RIP Jessi Combs

[RicInOR]

You may recognize her from Mythbusters.

She was a test driver, racer.

Jessi Combs, Fastest Woman on Four Wheels, Dead at 36

Combs died attempting to break her own land-speed record.

news.yahoo.com

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[Xaevian]

A real pioneer in her field and a willingness to give it all doing what she had a passion for. Unfortunately, she did just that. She's proven what she set out to prove; she can rest easy.

 

[v0lcom13sn0w]

dang that sucks. RIP she was really good at what she did.

 

[Lilhigbee]

Tragedies like this hit our community hard. It is a reminder that what we do is very unforgiving.
RIP Jessi.

 

[11Charlie]

RIP Jesse at least you went doing what you love!

 

[Ura-Ki]

She made it to heaven a heck of a lot faster then most! RIP Jessi

 

[nammac]

Godspeed Jessie, you'll be missed!!!

 

[Jonnyuma]

That's very sad, not to mention shocking. We all know that racing, especially land-speed racing (ESPECIALLY at that level), is dangerous. But high profile fatalities are exceedingly rare, enough so that they are startling when they happen.

On a different note;
I didn't even know there was a "course" for land speed attempts in OR.

 

[Stomper]

Her modified F104 jet.... y'all DO realize that the F104 Starfighter (as a jet aircraft) could (and regularly did) actually fly alongside an artillery shell during its trajectory.... right?

 

[Jonnyuma]

Her modified F104 jet.... y'all DO realize that the F104 Starfighter (as a jet aircraft) could (and regularly did) actually fly alongside an artillery shell during its trajectory.... right?

She already held the record and had gone close to 500mph a year ago.

I don't know much about jets or modern aircraft in general, but that's smokin'.

 

[Diamondback]

Vaya con Dios.

 

[clearconscience]

she was as beautiful as she was talented.
She passed chasing her dreams. We could all be so lucky

 

[RTFM]

She appeared to be a genuine soul, what I saw of her at least.
R.I.P.

 

[titsonritz]

RIP Jesse at least you went doing what you love!

Yep. Still a bummer. R.I.P.

 

[leadcounsel]

Tragic, and puzzling. Call me insensitive but this is super dumb. What a waste of a life IMO. A pretty dumb "dream" if you ask me. Spending so much time/money/effort/resources so she can go "fast" in a straight line? And now dead at 36.

Land speed? With a rocket car? Seems like cheating to me. I think it's sorta need when they were using conventional combustion engines but with rockets? I see no distinction other than it has wheels and is on the ground versus in the air.

Got news for her. We all travel faster than her attempts when we fly in a commercial airplane. Fighter pilots smoke her record easily. And astronauts travel some 18,000 miles per hour, or 9x faster than a bullet. Or 40 times faster than her "land speed" record, which is a crawl in comparison.

Seems like a LOT of waste to basically go slower than we go with a $300 airfare on Alaska airlines...

 

[Ura-Ki]

Your missing the whole point here! Land Speed is very difficult to achieve compared to aircraft! Without going into the why's and where fores, Its a serious challenge to achieve any success at! That same Jet engine she had behind her pushing her along at almost 500 MPH could easily achieve that speed in flight above 20000 feet with out so much as breaking a sweat, in fact MACH 2.5+ is possible with that same engine in flight, but at sea level and with the drag of wheels and all that, barely!


Those who only dream, Never achieve, while those who Dare, Win!
Put that sucker in Zone Five Burner and let it rip Jessi!

 

[Jonnyuma]

Call me insensitive but this is super dumb. What a waste of a life IMO.

Not really insensitive, and not at all insensible. But it does miss the point and spirit of the endeavor.

It also glosses over "hot rod culture" and generations of predecessors (and calls them all "dumb") who were pioneers in the sport with names like Edelbrock, Ardun, Xydias, Breedlove, et al. It may not be a pursuit you approve of or are interested in, but to the land-speed faithful it's no more (or less) crazy than climbing mountains or jumping out of a perfectly good airplane.

It's also worth noting that passenger aircraft fly at elevations in excess of 30k feet... saves fuel and allows for higher speed w less power due to decreased resistance... aeronautics is a real thing.

 

[Lilhigbee]

For those that understand, no explanation is necessary. For those that don't, no explanation is possible.

 

[po18guy]

Eternal rest grant unto her!

 

[Ura-Ki]

The legendary General Electric J-79, Making Thunder the Offical sound of freedom since 1955!