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Nathan Ostich Flying Caduceus Class: Cars, Racecar — Model origin: 
01:25:43 ![[*]](/res/star.png){kind=small}
Background vehicle
Comments about this vehicle| Author | Message |
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◊ 2006-06-08 20:02 |
Proto/Concept or Racecar? |
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◊ 2006-06-08 23:37 |
Bonneville Salt Flats Racecar |
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◊ 2006-06-19 18:51 |
Dr. Nathan Ostich's Flying Caduceus. Los Angeles physician Dr. Nathan Ostich built the world's first "jet" propulsion land speed car, the Flying Caduceus, in 1960. He chose the car's name from the medical profession's "caduceus" symbol of staff with entwined snakes and added a pair of wings denoting speed. He began construction by obtaining a Convair B-36 bomber General Electric J-47 turbojet engine, which became the determining factor in the dimensions of the car. The frame is made of 2-inch square steel tubing. The suspension components were derived from Chevrolet truck parts and comprised A-arms and torsion bars. Firestone machined the special wheels from solid forged aluminum. Firestone tires were of tubeless construction holding 200 pounds pressure. The driver sat ahead of the front wheels, in a multi-windowed proboscis. When it was unveiled early in 1960, Ostich announced a goal of 500 mph and in August, he ran the Flying Caduceus at Bonneville Salt Flats. He encountered a few problems, the worst being a defective fuel pump, a "loose" steering system, and fiberglass air ducts that were too lightweight. Ostich returned to Bonneville in 1962 but directional instability was apparent when the car began to slide sideways. When the Flying Caduceus tried again in 1963, it reached its best speed of 359.7 mph, but the tachometer showed the engine to be running at only 90 percent of rated rpm. Ostich was trying to beat Craig Breedlove's record 407.45 mph, but since the Flying Caduceus just couldn't summon that extra muscle, Ostich did not try again. |
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◊ 2006-06-19 21:47 |
So we list that as "Ostich" make, or as "Custom Made"? |
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◊ 2006-06-19 21:52 |
I think Ostich is ok.! |
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◊ 2006-06-20 02:33 |
Usually in the archives, LSR cars are listed by the name given by their builders, like Green Monster (by Art Arfons), Challenger I (by Mickey Thompson), Bluebird (by Sir Donald Campbell), Goldenrod (by the Summers Brothers), etc. So this would be the Flying Caduceus (by Dr. Nathan Ostich). -- Last edit: 2006-06-20 09:12:02 |
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◊ 2006-06-20 10:18 |
But as these cars do not really have a make, it is maybe better to use either the maker name, or a special name like "Custom Made" or "LSR", and add as model name the name given to the car. |
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◊ 2006-07-01 18:34 |
That reminds me of the batmobile or bat-missle from Batman Returns!  |
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◊ 2006-07-21 11:44 |
nice name - Flying Caduceus .gif ":)") |
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◊ 2006-07-21 13:39 |
I think LSR cars, sprint cars, midgets, hot rods, dragsters, all these one-offs should actually have their own category and these categories should be searchable. I should be able to view all LSR cars ever in a movie, all formula one cars, etc. |
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◊ 2015-06-27 22:41 |
I believe Dr. Ostich was also Ak Miller's family doctor(Ak Miller was a -Legendary- early Hot Rodder and racecar builder)and Ak helped him build it? |
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◊ 2019-10-10 04:38 |
Greetings to all of you, I have first-hand family knowledge of the building and development of this fantastic legendary Bonneville racer. My Uncle Allan Bradshaw worked as a mechanic at Ak Miller's hotrod shop and Dr. Ostisch was also his family physician. My Father Robert Baier and his close friend Ray Brock (editor of Hot Rod Magazine) were also involved but my uncle was the primary mechanic and fabricator, to get this project rolling. The design was a collaboration between the build team and California Polytechnic University, where wind tunnel testing took place. The main reason that it had handling problems at speed was that during wind tunnel testing of the model they determined that the original wheel cowlings did not significantly improve the performance. The thought was that they could reduce weight and still run. This became an issue when in the real world the air pressure against the leading surfaces of the tires began to create a concave surface. This was why Dr. Ostich could never pin the throttle to reach the jet car's potential, it got way too squirrely and he almost died in a horrific crash. If they had taken the time to investigate the original wheel cowling design they would have had significantly different results. I remember touching the skin of the car as it sat in my uncle's driveway in Whittier, I will never forget how smooth and cold it was. It was the first jet car, everyone said they were crazy! -- Last edit: 2019-10-10 05:33:27 |
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◊ 2022-06-09 03:10 |
The Flying Caduceus resides in The National Automobile Museum in Reno, Nevada, Formerly part of Bill Harrah's collection |
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