fastening & assembly solutions and technology - Approved Business

FAST OCTOBER 2011
FASTTAILPIECE
Wing walking for charity
Each year Eurobond Adhesives
Staff hold a fundraising day to raise
money for local youth organisations.
This Summer, the day took the form
of a BBQ at Headcorn airfield in
Kent with an auction of prizes that
staff could bid for. They raised just
over £1,000 which was split
between the Swale Youth
Development Trust an organisation
that exists to support and encourage
local young people to develop their
special talents such as sporting
prowess or musical or theatrical
excellence who may otherwise not
be able to pursue their chosen activity
because of a lack of funds.
The second organisation to benefit
was called Challenger Troop.
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This is a not-for-profit organisation
that offers disaffected or excluded
vulnerable young people challenging
and engaging activities designed
to raise their self-esteem, improve
their behaviour and become better
citizens.
The highlight of the day was
when the boss’wife, Sam took to the
skies to complete a 20 minute wing
walk standing on top of a Boeing
Stearman Biplane. The aeroplane
was flown by family friend Tony
Richards who is an aerobatic pilot
and stunt pilot for TV and Film.
Eurobond managing director Simon
Dearing commented: “[Tony is]
really the only person I would ever
trust with my wife’s welfare.”
For Britain and the Hell of it
In October 1997 Squadron Leader
Andy Green, driving Thrust SSC,
became the first person, under FIA
regulations, to travel supersonic on
land. While others may break the
supersonic record one day, they will
never be able to better being the first
to do it, a British driver in a British
car.
To celebrate this and other record
breaking achievements, Transport
Bookman Publications has launched
‘The British are Coming’ – a 360
page hardback book in landscape (32
x 24cm) with over 1000 photos.
Author Mike Varndell justifies
the book’s title when he considers
how many times over the last 100
years in towns or villages in remote
locations around the world people
have said those words knowing that
near to where they live, a British
team would soon be arriving, bringing
with them a unique vehicle and
an entourage of the world’s media
and people that just want to see
another world record broken, putting
that part of the world on the map and
into the history books.
In the early days of the land speed
record, British drivers were able to
break records at locations such as
Brooklands Race Circuit, Surrey and
Pendine Sands in South Wales. As
speeds increased, the requirement of
longer locations to run on became a
necessity. This meant that British
teams had to travel the World to carry
out their speed record attempts.
As you would expect, there are
photos of the drivers piloting their
vehicles to British and World
records, but that is not what this book
is all about. The reader gets a chance
to see behind the scenes, from the
designers of the vehicle, to the engineers
who build the vehicle, and
more importantly the mechanics that
work tirelessly to see the vehicles
that they have come to understand
pushed to their limits.
So why do they do it? The answer
is relatively simple: to be the best, to
show the world that designers can
come up with an idea, that the engineers
can build, that the mechanics
can then test and maintain, that the
driver will push to its design limits
having complete trust in the team
behind them. A final comment, and
possibly the one that best sums up
what this book is about, is from
Richard Noble: “For Britain and the
Hell of it”.
‘The British are Coming’ is
launched on the 13th of October at
Brooklands Museum.
The Standard Edition costs
£49.99 and there is a Publishers
Edition of 150 copies signed by three
record holders and the author at
£79.99. A Limited Edition of 100
copies is also available for £195.00.
These books, which are presented in
bonded leather slipcases and signed
by six record holders and the author,
will make a fabulous Christmas gift
for a motorsport enthusiast.
TRANSPORT BOOKMAN PUBLICATIONS
01276 686639
The Stearman Biplane was
designed and built as a military
training aircraft during the 1930s
and 1940s. Some 9,783 were built in
the USA for use by several allied air
forces during World War II. After the
war, thousands of surplus aircraft
were sold on the civil market when
the Stearman became popular for
crop dusting and as a sports aircraft.
£100 CASH QUIZ!
Win a cheque for £100 from the publishers of FAST Magazine!
Submit your answers by faxing this completed entry to us on 0845 280 1587
or emailing them to quiz@fastmagazine.co.uk with your name, job title,
company name and contact number. A draw from all correctly answered
entries will be made in the FAST Magazine office on 1st November and the
winner notified by phone and email. The winner will also be announced in
the next issue of FAST Magazine, published in January 2012.
1. Who piloted the Spitfire on its maiden flight?
George Errington Mutt Summers F G Miles
2. Approximately how many revolutions will a Top Fuel
dragster engine make in a 4 sec/330mph run?
900 5,000 10,000
3. Is the speed of sound faster, slower or the same under
water than it is in the air?
Slower Faster Same
4. In which County was Sir Isaac Newton born?
Derbyshire Northamptonshire Lincolnshire
5. Of which State was legendary US athlete Jesse Owens
a son of?
South Carolina California Alabama
6. Which of these materials was discovered in 1938?
Nylon Rayon Teflon
Last issue’s winner was Graham Harper, Neptune Engineer, Rolls-Royce
Derby. Congratulations Graham! The correct answers were:
1. Louis Chevrolet was born in Switzerland 2. Groucho Marx said “I have an
open mind, you can feel the draught from here” 3. Noel Chavasse VC & Bar
was in the RAMC 4. Alan Shephard was the second man into space
5. Uruguay won the 1930 World Cup 6. Leeds Castle is in Kent
Our thanks to the many readers who entered.