Some men never grow up. But a few men with a racing fever take their hobby to the extreme, in their attempt at building the world's fastest car out of a fighter jet. The New York Times informs us that Ed Shadle, a 67-years-old retired IBM field engineer has dedicated the last ten years to converting a Lockheed F-104 Starfighter, which he bought for $25,000, in a really hot rod.

He and his good friend Keith Zanghi found the F-104 in 1999, after about one year of searching, in Maine, where the jet had been sold by Air Force to a Los Angeles company and was “about two months from being turned into beer cans,” Mr. Zanghi recalls. “In a post-9/11 world we probably wouldn’t have been able to get one,” Mr. Shadle acknowledged, but they managed to get it for “only” $25,000. The engine needed in order to achieve their goal was simply out of reach for them, but S&S Turbines leased them a J49 engine for almost nothing. Since then, the two and their team, formed of 44 volunteers, gave up their weekends and vacations to work on this project.

Their goal is to set a new land speed record of about 800 miles per hours - 45 miles per hour faster than the speed of sound. Besides being a really tough job getting there, they also have strong competition.

Richard Noble and Andy Green from Britain already broke the sound barrier in 1997, with a record of 763 miles per hour. Recently, they have announced a new project, called Bloodhound, also a jet-and-rocket car, whose declared target is reaching the amazing speed of 1,000 miles per hour. Their advantages include private-sector sponsorship, university technical support and even financing from the British government.

We keep our fingers crossed for the passionate and, why not say it, a little crazy, Shadle and his North American Eagle, which is set to try breaking the record next year, in July, in the hardpan desert at Black Rock, Nevada. Of course, the driver will be Shadle himself. I’d like to know his wife's opinion on this entire story.


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