Ralph Savelsberg wrote:


Should be interesting. Hopefully the video clip will be out there to
find. I've got the one from Ripley's where an F-16 took on the latest
and greatest, top of the line, Dodge Viper. The Viper (car) won to
the quarter mile mark but the F-16 overtook it and won to the half
mile mark. (I think a clean, low fuel load -229 F-15E might beat it
in the quarter though IMHO). I've also got a clip of a Hornet getting
it's ass handed to it by a Formula 1 race car (what were they
thinking) and I've seen a clip of a Mig-29 getting beat by what looked
like a teenager's muscle car. No a REAL muscle car not today's rice
burner wannabees. Looked like a jacked up in the back Nova with the
big wide tires on the back.

Anything with reheat has its work cut-out against a seriously powerful
car, it just takes too long to get all the jet's horses under starters
orders. What you want for the job is a lightweight (e.g. one you've just
VL'ed) Harrier. Slamming to full from 55% rpm takes hardly any time at all.

My favorite TV show about cars BBC's `Top Gear' showed a little stunt
they pulled on HMS Invincible. The BBC's own Jaguar XJS (minus every
bit of interior and exterior trim imaginable and plus a nitro kit)
accelerated across Invincible's deck. At the point where the RN's Sea
Harriers would ordinarily reach 100 mph, the Jag did 109! Sadly though,
unlike the Jag, Harriers are able to become airborne and stay there for
quite a while after passing over the end of the deck. The Jag also
became airborne briefly, but then plunged into the water.
Great Television.

The "air-gun" exhaust plume was rather obvious on the shot as the car
left the ramp. I don't know for sure but I suggest they drove the car
along the deck a bit (not at anything like 109mph), stopped and then set
up the ramp-exit shot sans driver. I know a bit about ski-jump dynamics
and that car barely fell off the end. Still, I'm sure everyone had fun.