Aerospace engineering leader Airframe Designs has assumed a key role concerning a project to break the world water speed record.
A collaboration between more than 60 organisations under the banner Jet Hydroplane UK, the Longbow jet hydroplane project plans to build a new nine-metre hydroplane in an attempt to break the current world water speed record of 317.58 mph, set in 1978 by Australian Ken Warby.
Engineer David Aldred, based in Thornton Cleveleys, is leading the project alongside Airframe Designs CEO Jerrod Hartley. He was also involved in restoring Donald Campbell’s Bluebird K7 hydroplane craft after it was raised from Coniston Water in 2001.
David said: “I’ve known Jerrod for a number of years and he got in touch after seeing an article about the project. I invited him and members of the team to come and see the craft and that meeting turned into a technical deep dive into Longbow’s build, culminating in Airframe Designs joining officially as an engineering partner. The company’s huge experience, particularly in the aerospace sector, will bring a different dimension to the expertise we already have on board from across the globe, helping us to finalise the cockpit’s designs and move the project forward.”
Airframe Designs will also work with Paul Martin, a former McLaren F1 engineer who has worked on previous world speed record attempts. Airframe will use its design engineering expertise – alongside Paul – to convert designs for Longbow’s cockpit’s inner steel cage and outer composite shell into 3D Computer Aided Design (CAD) models. This will then allow the cockpit to be manufactured by partners including Accles & Pollock, a Midlands-based company which manufactured the frame of Donald Campbell’s Bluebird K7 back in 1954.
Jerrod Hartley, CEO, Airframe Designs said: “The current world water speed record has stood for almost 50 years. To be invited to be part of this attempt, which is being led here in Lancashire and involves so many innovative and industry-leading companies, is a real testament to our engineering expertise.
“The partnership with Paul will combine our knowledge of precision aerospace engineering with Paul’s understanding of building record-breaking vehicles to ensure that Longbow’s structure meets rigorous engineering standards, reinforcing the project’s credibility and safety.”
The Jet Hydroplane UK partnership follows a meeting between project lead David Aldred, Airframe Designs’ CEO Jerrod Hartley, operations director Chris Fleet, and design engineer James Hodgkiss to learn more about the Longbow project and how to develop the its designs.
RAF pilot David-John Gibbs will pilot the hydroplane once it is built, in an attempt to break the record on waters in the Lake District.