North American Eagle Project

The North American Eagle Project is a jet-powered automobile that was intended to challenge the 763 mph (Mach 1.02) land speed record set by the ThrustSSC in 1997. It was a cooperation of Canadian and American engineers, pilots and mechanics. Their goal was 1300 km/h, or Mach 1.058.

The vehicle
Length - 56 feet (17.07 m)

Weight - 13,000 lb (5,900 kg)

Chassis - F-104A-10 Starfighter with North American Eagle design suspension and systems integration.

Powerplant
Engine - General Electric LM - 1500 Turbojet (a variation of the GE J79) supplied by S&S Turbine Services, Ltd., Ft. St. John, BC.

Thrust:
 * Stock Engine for low speed testing: 42,500 hp (31.7 MW)
 * Specially Enhanced Engine for record: 52,000 hp (52,700 metric horsepower)

Fuel Consumption - Stock engine
 * Idle: 40 usgal per minute
 * 100% military: 80 usgal per minute
 * Full AB: 90 usgal per minute

Braking systems
Four methods are used to decelerate the vehicle:
 * 1) High-speed air brakes, formerly used as dive brakes on the F-104.
 * 2) High-speed parachutes deployed at 700 mph.
 * 3) Low-speed parachutes deployed at < 350 mph.
 * 4) Anti-skid neodymium magnet or NIB magnet – neodymium iron boron (Nd2Fe14B) rare-earth magnet.

Aviation history
Lockheed F-104A-10 Starfighter, tail number 56-0763, serial # 1051 was manufactured in the Lockheed Burbank factory. The aircraft was designed by Kelly Johnson, Lockheed Skunkworks. It was assigned to Edwards AFFTC (Air Force Flight Test Center) from August 29, 1957 until 1970 when it was retired. Initially the aircraft was used as a GE test platform for the J79 engine. It was later used as a chase aircraft for the X-15, SR-71(A) Blackbird and XB-70A Valkyrie test programs. It was flown by Joe Walker, Scott Crossfield, Pete Knight, Bill Dana, Chuck Yeager, Joe Engle and Bob Gilliland among other notable pilots.

Test runs
Fourteen engine test runs were first conducted in June 2004, with the last two in full afterburner. These were performed on a test stand at S&S Turbine Services, Ft. St. John, BC, Canada. In December 2004, the first engine runs in the vehicle were performed. A total of 23 test runs were completed between March 2006 and June 2008. Speeds as high as 400 mph were claimed but not verified. Testing was conducted at Sanderson Field in Shelton, Washington; Toledo Airport in southwest Washington state, Edwards AFB, CA. El Mirage Dry Lake, CA. and Black Rock Desert, NV.