[SmartAZ]

Rocket Car Legend - The "True" Story

Once upon a time, in some out-of-the way part of the country (take your pick of locations) a maniac took a rocket of some sort, and mounted it on the back of a car (make and model depend on automotive trends when the story is told). The maniac then sped down a deserted stretch of highway, and when he reached an appropriate spot, he lit the rocket...

http://www.rocketcarstory.com/images/fig1a.jpg

The facts as best could be determined are that the operator of the 1967 Impala hit JATO ignition at a distance of approximately 3.0 miles from the crash site. This was established by the prominent scorched and melted asphalt at that location. The JATO, if operating properly, would have reached maximum thrust within 5 seconds, causing the Chevy to reach speeds well in excess of 350 mph and continuing at full power for an additional 20-25 seconds. The driver, soon to be pilot, most likely would have experienced G-forces usually reserved for dog-fighting F-14 jocks under full afterburners, basically causing him to become insignificant for the remainder of the event. However, the automobile remained on the straight highway for about 2.5 miles (15-20)seconds before the driver applied and completely melted the brakes, blowing the tires and leaving thick rubber marks on the road surface, then becoming airborne for an additional 1.4 miles and impacting the cliff face at a height of 125 feet leaving a blackened crater 3 feet deep in the rock.

FULL STORY (http://www.rocketcarstory.com/) (BTW, if you print this it will take 70 pages!)

[Larred]

I think Wired Magazine did a full length article on this a while back, pretty interesting no matter who tells it....

[Ought Six]

The TV program Myth Busters did a segment busting this urban legend, but they were really too late. Snopes.com debunked it long ago:

http://www.snopes.com/autos/dream/jato.asp

[SmartAZ]

Of all the crazy Internet stories, this has to be the one fellas love the most. There's something about cars and solid rocket fuel engines that draws them to this tale like happy moths to an unforgiving flame. Maybe it's the Wile E. Coyote-ness of it all, the "so real you can almost touch it" mental image of a smoldering wreck sticking out of a cliff face. Perhaps it's the vicarious enjoyment of a Tim Allen-ish "More Power!" fantasy carried to its fatal yet hilarious conclusion. Or maybe it's a simple matter of cars and the men who love them, the eternal love affair.

Whatever. The boys love it, and that's all that matters.
snopes.com

[Avatar]

Wooooo Hooooooo!

[SmartAZ]

Just doodling:

1.4 miles @ 350 mph = 14.4 sec
s = 16T^2 An object will fall 3318 feet in 14.4 sec, or if launched at an angle, must reach an altitude of 1659 feet. (That's not exact, just a rough calculation.)

Since the story implies that the road was nearly level, as nearly all roads are, and the only altitude mentioned is "125 feet", I conclude that the figures were made up without checking to see if they fit the story.