I'm going to break a Guinness land speed record on a jet powered streetluge (skateboard) and try do 300mph in the process AmA

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I won't promise it, but I will do everything in my power to have one.

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Not falling off the board I would imagine.

That's my first to second safety measure ;)

Cool, make sure you keep your face away from the jet too, I heard those things can get hot.

haha will do.

the list of safety measures is a little to long to list right now. but you can rest assure that I had had many years of experience making what looks impossible possible in a safe and controlled environment. I will take every precaution afforded to me to make sure that AmA happens.

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snoo yes. snoo has been good to me.

At 300mph won't the air resistance be a little bit like a brick wall?

Also you are insane and I admire the hell out of you for it. That is one bad ass looking machine.

wind tunnel test and CFDing has shown this to be rather minimal.

And here's where we find the advert to the question that had plagued reddit philosophers for ages: is there life after AMA?

Would that be a ALAmA?

Does your luge have a reinforced carbon-fibre compartment for your incredibly large balls?

have you been spying on my design?

Ha! Good luck to you, brother.

thank you.

Do you enjoy having skin?

it can be over rated at times.

Where do you want to be buried ????

I want my remains spinkeled over a very densely populated city... but I don't want to be cremated.

Hit a bump and that may happen.

so be it.

Let's hope it doesn't come to that.

nor I. thank you for your concern.

May you rest in pieces sir!

I may.

Where are you getting the money to fund this?

Did you design the board?

I took out two personal loans. one for $43000AUD and another for $44800AUD that has gotten the board to it's current state. I now fund it after selling all my stuff and use my monthly paycheck. I designed and built the board with the help of my friends at Custom Carbon Components. their on Facebook if you look them up.

How did you convince the bank to lend you 80 grand to build a jet powered skateboard for no real monetary gain?

Also what have been the costs so far?

Actually the funny part is when they ask what I was getting the personal loan for I told them I'm building a jet powered luge to break a land speed record. they laughed at me haha. everything costs. you put the words turbine or land speed in any sentence and prices quadruple. everything is custom except the trucks. one turbine is $18000AUD at the time when I bought them.

Does this mean the trucks are already able to reach such speeds?

We'll see. no trucks have ever gone those speeds. all truck companies didn't want a bar of me haha.

How do you expect to pay back the loans?

very very slowly. this was never about money or fame. this venture won't bring either. it was about fulfilling a childhood dream and to say I gave my everything to follow one of my dreams.

I can respect that! Best of luck!

thank you

You're starting to remind me of the Kiwi with the Indian. I'm sure this isn't the first time you've heard this. But I consider that a very high compliment.

Burt Munro is/was a great man. I consider it a compliment even when they mean it as a joke.

Will you be strapped to the board to make sure that you stay on it? Kinda like on snowboards where you have those straps for your feet.

no. part of the rules doesn't allow me to be strapped to the board. The other reason is if there is any emergency I can slid free and hopefully away from the board.

What would the effect of bailing at 300mph be on your body?

extreme. besides the friction burn and blistering I could also suffer hyper extended joints breaks and death.

This sounds so casual. Best of luck to you!

I'm all to aware what can happen. which is why I take so many precautions minimizing it as much as I can.

I'm trying (and failing) to imagine would could possibly go so wrong that death is considered the 'safe' option.

It's not. that is why we work to minimize this risk.

If it goes wrong at 300 there won't be much board left.

or human.

I noticed on your website that braking has to be done with your feet making contact to the road. What sort of things to you have to take into account when going from 300mph to 0 using only your feet?

wind resistance can kill. it can dislodge me rrom my board if I do the wrong thing at the wrong time. the other is I have to be careful with how quickly I reposition my weight. this could also have a catastrophic outcome.

Where on your board is the flux capacitor installed?

You'll have to ask thr doc

Can I take out a life insurance policy on you?

to late ;)

Bonus points if you can break the record on this street: http://www.executiveedge.com.au/themes/executiveedge/images/issue8/lombard-street.jpg

I was there last year but I forgot to bring my board. I really want to streetluge that hill. it's possible.

You sir, have got it. Good luck to you cowboy.

thank you good sir (hat tip)

Don't you mean- ah forget it...

haha

How much space do you need to stop? And will you have any ability to steer the luge once you reach top speed?

the board is lean steering. you will be surprised with how responsive it can be. my board has a much lower angle base plate to help with stability. We are not sure what distance ee need to stop as yet as no one has ever attempted to do the speeds I will do. This will be one of the reasons for all the testing.

Godspeed, man.

That's about 45, right? He'll have to go plaid.

ludicrous speed!

thank you

Health/life insurance. Do you have it and what company is crazy enough to cover you?

none as yet. I think their to smart for me.

^{not sure if grammar errors are intentional word play or not...}

words, speaking and walking are not my strong suits

What do you plan to eat as your last meal before the attempt?

something light.

Ever have any wtf am I thinking moments?

Assuming this goes off without a hitch, what's next.

Will there be a live stream?

haha I have that every day. Every day I spend working in retail. I have occasionally had it with the jet luge. it keeps you alive. makes you double/triple check everything. I have so much I want to do. my next adventure is loving my wife as much a I humanly can. I don't care where I am as long as we are having a ball. she streetluges as well and we have spoken of riding some of the most highest remote roads in the world.

What about live stream? If not, I want an email on how you made out! Good luck you crazy bastard! Godspeed!!!

oh sorry! I'm going to try and stream live during the attempt.

Don't know the time zone difference, but I will be looking for the date and time.

Follow up, if you do this down under, and I'm watching it in the US, technically you'll be world famous correct?

haha. I guess. but what is fame? I don't really care for it.

Fame is if you ever travel to Philadelphia, PA in the USA I will buy you a pint.

I like fame.

Is it loud?

yes very.

Why?

why not?

Sounds good to me then. Good luck!

thank you :)

What kind of wheels are you using? How are they internally mounted?

I'm using custom built drag racing wheels used for top fuel snow mobile racing on asphalt built by Pro Line in the United states. they are rated up to speeds of 800kph. they then have an adapter that is mounted to standard 8mm skateboard axle.

I'm using custom built drag racing wheels used for top fuel snow mobile racing on asphalt built by Pro Line in the United states. they are rated up to speeds of 800kph.

Fuck yeah!!

mounted to standard 8mm skateboard axle.

Fuck me..

haha I like you

How did you get started with streetluge?

I started in 1996 after seeing it on tv

Would you simply vaporize if you wrecked?

I would suffer major injuries and or possibly die. but that is why I have an extremely skilled team and we test test and do more testing. I won't attempt to just hit 300mph in one go.

Cool don't kill yourself. Good luck bro

Thank you for your support :)

Just be careful with the oscillation overthruster, Buckaroo.

Awesome reference, too bad OP has no clue.

I'm not that cool, trust me. a link would be nice ;)

It refers to a technology in the film Buckaroo Banzai Across The 8th Dimension, which I will allow you to use Google to read about.

cool. I'll check it out.

It's from an old movie, IMDb link

Watch it, love it.

haha I'm so watching this when I get home.

I might as well. Watched it probably over 100 times in my life. Never gets old.

haha cool

I don't need to worry about that. I don't know what it is haha

Are you insane?

possibly. I do work retail.

Pretty sure I asked to buy your turbines once you were done and you never really answered and kinda dodged to question. So can I? Sorry if that was some other guy riding a jet luge.

EDIT: Yup, totally you.

EDIT: http://www.reddit.com/r/pics/comments/1iuzig/trying_to_set_a_landspeed_record_on_this/

haha. sure you can buy them. I accept cash.

So what type of clothing/protective gear will you be wearing?

I have a custom set of racing leather good for speeds of around 350+kph I hope to do the run in a very ooen area so my biggest threats are friction burn and rag dolling (flopping around once dismounted) impact injury will be rather minimal.

TIL, they make racing suits for 220mph....

Fuck me....

Best of luck with your endeavor!

"they" don't, I did. I do custom racing leathers on the side. I have had a few years practice making racing suits for gravity sports and motorcycle racing.

Kevlar?

yes. there is a very good helping of kevlar in the suit. it is actually one of the heaviest I have done.

Give us an image!

I'm currently at work and nowhere near my leathers sorry. I would also like to keep the construction of my leathers private as there are other manufacturers out thete that steal designs and stitching.

isnt impact injury=ragdolling? im confused

yes, you would be correct. it is a form of impact injury.

I double dog dare you to do it with no hands

ok

Do you need any help? Any at all.

haha. sure. where are you and what can you do?

I've been following your posts on /r/longboarding for quite a while now, super excited that the board is finished and you are close to going for it!

thank you, I'm also veey excited. We still have a long road ahead of us haha.

What's the highest speed you've ever reached on a street luge?

I have done 137kph on a streetluge. I have done 340kph on a motorcycle.

Why is your board not covered in energy drink sponsorship stickers? Jesus, marketing guys for various beverage companies, get on the freaking ball!

THANK YOU!!!! one guy gets it! listen to this guy people who own energy drink stuff.

This guy, this guy has a massive set of balls. I'd be honored to hold his beer.

cool. no sipsies.

What helmet style/brand will you be using?

I have a Vector M5

Is their going to be any additional gear for aerodynamics? Also I wish you the best of luck.

extra gear? I'm not allowed anything covering me when I go for the record.

Do you actually think that 300 MPH is achievable? I can't imagine trying to balance with that kind of wind resistance.

this is the goal. we all need to push limits. it will be extremely difficult we know that. but it's not unobtainable.

I wish you the best of luck! Also, thank you for doing this AmA!

thank you. It's nice meeting so many great people

Do you have a will written up? You know, just in case.

Actually, yes I do.

Pics or it hasn't happened.

it hasn't.

I checked it out and I think it's pretty awesome. My comment was just a take on the old, "pics or it didn't happen."

I gotcha. it's hard to pick up on a bit of fun sarcasm via text ;)

www.jetluge.com.au and it hasn't happened yet.

Are speedwobbles, similar to that of a skateboard, an issue on a luge? At that speed recovering from them would almost seem imposible. Do you have a contingency for a loss of control, or is it more of a, hold on and hope for the best?

yes. speed wobbles will be a very real thing to compete with. my experience and knowledge of riding this type of board will help but not prevent them. if a complete loss of control happens. I bail. I get away from the board as fast as possible.

Part two, Whats kind of fuel source do you use? have you tried alternatives to just ethanol, or are the engines specific to a certain type that leaves no real option for experimentation?

Thanks for answering, good luck. Try and get a stream for the event if you can.

the board currently runs on Jet-A1which is your standard jet fuel. if I have time and the money I would like to try convert it to bio diesel. I also accept dogecoins. if anyone has any spare haha.

can I have your stuff?

srsly, don't die and I'm kinda jealous

no. If it comes to that my wife gets it. and thank you :)

Have you done any wind-tunnel testing? I'm wondering if your luge has been tuned to minimize lift.

we have dine many many hours of tunnel testing and CFDing. you can see some of it on my website www.jetluge.com.au

Nice. You've got much bigger balls than I do. Good luck to you, sir!

thank you sir.

Fellow aussie I take it by the westmead hospital charity comment below?

If that's the case, are you looking at attempting the record here, on the salt plains or overseas?

I'm happy to do it any where in the world. but I'll go with what I can afford or who pays for me to go where yhey want it. I just want to go fast.

Goodluck mate, all the best with it.

thank you

How much fo you trust the board, considering you made it by hand? Do you question your work, or are you fairly confident in it?

I am completely confident in it or I wouldn't even sit on it. I have spent a lot of money, done a lot of research and we have done a lot of testing just to get to this point. we know what the board can do and I love how it is so far. I can barely tell I'm at speed when I'm on it the aerodynamics are so good. this is in wind tunnel testing of course.

Where will you be attempting this feat?

good question. I'm hoping to do it at Bonneville in Utah. I am taking dogecoin donations and trying to raise money for the Westmead Childrens Hospital while rausing it for myself as well to see if I can get enough to do it there. but if a sponsor jumps on I'm hoping we can really get some stuff happening with live streaming and big long runs. you can see more ob my website www.jetluge.com.au

How much thrust will the jet have at peak? An how do you know your materials will hold up to that kind of force and vibrations?

537lbs of thrust. we have tested everything and it all will be more than capable of handling any stresses.

don't crash, I heard that it may hurt a little.

noted ;)

Make sure to tie your shoes on really well. If those come off when you bail it is known to be a bad sign.

I would think this would be my worst case scenario.

Just do the AMA afterwards. Oh wait, I guess you want the karma now AND later. Oh well, redditors will be redditors.

pffft karma don't feed my poor starving kitty.

Sorry, our rules state that you can host an AMA after you have completed an event, not before. Thanks!

I'm sorry.

How big are your testicles sir?

metric or imperial?

do you have a faring?

I do but not in the traditional sense of like a motorcycle. the board is it's own chassis and it has parts that fit on and off to access parts to tune or service the noard. kind of like fairing. nothing covers the rider.

Do you know what the chances are that it will explode? Rocket luge seems kinda explody.

rockets explode. I have turbine engines. mine tend to fail catastrophically and disintegrate. it is a possibility but not a big one.

Are you gonna be running on dirt or asphalt? And also how fucking badass are you? Cause I think you're pretty badass.

haha thanks. it will be done on eith asphalt or salt. not sure yet. if a sponsor jumos on it could be salt with live streaming.

Wow cool. Good luck!

Thanks :)

That board looks sick. What led to you deciding to do this?

Sorry just to clarify, did you mean what led me to do the record?

I just meant what were the main factors that got you to this point?

I always have loved speed. I have always wanted to be the fastest in the world. I grew frustrated with waiting and hoping a company would sponsor me to get it going so I said stuff it and took out two very large loans and started doing it myself.