Aussie Invader is a great catalyst to motivate and enthuse students and community groups of all ages to understand and become interested in the science, technology and engineering behind the building and running of Aussie Invader 5R, with the express purpose of breaking the World Land Speed Record for Australia.

Although Brett is unable to take on the full-time role we require for RACE, due to time commitments, Brett is putting together a series of project assignments for his year 12 engineering students to directly be involved in the design and development of the car. This was kicked off Sunday 12th February, with Brett’s year 12 engineering students attending a father and son day at the Aussie Invader workshop.

Students have been placed into several groups, each working on design aspects of the car and trying to come up with innovative solutions to problems that the building of Aussie Invader has thrown up.

The areas of the project the students will be working on are….

1. Canards (small front wings) to help give the car more stability
2. Cockpit layout ergonomics and design
3. Rear airbrake design and location
4. Front skid brake design and location
5. Performance data spreadsheets

The day was a great success with students given 90 minutes to gain as much data and information on the car and their given project within 90 minutes and to ask as many questions as possible of Rosco and the team members.

Click here to view a video of some of the students speaking to Rosco.

About 15 students with parents made the trip north of Perth to Mullaloo where the car is located, along with Brett and other teachers from Willetton Senior High School. Also in attendance were several  members of the Aussie Invader team, including Pete Taylor, Chris Demunck, Mark Read, Ben Parry and a TV crew from Channel 10. Mark Read also invited his local MP, Peter Abetz and it was great to see Peter show up with his wife Jenny.

Some pictures from the day (click on image for larger version)

Pete Taylor talking to the students	Rosco  interviewed by Channel 10	Students and Rosco with Aussie Invader	Liberal MP Peter Abetz also attended

Read the full February 2012 Aussie Invader newsletter update.

Boy has it been hot here in Perth, Western Australia. We have had about 8 days of temperatures in the 40c + range and some of the crew do not like it too hot, so to keep productivity moving forward I lashed out and purchased two 36″ high speed fans and mounted them on our workshop walls, nothing like a bit of high pressure hot air to keep everyone motivated. I love the heat but its just a bit too hot for comfort.

We have had a really busy past month with lots of media interest and news stories on radio, TV and newspaper articles about our project and the sale of Australia’s Fastest Car, Aussie Invader 3, further development on our car, and some great people visiting our shop in downtown Mullaloo.

Read the full February 2012 Aussie Invader newsletter update.

I was interested in Bethany Hiatt’s article “Science formula proves elusive” published on the 25th January as it mirrored many of the sentiments we have come across, in trying to excite kids about Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths with our World Land Speed record project, here in WA.

I am Mark Read a Project Manager with the Aussie Invader Land Speed project (www.aussieinvader.com) and we are building a rocket powered car with equivalent to 200,000hp to break the World Land Speed Record and hopefully achieve 1,000 mph (1,609 km/h). We are working closely with several local universities on design and build development and have been trying to establish our RACE (Regional Australian Community Education) program, where we open up all the project information and research and explain the science behind it to schools, community groups and other interested parties, etc.

We were encourage to apply for a government grant to get the RACE program going, but after a mass of paperwork, delays in processing and general government bureaucracy, we were turned down on the grounds we were “not competitive enough”, which actually amazed me, as we followed the submission guidelines to the letter. The government is saying it wants/needs to encourage kids to take the STEM subjects (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) and we can all see the benefits of having a lot more trained scientists, engineers and mathematicians to help solve the problems of the evolving natural and business world, especially here in WA.

Up until now the government has turned down every approach we have politely made for assistance. I can assure you when this car runs and accelerates from 0 – 1000mph in 20 seconds, breaks the Land Speed Record for Australia, the State and Federal governments will be at the front of the queue hailing this as a great “Aussie” achievement and taking some of the credit. 

One of our talented team is an engineering teacher and was presented with the Engineers Australia “President’s Prize” at Parliament House (Canberra), and he is rolling out his own program based around the science and engineering involved in the Aussie Invader 5R project. He has set his year 12 engineering students problems and design issues we need to solve and they will be contributing to the finished car. This is science and engineering in action, and this will inspire kids far more than any theoretical analysis.

Between 1967 -1973 in the USA the enrolment for Science, Engineering and Mathematics degrees increased by 300% due to NASA and the excitement and coverage of the moon landings (this was known as the Apollo affect).

The Government and education authorities need to start leading by example, looking at a big picture rather than micro-managing everything they do, so someone can prove it was not there fault when nothing happens. There needs to be brave decisions made by courageous people.

The Aussie Invader project and the RACE program are about action, results and a big picture, not theory and this has been picked up by others from abroad, why not here in Australia and WA?

Due to lack of government interest, we are looking for financial and physical assistance to get RACE up and running and it appears this will have to come from corporate Australia, who have supported us well in deeds, not just warm words over many years.

If your company would like to find out more about getting involved, please contact Mark Read (mark@aussieinvader.com).

Duncan flew into Perth today and he and his crew spent most of the day learning about the car and crafting a world class story about us. Team members Rosco McGlashan, Peter Taylor, Alex Blain and Matthew Jewkes from Clarity plus Andrew King and James Jewkes from Curtin University worked with the BBC guys to ensure the right information was passed on and as a result of all of the efforts, the upcoming story will be broadcast several times around the world via BBC Worldwide next month.

The media interest in our planned 2013 campaign commencement is building fast. We’re often told by our sponsors how much they value their involvement, particularly with money-can’t-buy exposure such as this. This sort of exposure just proves the local and global significance of the Aussie Invader 5R venture and it’s truly shaping up to be a unique opportunity to showcase the best Australian (and global) minds, technology, components and brands… and not to forget our fantastically loyal supporters and friends who continue to help the venture by purchasing our collectable merchandise and sending us messages of support.

Watch this space… More news coming soon.

Read the full January 2012 Aussie Invader newsletter update.

This past month has seen our team working very hard to get all our ducks in a row for our plans and commitments for this year. I am always frustrated in the first months of a new year as in Australia productivity is always at its lowest and slowest, with most companies having key members of their staff away on vacation and the people who are holding the fort performing double their normal workload.

When guys like me walk into a business and ask for something to be done immediately, and by the way would you consider sponsoring us instead of payment, the response is usually the same, get lost or come back in mid February.

Alex Blain and Mark Read our two management gurus have been under the pump big time with a hundred different jobs to tidy up and another hundred to organise. I hope 2012 will really see us make some huge progress and we witness some smoke and flames coming out of our rocket nozzle.

Read the full January 2012 Aussie Invader newsletter update.

We have had some great interest in the high quality, 1:43 scale replicas and most already have a home. These collectors models are hand made by Spark Models from resin 36cm long (14 inches) and if you see the detail in them, you will know why they are so sort after.

Rosco was busy signing the boxes prior to shipping, so if you have ordered a model and paid, it should soon be on its way. We have a few left out of this shipment, so if you would like one you may need to be quick.

The cost is $190 (Australian) + shipping. Remember these are high quality, hand made collectors models and the sale proceeds go to supporting the Aussie Invader project. 

For more details about pricing & shipping, please go to our online store.

Dear Santa,

We have been really good boys this year, so could we have an ablative rocket nozzle, a set of wheels capable of running at 10,000 rpm and 1,000 mph, a major sponsor to make sure we can attend the Sydney Motor Show and a carbon fibre company to help with the manufacture of our nose cone and tail fin.

Thanks in anticipation

The Aussie Invader Team

The first is to give us an idea of working on the car with an actual rocket motor in place, allowing us to more clearly understand space restrictions and the issues of having a big rocket motor hanging out the back of the car.

The motor may need to be worked on and checked over in a live environment, but also will need to be removed if more stringent checks or work needs to be carried out. This will mean a cradle will need to be designed to slide the engine out of the car. 

With our decision to move from four smaller hydrogen peroxide rockets to one larger liquid oxygen / bio-kerosene rocket motor, it has meant that our fuel and oxidiser capacites have changed considerably and we need to start working out tank sizes for fuel, oxidiser and helium to blow it all down into the motor.

This in itself is not too difficult, but added to the fact that we are now planning on installing dual rear airbrakes and all its ancillaries in the same vacinity as the fuel tank, rocket motor, actuators and propellant lines, it is critical we start to work out where and if everything will fit now.

And the last and very important reason to have the motor installed is it looks great and brings the car alive. That was proven today when Channel 7 turned up to film a news story involving us, Curtin University and iVec, but more on that very soon…

The highlight of the day for the kids and their families is meeting Father Christmas in the hope of receiving a present from the man himself, but of course only if they have been well behaved over the year.

This is a very inspiring day and we are always thankful for the big commitment the organisers of this event make, with the most positive outcome of the day is when parents who have just learned of their childs illness realise that they are not alone in their battle, being able to meet and talk with other parents in the same situation. The Aussie Invader team and Rosco are honoured to be a small part of this great charity.

If you want to learn more about the Kids Cancer Support Group, please visit – kcsg.org.au.

click on images for larger versions

Read the full December 2011 Aussie Invader newsletter update.

The first thing you might notice about this months newsletter is the change in the way it is presented. We have had to make changes because as the newsletter grows in popularity it is becoming harder to manage and is a lot more of it is automated now. Several of the stories also appear on our website and will link to full versions of them to reduce the newsletter size if possible.

We are all rapidly running out of time this year and Christmas will soon be upon us. This reminds me of Al Stewart’s 1988 hit Time Passages “All the years run too short and the days too fast”. How true these words are, our project is no exception. Progress on our car has been steady, appearances and motivational talks are in abundance for both Aussie Invader and our new RACE Program (Regional Australia Community Education), with lots of various organisations and companies wanting some of our precious time.

Read the full December 2011 Aussie Invader newsletter update.