One of our trade journals picked their favorites for the year, this one is mine.
The Arizona Highway Patrol found a pile of smoldering metal embedded in the side of a cliff near the apex of a long, gentle curve in the highway. Although it looked like an airplane crash, the police recognized it was a car but couldn't idrntify the make or model. A state lab managed to assemble the story.
The owner of the chev. Impala had apparently obtained a JATO (Jet Assisted Take Off) unit, presumably from the Air Force "boneyard" near Tucson. A JATO unit is a solid fuel rocket attached to the side of large military transport aircraft to help during take off from short airfields or when heavily loaded.
The driver had attached the JATO unit to his car, got in, sped up and ignited the rocket roughly 3 miles from the crash site, based on an area of scorched, melted asphalt. During the 15 seconds it took the Impala to travel 2.5 miles, it reached speeds well over 350 mph before the driver hit the brakes- completely melting them, blowing the tires, leaving thick rubber and gouge marks on the road, causing the vehicle to rotate and become airborne.
The Impala remained in the air for 1.4 miles-- before hitting the cliff and leaving a 3ft. deep crater.
The Arizona Highway Patrol found a pile of smoldering metal embedded in the side of a cliff near the apex of a long, gentle curve in the highway. Although it looked like an airplane crash, the police recognized it was a car but couldn't idrntify the make or model. A state lab managed to assemble the story.
The owner of the chev. Impala had apparently obtained a JATO (Jet Assisted Take Off) unit, presumably from the Air Force "boneyard" near Tucson. A JATO unit is a solid fuel rocket attached to the side of large military transport aircraft to help during take off from short airfields or when heavily loaded.
The driver had attached the JATO unit to his car, got in, sped up and ignited the rocket roughly 3 miles from the crash site, based on an area of scorched, melted asphalt. During the 15 seconds it took the Impala to travel 2.5 miles, it reached speeds well over 350 mph before the driver hit the brakes- completely melting them, blowing the tires, leaving thick rubber and gouge marks on the road, causing the vehicle to rotate and become airborne.
The Impala remained in the air for 1.4 miles-- before hitting the cliff and leaving a 3ft. deep crater.