not long after the British set the last record, Shadle and crew set to work on a bigger, badder vehicle — a pimped-out Lockheed F-104 jet fighter with wheels.
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"It puts out about 39,000 horsepower, 18,000 pounds of thrust," according to Shawn Rondestvedt, one of the jet engine mechanics.