Options

Here are the three location options for the Fri-Sun Blackbird testing. NALSA is bringing observers/instruments and we'll be shooting for a NALSA ratified DDWFTTW world record. We're the first to attempt a record in this brand new NALSA class to as long as we are faster than the wind we'll be in the book. We are anticipating however being well into the 2x+ wind speed range and perhaps even into the 3x range with a little weather luck.

Watch the twitter feed down to the right on this page for regularly updated information starting tomorrow, or follow directly on twitter using @ThinAirDesigns. Google Maps of the choices.

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Current first choice: El Mirage dry lake. We will leave here tomorrow early morning and arrive there to check out the surface and afternoon/evening winds. We do not expect to be testing tomorrow.

All vehicle access to El Mirage is through the SE end of the lake from Mountain View Rd. There is a day use fee paid at the entrance station. Private planes can land on El Mirage.


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Second choice will be Superior lake #3 which is ~25 miles north of Barstow, CA. This lake offers us a larger and less used area, but we are told the surface may be a bit soft this year. If things at El Mirage are too congested for the holiday, we may give this a try. PRIVATE PLANES ARE NOT ALLOWED TO LAND ON THIS LAKE -- FT IRWIN RESTRICTED AIRSPACE SURROUNDS IT. Rental vehicle can be delivered to the Barstow airport and it's about an hour drive from there.

Superior Dry Lakes are located about 20 miles north of Barstow. NOTE: The Army has annexed and fenced Superior Lakes 1 and 2. Take the WESTERN branch of Fort Irwin Road north from Old Highway 58. Turn north off the asphalt at Copper City Road. Follow Copper City Road north to the boundary gate of the newly expanded Fort Irwin annexation area. DO NOT ATTEMPT TO ENTER THE FORT IRWIN PROPERTY. At the gate turn west and follow the new boundary fence road. The boundary fence road will eventually turn north. Follow it until it bisects Black Canyon Road (Unmarked). Turn west on Black Canyon Road, then northwest on the little road that leads to Superior Dry Lake #3. There are NO facilities, so bring plenty of water, food, a spare tire, warm clothes, toilet paper, a shovel, and some shade.

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Third choice and very unlikely at this point is Smith Creek lake bed 25 miles SW of Austin, Nevada. We're driving south first, so only strange weather will force us back North.

Lake access is from State Route 722 at mile marker 17.

Come one, come all.

All the little details are falling into place -- NALSA officials flying in, magazine article writers on board, film equipment and staff scheduled and ready to go.

Over the next day or so we'll check every bolt and screw on the Blackbird and organize a selection of spare parts (hopefully the right ones).

We roll out of the shop this Thursday morning. Follow our twitter feed for updates as to which testing location we will ultimately be using Friday through Sunday (as needed).

All testing locations will be publically accessible and visitors are welcome.

Show and Tell

Friday, we took the Blackbird on a 'show and tell' trip to the engineering headquarters of our primary sponsor, Joby Energy.

Joby has a fantastic group of near 50 bright people working on taking wind energy extraction technology to the next level (literally). It was a fun and knowledgeable group and we had a blast showing them first-hand what their project sponsorship had helped create.

Thanks JoeBen and Joby Energy team.
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Pardon our mess -- we're under construction

Yesterday we announced the dates for our NALSA record attempt runs. Not a half hour after we announced those dates we got an email informing us that an important business client of our employer will be dropping by our company during those dates. In consultation with NALSA we have shifted those dates down a week or so.

Currently, we are scheduled to point the truck out of our shop on the morning of July 1st with the Blackbird in tow.

Depending on weather and surface reports between now and then, our current location options remain Smith Creek NV, El Mirage CA, and #3 Superior lake CA.

We'll keep things updated as they develop.

It's a Date

After quite a period of discussion and schedule shuffling, we now have official dates for our NALSA record run attempts.

The runs will be attempted at Smith Creek, Nevada from June 25th through the 27th. If weather/surface conditions dictate, the effort may be moved south to the El Mirage lakebed in SoCal the following week.

NALSA (nalsa.org) has put together a set of rules for the new class. We haven't seen the final version yet as I believe they are in the process of BOD ratification at the moment, but we know what they contain in princple. I will publish them here on the blog when we get a copy.

Technical Guru and former land speed record holder Bob Dill will be the point guy for NALSA along with other NALSA BOD members as observers.