Tom Green (designer)

Tom Green worked with Walt Arfons to design and drive the Wingfoot Express, the jet-powered land speed record car. Green drove the car to a world record speed 413.20 mph (664.98 km/h) on October 2, 1964. Green's world record is often forgotten, as the mark was eclipsed three times in less than two weeks, including the first to break the 500 mph (800 km/h) threshold.

Green was chief engineer for a torque wrench manufacturer. Although Green's only racing experience had been a year of in New Mexico ten years previously, he was greatly interested in aerodynamics. This dovetailed perfectly with Arfons' interest in racing mechanics. The two met at a trade fair in Gary, Indiana in 1962, and Green recalls that "Within ten minutes we were planning our assault on the world's land speed record".

Green shortly provided plans for a three-wheeled land speed record car, which had to be changed to four wheels to meet FIA rules; from there on there was little change until the car was finished. Green's emphasis was on reducing aerodynamic drag by lowering the drag coefficient and, especially, reducing frontal area by narrowing the track and using smaller wheels. His calculations indicated that the readily available surplus Westinghouse J46 jet engines would have more than enough power to drive the vehicle to over 400 mph (640 km/h).

In order to find funding, Arfons and Green approached Goodyear. Green's mastery of aerodynamics was evident enough that Goodyear decided to fund his project; thus the name, Wingfoot Express, from Goodyear's trademark winged foot.

Wingfoot Express' cockpit was located centrally, just behind the front axle, covered with an acrylic glass canopy from in front of the driver's feet to behind his head. The front wheels were mounted within the bodywork barely further apart than the width of the engine, while the rear wheels were on outriggers and exposed to the air. Green estimated that the aerodynamic drag of the exposed rear wheels cost the car 20 mph (32 km/h), but since his calculations indicated that they already had much greater speed available than they needed, this was not viewed as a problem. A small fin rose vertically at the tip of the car's nose.

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Wikipedia