Folks Of Interest Rest in Peace, Jessi...

Jive-Bomber submitted a new blog post:

Rest in Peace, Jessi...

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Do you realize where she is standing?
And the tracks on the ground?

 

Yup that news took me aback yesterday. Condolences to the family


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We have all heard the good die young.......... tragic but true.

 

I had never thought about that but you are 100% correct. Both women standing tall in a world dominated with men and going head to head not because they were women but they wanted to compete and take it one step further. HRP

 

wonderful tough girl rest in piece !

 

I didn't know Jessi personally, like most of us I'm sure, but only knew her from TV. That said, it breaks my heart to hear about the loss of someone so young, so talented and yes, so very brave. Apparently when someone might have told her, no, you can't do that, it just fueled her passion to yes, go out and do it anyway. What an inspiration, not just for young women to pursue their dreams, but for old guys, like many of us, to live every day like it could be your last. Godspeed Jessi. You will not be forgotten.

 

I don't see a roll cage in that "car". Very sad. RIP

 

Yes she is standing at the place that car could have crashed on a aborted run.

 

Phil, I'm sure there is a roll bar, I believe the arrows point at it. HRP

 

That doesn't look like a roll cage to me, Danny. It doesn't go over her head. At the speeds projected for this "car", at least an eight point cage would be required, by SCTA-BNI.

 

Those arrows are not pointing at the roll bar. Those are the lift arms for the canopy, there is no roll bar in that thing. What's the point. Why argue about something like that. She's gone.

 

RIP Jesse

 

sad news... is that an actual jet with wheels on it or purpose built for these runs?

 

F104 Jet fighter. Without the wings.
https://www.landspeed.com/story/not-just-a-number/

 

I'll admit that I didn't know who she was beyond her role as the amazingly-cool, obviously-attractive woman on Overhaulin' and a couple other shows. I read the news of the crash purely out of car guy curiosity before I made the connection... and then, the more I read, the more I wanted to know about her.

What an amazing, amazing woman. I sincerely believe that the best any of us can do in this life is to leave it with a large group willing to testify to the positive impact you made while you were here... and Jessi has that in spades!

Rest in peace.

 

RIP, at least doing what she liked.....

 

The chassis looks like it is based on F-104 fuselage. At the speeds they were hoping to achieve, they were going to have serious problems with ground effect that would have needed to be addressed. I would hope that the designers took the time to learn from the previous land speed cars.
I flew the 104, and it was an extremely stable, exciting ride to Mach 2.2 in the air, but there are a whole lot of different issues when attempting to go faster than the speed of sound on the ground.
It takes a special breed of person to want to go that fast on the ground. In my opinion, in the end it is luck that is going to determine whether or not you survive. The only thing between success or disaster, is the failure of one small part, one small imperfection in the track, or one gust of wind.
My hat is off to anyone who feels the need to go that fast.
RIP Jessi,

 

That seat looks like the F-104 Lockheed C2 (zero-zero) II Ejection Seat in this picture...

 

Met her at SEMA last years at the awards banquet. She was also one of the emcees. RIP.

 

I haven't really said anything in regards to the news, though it does bum me out. She's only a year older than me, and by all accounts was a first-class individual in all regards. Car person or not, that's reason alone to mourn. She was also a positive female presence for the right reasons in this male-dominated industry. Her involvement in this thing of ours goes well beyond that of a tangential hanger-on, who is there for the style or the lifestyle like so many of the "pin up" models we see, who's only involvement with the car is that of a prop in a photoshoot. Jessi was a legitimate player in the game, with a vast skillset of her own.

Her death also serves as a stark reminder that cars, and especially racing, is no joke. It can, and will, kill you if you push it too far or don't take the proper precautions. Not to say she did or didn't, but racing is simply an inherently dangerous activity that will continue to claim lives despite the best efforts to make it safe. Maybe there will be a investigation and change of rules following her crash, like there was with Dale Earnhardt. I know when I race I hate being tethered to the HANS, but I also get it. I'm sure she knew the risks, and unfortunately sometimes things happen. Sad.

 

Couldn't believe this when I read the news yesterday. Still can't.

 

I watched a video in @340HilbornDuster's Memorial Tribute to Jessi and it appeared the Vehicle she was piloting was controlled by Joystick rather than a Steering Wheel of sorts...I don't think I have seen that in the Liners that have been posted in recent Bonneville coverage...Was that in fact the case? It seems to me a wheel would be more fitting to land...Just curious...We are mourning a great loss but I did note that and am curious. No disrespect.

340Hilborn's Thread Link below...
https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/jesse-combs-r-i-p.1162852/

 

Stogy,
In the air, I would prefer a joystick, on the ground, I would want a steering wheel. My reasoning is, that with the joystick, when things got rough and the driver was getting jostled, it would be very difficult to keep the input constant.
Bob

 

Coming from a pilot I wonder what the heck did they use that for...

Secondly is that actually a De-winged F104 Starfighter...They are an incredibly Beautiful Aircraft with very little wing to begin with...Didn't they have a somewhat negative name attached do to incidents claiming pilots despite it's Menacing Stealthiness that would be 'Widowmaker' kinda creepy

Updated...I am up to date on this now via some info below...I am in awe of these pursuits but don't follow it heavily...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lockheed_F-104_Starfighter

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_American_Eagle_Project

 

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The Germans crashed a lot of them when they first got them. It was a combination of maintenance issues and pilots stepping from piston driven aircraft into a Mach 2 fighter.
We flew them in Canada from the early 60s into the 80s, and most of our losses were because of the dangerous low level role in Europe, rather than issues with the aircraft. I loved that beast, and it handled well when you knew your limits.

We actually used the rudder pedals to steer the aircraft on the ground. There was a button on the stick, that was used to engage the nose wheel steering.
If they used a stick for steering, they would have had to do some modifications, but it would have just been a matter of re routing some hydraulic lines from the rudder pedals to the aileron controls of the stick.
It is possible that they intended that the hydraulic steering would have been disengaged at high speed, and that just the rudder would have been used for directional control.
I would bet that it was just easier to use the installed stick, rather than attempting to convert the vehicle to use a steering wheel.
I found a picture of the machine, and it is a 104 fuselage with no wings. The rudder looks like it is operational, which makes sense to me. I would have wanted aileron control as well.
Bob

 

Car reminds me of Breedlove's 1960's car. I doubt the sanctioning body that runs Speed Week would allow it on the salt. Looks to be a standard fighter cockpit. But she knew the risk and made the passes.

 

I didn't know her, but I admired her skills and daring. Not many people, forget man/woman, have driven 400mph. Her spirit will be missed.

I've followed the "Eagle" project since the onset. Seems they always were on the edge. I hope the accident will be attributed to something unforeseeable and not something that could have been engineered away. So sad.