The Experience of the Supersonic Record
On the outside, the Thrust SSC ride seemed super-smooth, but for Andy Green, it was anything but. As the vehicle crossed the speed of sound, it created a sonic boom.
The world’s first supersonic car, Thrust SSC, returned to Britain after crossing the Atlantic overnight, to arrive at Stansted Airport, Essex, having broken the world land speed record to break the sound barrier. (Photo by Tim Ockenden – PA Images/PA Images via Getty Images)
Green described the vehicle at 500 – 600 mph (800 – 960 km/h) as “a massive handful, bordering on uncontrollable.” The result was two substantial sonic booms that rang out at the location during Andy’s outward and return run. Although Green couldn’t hear the sonic booms himself, the sound sent Green’s crew into spur-of-the-moment cheers. On that day, Andy Green drove faster than anyone else in history. Aerial photographs that were taken showed a shockwave that formed around the front of the car and extended behind it about 300 ft (90 m). The supersonic car left barely any tracks on the floor of the desert due to the shockwave that pounded them down.