So much has happened since the start of the project. A very quick update.

I decided to build a powered gravity racer from my Formula Gravity spaceframe in 2020. I got a World beating core team with Russel Annison as Designer, Engineer and builder, Matt Sadler as CAD Designer & driver and Adam Rogers joined later, helping all of us.

Over the project some 35 companies and organisations joined us to help. Amazing, the UK is certainly the place for R&D.
We were also joined by Don Wales, who followed our build and decided that we were up to the famous Bluebird standard. The resultant Sapheria Bluebird then seriously took off.

Our concept of an electric / jet turbine hybrid was unique. Guinness agreed. So our sights then went to a Guinness World Record.

After many adventures with the design and build we had a running vehicle. But the most important aspect to us was to mix the old skills of engineering with the latest high tech safely. Safety is always paramount, as it should be in industry. We added a few extra bits like a drogue chute, an onboard fire extinguisher system and many, many other features. We ended up with a rather long Risk Assessment! A great education environment.

The next phase was of course testing. Starting off at a walking pace and slowly increasing speed. Santa Pod Raceways became our home base, and still is. Great atmosphere, great staff. Then, scrutineering passed, we had many trips to the track testing and learning and modifying. Eventually our trip to RAF Elvington to go for a World record with the Straightliners, who were organising the event.

On 21st May 2023 we became the first ever Electric / Jet turbine to achieve 74.19 Km/H. Creating a little bit of Bluebird history. OK not really fast, but safe, and we are the first. Our driver was Matt Sadler. Well done Matt!


Our build was never actually about the speed, rather to do an almost perfect example of varied engineering materials and techniques as a textbook for education and to encourage young people to become interested in all aspects of engineering and the allied professions.

The decibels of our jet certainly demands everyone’s attention. We have also been on stands at the Goodwood Festival of Speed with Bluebird, West Suffolk College events, Silverstone with Castrol and then the vehicle spent a lot of its time in the window of A Plan Insurance in Bury St Edmunds attracting attention.
It is also nice that some of our helping companies said how nice to retrain some staff in the old skills.

Now covid is over we are starting to deliver STEM to schools and colleges. Already college lectures have started with inquiries starting to come in. Video links to schools in South Wales have been a success and links with our local college in Bury St Edmunds will result in more than just engineering, but also cross curricular links.
Spin offs include helping the local hospital run the local Soapbox event. We made £23,000 for cancer counselling. So a good start there.

Where next? The team are already thinking about the fact that the Sapheria was not built for speed. With a team that has already proved itself many times before what do you really expect. (This is not our first Guinness World Land Speed Record. We do have others.) The latest materials and designs of F1 are certainly of interest. Watch this space!

Education could not have a better text book. Get in touch if interested.

Our record run with Straightliners RAF Elvington Record Speed Week

Record Edition

So much has happened with the project in recent months.
Firstly I would like to thank our sponsors. Mainly it was a leap of blind faith they took. I am so pleased to report that we have succeeded.

The Sapheria Bluebird has done well.
We have adopted Santa Pod as our home track. During runs we have analysed performance and changed many parts and settings.
So on the 21st of May 2023 we ran at RAF Elvington during the UK and ITA International Speed Week run by Straightliners.
Six full runs down a near perfect track. And proper UK timing systems set up.
Scrutineering was strict, we passed and were pleased with their comments about out design and build.
Matt Sadler our CAD designer and driver managed to get in six runs. The second was our best of the day. Slight headwind, emphasising aerodynamics.

So our official results were setting the first World Land Speed Record ever for an electric / jet turbine vehicle at 46.932 mph or 75.530kph.
A great result. We have drawn the line in the sand.

Interestingly at Santa Pod ten days later we clocked 54.6 mph, but that was using our own on board speed recording and we had a fair tail wind. So no count!
Our aerodynamics are bad, we know why but this is a prototype of systems.
We expect to be back at Santa Pod on July 15th. Hope to see you there.

Education and the Sapheria is now really starting to take off. Interest is certainly building. Our own base at west Suffolk College is in exams at the moment, but we expect to join in fully in the new academic year.

At any event that we visit we have a constant stream of curious spectators wanting to know more.
A school in Wales has set up a video link with some five feeder schools so we can explain about our project and engineering careers by talking to pupils.
Colleges and schools are wanting talks, and not forgetting the many companies who are helping the project have mature and apprentice learners.
We are at Brooklands museum twice in the autumn for schools events.
More details nearer the time.

Demonstrations, talks, events, and video links all on offer.
STEM and allied careers all covered.

We shall be on the Castrol Stand at Silverstone.

https://www.silverstone.co.uk/events/silverstone-festival

Our record run at Straightliners RAF Elvington Record Speed Week

So a last thought:- How to have a green Blue bird?
So get a Gravity racer which is completely green. Put in an electric motor. Still green. Add a Jet Turbine. Not so good. It is the fuel we use. But technology is progressing. These engines will be with us a long time yet in aircraft.
So Powered Hydrogen instead of jet fuel? Industry has had some success.
Rolls Royce tested the new generation jet last week, great success.
If we can train the next generation of engineers we all stand a hope.

Happy 2023 to everyone.

The Sapheria project started about two years ago as a concept.

As with these projects you start, and are not quite sure where it will go.

The best you can do is to get the best and do the best. Our team got the most amazing companies and people involved. Thank you all.

The Bluebird Sapheria now exists and is running. The World’s first electric / jet turbine, three wheeled, hybrid vehicle. Built on our own gravity racer spaceframe. Together with it’s own drogue chute and on board fire extinguisher.

Last year we finished the CAD design and the build.

With quite a few test runs already under our belt we concluded the year running at Santa Pod Raceways.
A great venue which we will certainly attend again this year.

The team were all there, our special driver Don Wales (Sir Malcolm Campbell’s grandson), Russ, Matt, Adam and myself.
Rain did stop play, but we did get in two serious test runs achieving about 40mph. Not fast, but we are not looking for great speed yet.
A good learning experience for the end of the season.

We were also at the 2022 Goodwood Festival of Speed on the Bluebird stand. A great honour to have Gina Campbell sitting in the driver’s seat.
Yes she loved the vehicle.

Brooklands Museum is firmly in our sights as one of our venues this year.

Over this winter the Bluebird Sapheria has been on show in the vast window of A-Plan Insurance at Cornhill in Bury St Edmunds. They have welcomed a steady stream of interested visitors.

This year we are starting to make plans to show and run the vehicle around the country at different events. As well as running the vehicle and enjoying the fun we are also offering STEM lectures and talks to enhance STEM to young people. Our fame reached Loughborough College who requested a lecture.

Education is our main objective. Nice if education was always this much fun.

It is of note that our team of experts are also learning as we go. After learning more at our run at Santa Pod Raceways we decided to modify the steering system. Using CAD this will not take long.

We have made some changes. We go from four wheels to three (are we a trike?) We added a Jetcat 160 RXIB jet turbine which has 16,000rpm max thrust and exhaust velocity of 1590 Km/hr at 650 deg. Celsius. Plus an E Tek 200mm pancake electric DC motor at 1730 rpm.

The idea being that we can run both and when the electric motor is at full speed the jet can take over. This makes the dashboard a bit interesting.

Our core team with Russ Annison and Matt Sadler have worked with some thirty companies to build a most incredible one off CAD designed machine to show off both traditional and the latest high-tech engineering. We have crammed in as many engineering examples as we can. To include design, materials, engineering methods, bodywork, painting techniques, sustainable power trains, electronics, The latest onboard fire extinguisher, even a drogue chute. Safety has of course been paramount. So much more, the list goes on.

We are always asked the question “How fast does it go?”

The answer is, we do not know. Although speed is not our primary interest, we are curious as well. We have conducted trials, but still need a long run to find out.

We must emphasise that the project has been in conjunction with West Suffolk College and is to be used as a teaching, living textbook as well as an example of other aspects of STEM to encourage young people to look into careers and allied careers in engineering and motorsport as well as thinking about new technology for the future.