Screen capture from a video in which "Mad" Mike Hughes tests his steam engine. (credit: Mike Hughes)
He styles himself "Mad" Mike Hughes. But Mad Mike Hughes is not content with just one nickname, so he aspires to a second one—"King of the Daredevils." Given what Mad Mike plans to do this coming Saturday, it is hard to begrudge him either moniker. Mad Mike has built a rocket, the X-2 "SkyLimo," and on April 2 he plans to set this rocket up on one side of the Palo Duro Canyon, light that sucker up, fly 3,500 feet into the air, and reach a maximum speed of 350mph.
Palo Duro Canyon cuts across the Texas Panhandle. At 70 miles long and with a depth of nearly 900 feet, it is no mere ditch. The artist Georgia O'Keeffe lived nearby almost a century ago in the towns of Amarillo and Canyon, and she loved to visit the great red crack in the flat plains by car or wagon. O’Keeffe referred to the sight as a “slit in nothingness.”
(credit: Mike Hughes)
Rather than become nothingness himself, Mad Mike hopes to survive this adventure in his homemade rocket. "I’m not a crazy guy," he told Ars. "I have a high IQ. I know the dangers. But this is a whole new world. I’m in uncharted territory with this thing."
Read 9 remaining paragraphs | Comments
No comments:
Post a Comment