Pioneer 1 (land speed racer)

Last updated
Pioneer 1
Overview
Production 1960
Chronology
Successor Pioneer 2M

Pioneer 1 is a Soviet FIA Group VII [1] land speed record car built in 1960 under the guidance of sportsman and engineer Ilya Aleksandrovich Tikhomirov. [1] Derived from the Kharkov-L1, the body was aluminum and the wheels made from magnesium alloy. It was powered by two gas turbine engines (1,000 hp (746 kW) each at 50,000 rpm) mounted either side of the driver. [1]

Soviet Union 1922–1991 country in Europe and Asia

The Soviet Union, officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), was a socialist state in Eurasia that existed from 1922 to 1991. Nominally a union of multiple national Soviet republics, its government and economy were highly centralized. The country was a one-party state, governed by the Communist Party with Moscow as its capital in its largest republic, the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic. Other major urban centres were Leningrad, Kiev, Minsk, Alma-Ata, and Novosibirsk. It spanned over 10,000 kilometres east to west across 11 time zones, and over 7,200 kilometres north to south. It had five climate zones: tundra, taiga, steppes, desert and mountains.

Fédération Internationale de lAutomobile international sport governing body

The Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile is an association established on 20 June 1904 to represent the interests of motoring organisations and motor car users. To the general public, the FIA is mostly known as the governing body for many auto racing events. The FIA also promotes road safety around the world.

Land speed racing is a form of motorsport.

Contents

The second stage of each turbine drove a planetary reduction gearbox, mated to a central driving unit pirated from the Kharkov-L1. [1] The turbines were fitted with a water-methanol injection system. [1]

Epicyclic gearing consists of two gears mounted so that the center of one gear revolves around the center of the other

An epicyclic gear train consists of two gears mounted so that the centre of one gear revolves around the centre of the other. A carrier connects the centres of the two gears and rotates to carry one gear, called the planet gear, around the other, called the sun gear. The planet and sun gears mesh so that their pitch circles roll without slip. A point on the pitch circle of the planet gear traces an epicycloid curve. In this simplified case, the sun gear is fixed and the planetary gear(s) roll around the sun gear.

In internal combustion engines, water injection, also known as anti-detonant injection (ADI), can spray water into the incoming air or fuel-air mixture, or directly into the cylinder to cool certain parts of the induction system where "hot points" could produce premature ignition. In jet engines it increases engine thrust at low speeds and at takeoff.

Pioneer 1 weighed in at 485 kg (1,069 lb), making it eligible for FIA Class 1 (500 kg (1,100 lb) and under). It was claimed to have set a Class 1 record of 303 km/h (188 mph) for the measured kilometer at the Baskunchak dry salt lake, and was the first Soviet land speed racer to exceed 300 km/h (186 mph). [1]

Lake Baskunchak is a salt lake of 115 km² in Astrakhan Oblast, Russia, located at 48°10′N46°53′E, about 270 km north of the Caspian Sea, and 53 km east of the Volga. Since 1997 the area is protected as part of the Bogdinsko-Baskunchakski Nature Reserve.

Salt lake landlocked body of water which has a high concentration salts

A salt lake or saline lake is a landlocked body of water that has a concentration of salts and other dissolved minerals significantly higher than most lakes. In some cases, salt lakes have a higher concentration of salt than sea water; such lakes can also be termed hypersaline lakes. An alkalic salt lake that has a high content of carbonate is sometimes termed a soda lake.

In 1962, the power of the engines was increased to 1,350 hp (1,000 kW), while weight rose to 495 kg (1,091 lb). [1] The improved car raised the Class 1 and Soviet national records for the measured kilometer to 306.6 km/h (190.5 mph). [1]

In 1963, Tikhomirov modified Pioneer 1 even further, to create Pioneer 2M . [1]

Pioneer 2M

Pioneer 2M was a Soviet Group VII land speed record car built in 1961 under the guidance of sportsman and engineer Ilya Aleksandrovich Tikhomirov. Based on the 1960 record car Pioneer 1, the body was made of aluminum and the wheels of a magnesium alloy. It was powered by two gas turbine engines placed on either side near the driver's seat. On 1 September 1963, Tikhomirov achieved a speed of 311.419 km/h for the measured kilometer at the Baskunchak dry salt lake, setting a Group VIII record and making it the fastest car in the Soviet Union at the time.

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Soviet Cars (retrieved 25 November 2015)

See also


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