To me, others had already gone faster than her, much faster, but alas they were men. So exactly what's to gain from her pushing herself to be "the fastest woman", yet again? Yeah it's just for her own glory, making it harder for the next woman to break her record.

This is unlike what Chuck Yeager had accomplished. Far from it, as others had said.

"Record breaking" in the private sector = self-aggrandizing one-upsmanship. However, once someone manages to kill themself with one of these stunts, they automatically achieve sainthood.

Inside a jet car as it came apart is not a way I would choose to go. On the other hand, other than being scared poopless, it would likely be much preferable to the six months my Father in Law recently spent wasting away with pancreatic cancer.

We are all going to die. Some may die in more pleasant ways, some may die in less pleasant ways, but we are all going to die.

I think the object is to weigh the risks and benefits and live a life that is meaningful to ourself. For me, hopefully that means living a healthy life to a ripe old age, being a good father to my kids and good husband to my wife while having some fun along the way, and just failing to wake up one morning. We’ll see how it works out...

She died because of ego, plain and simple.

quote:

Originally posted by parabellum:
"Record breaking" in the private sector = self-aggrandizing one-upsmanship...

I tend to agree with this, except there are a lot of people that the "record" is incidental to the action. I have very good friends that hold cave diving "records" that the records were completely incidental to the work they were doing for the state and federal government (and Universities). FYI, you dont want tank farms on top of your main water source.

I do know that when Breedlove was setting his records, Good Year was the main sponsor and a lot of technology came out of those records that transferred into other racing and passenger car tires.

quote:

Originally posted by PowerSurge:
She died because of ego, plain and simple.

Ego kills people everyday, just not jet car pilots.....

This was really nothing more than a publicity stunt. No pushing the limits of technology, raising any standards, or whatever.
The real land speed record was set a couple of decades ago at 753 MPH. Her record was 398 MPH a mere 355 off the record and she her stated goal was to reach 512, 241 off the record.
This was really a dangerous version of Geraldo opening Al Capone's safe with deadly consequences.

quote:

Originally posted by Southflorida-law:

quote:

Originally posted by parabellum:
"Record breaking" in the private sector = self-aggrandizing one-upsmanship...

I tend to agree with this, except there are a lot of people that the "record" is incidental to the action. I have very good friends that hold cave diving "records" that the records were completely incidental to the work they were doing for the state and federal government (and Universities). FYI, you dont want tank farms on top of your main water source.

I do know that when Breedlove was setting his records, Good Year was the main sponsor and a lot of technology came out of those records that transferred into other racing and passenger car tires.

quote:

Originally posted by PowerSurge:
She died because of ego, plain and simple.

Ego kills people everyday, just not jet car pilots.....

The only appropriate response to you is, “duh”.

The fact that something was learned from a needlessly reckless activity doesn’t mean that the same sorts of things can’t be learned from things that are conducted in a responsible manner. Something similar is what was learned about life vest design during World War II. Researchers found that survival times in cold water were markedly increased if the vest included a pad that covered the rear of the neck. That area is extremely sensitive to ambient temperature and keeping it warm is critical for not only whole body comfort (that’s why scarves are so important, boys and girls), but also for avoiding hypothermia. The pad offered insulation for that area and also helped keep it up out of the cold water.

Great, we say: Thanks to the researchers who discovered that fact—right?
The only problem with all that was the fact that the experiments were conducted on the inmates of Nazi-run concentration camps. Prisoners were immersed in ice water and various life vest designs were tested to determine their effectiveness along with rewarming methods. The experiment subjects were not willing volunteers and some trials were extended to the point of death. Could the same things have been determined with true volunteers or by other means? Almost certainly, but even if they couldn’t it’s highly unlikely the results of those horrific concentration camp experiments or others like them will ever be cited in a reputable scientific journal.

That example isn’t exactly the same as learning about tire design from dangerous high speed driving or learning how deep the water is in an unknown lake by just diving in; no one is being killed deliberately, but it’s still something I’m reminded of whenever I hear of an incidental good that comes from a bad, or even foolish activity.

Not arguing the waste of life or not issue here, but what was learned from this?
They were using very old technology that was used to set the record in the 60's. There was nothing groundbreaking from a technology standpoint in this publicity stunt.
Mt. Everest was first climbed in the 50's but amatuers still do it today for the thrill of it and make Youtube videos, with some ending in their death.
While I don't care if they do that, you can't claim that is doing something that's never been done before or that it took a great leap in science and advanced the state of knowledge by humanity.

Funny thing about speed, the closer you are to the ground the less time you have to recognize and deal with issues as speed increases. Chances are she didn't even register that she had a problem before it was too late to take corrective action.

It looks like her 'car' was modified out of an F-104 Starfighter, a jet that carried the Widow-maker nickname. Definitely not my first choice if I was going to try that feat.

Foolish way to die in my opinion

You know by all accounts she was a smart, vibrant, well loved lady and her loss at such a young age will leave a mark on those close to her.



That said we all take a dirt nap at some point as terrifying and terrible as that is and we all get to live our lives the way we want even if that means dying early. She did what she wanted, I got no right to judge how she lived her life. I may not agree with it but I can’t judge.

R.I.P.

That is a shame. If I knew her, I might say tragic. Playing with speed is fun, but maybe a little more engineering next time.

My '08 Subaru is going to my S-I-L in the spring and her son, my nephew, will be driving it. With my nieces as passengers. So a few weeks ago on a deserted New Mexico 15 mile straightaway in the semi-desert I went for top end, and got it near, at 117mpg. Smooth as melted butter, no shimmy, no vibrations, no odd noises. Just smoooooth. Yes, and exhilarating. Slowing down to 85mph felt like driving through an active school zone. Speed test = safety test.

I can see the attraction for going fast. But the engineering has to be solid. Dangerously chasing a record for the sake of the record is foolhardy.

So all the previous postings got me thinking...

My brother is the gear head/speed demon between the two of us, so I'm really not that enthralled with speed. Yeah...I fly jets at Mach .80+, but that's at FL350 in a HIGHLY monitored and regulated environment, so not quite the same. What I don't get, aside from the spirit of competition as in drag racing, why would it be necessary to demonstrate one can go 400 MPH in some land rocket? It's not like this technology is going to serve some kind of future purpose, as I don't see people rocketing around in these vehicles even in 1,000 years from now. Some may say, "oh...it's great for tire technology". Again...ain't nobody gonna be going 400 MPH anytime soon in some land-based vehicle. Technology can be VERY WELL tested with engineering simulations and wind tunnels.

So as some have pointed out, beyond "it's her right to do so", what would be the actual PURPOSE of someone willing to risk their life and leave behind a husband and children to live in misery the rest of their days "remembering when..."??? Had she been single...different story. Despite one's thirst and lust for "thrill", one has to mature at some point, recognize the "cost" and collateral consequences should something catastrophic happen and realize, "It's time to hang this up because of what's at stake for others in my life".

So in summation, my conclusion is this beautiful, young woman didn't die "doing what she loved"; she died for absolutely NOTHING.

Stupid is, as stupid does. JMWHO...

Im gonna try my hand at handling a rocket powered death machine someday, maybe around 80 or 90 years old....and drunk.

quote:

Originally posted by medic451:
...and drunk.

Well, at least you'll die doing what you love.

quote:

Originally posted by parabellum:
"Record breaking" in the private sector = self-aggrandizing one-upsmanship. However, once someone manages to kill themself with one of these stunts, they automatically achieve sainthood.

So, I do have one issue with this way of thinking and it's that you can apply it to pretty every achievement in human history.

Breaking the sound barrier? To risky.

Going to the moon? To risky.

Risk is a personal thing, and you can't dictate what somebodies risk tolerance should or shouldn't be. I think she died doing something that was cool and yet also stupid, but I can accept that her level of risk tolerance was way higher than mine will ever be.

I also think you have to accept that people who are willing to take such risks will advance the species more than somebody who won't, so you also can't just clamp down on any and all risk taking by yelling at people about how stupid they are for wanting to achieve something because you personally won't accept the risk.

Dang, now we've gone from vague generalizations (an attempt to negate a specific point) such as "People do (insert whatever) every day" and "(whatever) happens all the time", to expanding this kind of stuff to "every achievement in human history." Love it!

Don't stop there. Let's include imaginary civilizations on other planets. Just leave Uranus out of it, thanks.

Seriously- you can apply this sort of false argument to just about anything. After all- people do it every day.

quote:

Originally posted by parabellum:
Don't stop there. Let's include imaginary civilizations on other planets. Just leave Uranus out of it, thanks.

Darn tootin'. Especially things about its gas, rings, and many moons. TMI.

But at least she died doing what she loved.

Truly