Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Record-breaking Bluebird has ‘nothing to prove’ following successful speed tests

Bluebird takes to the water (PA)
Bluebird takes to the water (PA)

RECORD-BREAKING hydroplane Bluebird has “nothing to prove” after being resurrected for speed tests 51 years after it crashed, killing pilot Donald Campbell, the project leader has said.

The Bluebird K7 has hit speeds of around 150mph during tests in Scotland but Bill Smith said any attempts to break speed records would be “incredibly foolish” given the boat’s history.

Campbell died aged 45 on Coniston Water in the Lake District in January 1967 when the boat, travelling at more than 300mph, flipped into the air and disintegrated as he attempted to beat his own water speed record.

The restored hydroplane, which was recovered from the lake in 2001, has been undergoing tests at speed on Loch Fad on the Isle of Bute.

Bluebird K7
Donald Campbell piloting Bluebird before the disaster on Coniston Water (PA)

Asked if any world record speed attempts were planned, Mr Smith said: “That would be incredibly foolish.

“You saw what happened last time. This vessel had held the world water speed record seven times.

“It’s the most successful contender in history and, after a 300mph accident and 34 years of immersion, she’s back.

“Anything to prove? Nah.”

He has spent 22 years restoring the boat, which has a new jet engine, along with volunteers but said the history was not at the forefront of his mind when she re-entered the water for the first time in more than half a century at the weekend.

Bluebird K7
Donald Campbell in 1958 (PA)

 

He said: “I just wanted to know that she wasn’t filling up with water and about to land on the bottom with her tail fin sticking above the surface.

“That’s all I wanted to see. I couldn’t wait to get it back out again.

“The expectation and plan was just to see how it was performing. For all it’s a wallowing, ponderous blue whale, when she says go she she’s a pretty violent machine.

“She looks pretty happy at that speed (150mph).”

He hinted that the historic boat could become a regular visitor to the island, once this month’s test runs are over.

“I’d come back and do it every year,” he said.

“It’s like going on holiday with my mates and bringing a boat along for a laugh.”

Bluebird K7
Bill Smith carrying out the early stages of restoration on Donald Campbell’s Bluebird K7 (Owen Humphreys/PA)

Spectators looked on as the hydroplane sped down the loch, following ear-splitting tests of the jet engine.

Lead pilot Ted Walsh endured the canopy bursting off at 150mph earlier in the week, which he wryly said was “pretty exciting”.

He said archive footage has enabled the team to mirror Campbell’s progress.

“It’s pretty interesting to see the boat is peforming in a pretty similar way to when Donald Campbell had it.”

Campbell’s body, with his race suit still intact, was pulled from the Cumbria lake along with the wreckage in 2001.

Having broken eight world speed records on water and land in the 1950s and 1960s, Campbell was attempting to break his own water speed record of 276mph when he was killed.

Daughter of tragic Donald Campbell says her father was proud of Scottish roots as Bluebird returns to the water