Land speed record in sight
BUTLER TWP — It's 500 mph or bust for Rob Freyvogel.
Freyvogel, an engineer and the president of Carbinite Metal Coatings in Forward Township, has been working for years to break the land speed record in his custom-built car. It looks like this might be the year to finally do it.
He and his crew started designing the car, named “Carbiliner,” in 2009 and began building it in 2011. Since 2013, he has been trying to break the record at the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah, but the events there keep getting canceled.
“It's unfinished business,” said Freyvogel of Butler Township.
In 2013, rain canceled two events he was supposed to compete in. Then in October of that year the federal government was shut down, which led to the shuttering of the site.
Last year, rain canceled all of the events Freyvogel planned to compete in.
This year, the Speed Week event in August was canceled due to rain, which caused poor conditions on the course.
Now Freyvogel is set to compete in the World of Speed event — which has not been canceled as of yet — on Sept. 12-15.
He said the other events being canceled can be a “blessing” because that gives the crew more time to prepare.
“When the salt is ready, we'll be ready,” Freyvogel said.
Additionally, those cancellations mean the speed record has not been eclipsed.
“The good thing about it is that no one else can do it either,” he said.
Freyvogel said his vehicle could possibly break three speed records. The record for the streamliner class of vehicle — which is the class the vehicle is in — is 348 mph. The record for piston engines is 439.5 mph and the record for turbine engines is 458 mph.
“We feel confident that we can do that,” Freyvogel said.
On the course, Freyvogel will have four miles to accelerate. Then, he will have one mile where the speed will be measured. The average speed of the vehicle will be the one that is recorded.
He then will have two miles to stop.
Parachutes are deployed to slow the vehicle, and brakes are applied to halt it once it gets under 200 mph.The entire run will take about 50 seconds, and the mile where the speed is measured takes only seven seconds. To break the record, Freyvogel will have to do the run twice.He designed the vehicle with Brandon Barnhart of Harmony, also an engineer, and Eric Ahlstrom of Sparks, Nev., who is an aerodynamicist.The steel vehicle is 28 feet long and weighs about 3,000 pounds. The car's front wheels are discs with no tires, and the back wheels have Kevlar-banded tires. Wings on the back of the vehicle keep it stable at high rates of speed. Its engine can run on gasoline, ethanol or methanol.Freyvogel has a 20-man crew that works on the car, including some in the western part of the country who correspond electronically. Several members of the crew have been going to Freyvogel's house a couple days a week to work on it.“You always think of something else you can do,” Freyvogel said.The vehicle now has a new, more powerful 2,600-hp engine. The old 1,800-hp engine is the vehicle's backup. It also has a new parachute deployment system. Freyvogel said the old system had some issues.Over the years, the car has cost about $200,000 in parts.Last year, the crew went to Utah to do some speed testing in the vehicle. Freyvogel said the testing is done incrementally, adding speed every run.However, the crew did not have enough time to test anywhere near record speed. Freyvogel said the highest the vehicle was clocked at was 273 mph.Freyvogel said he is confident in the quality of the vehicle, but he noted he still needs to work to make sure he can get the record.“I know we have the best car,” Freyvogel said.He said being able to build a vehicle and having it do what it was intended to do is a great feeling.“As an engineer, it's the coolest thing ever,” Freyvogel said.
