Craig Arfons fatal crash at Sebring, Jackson Lake (9 July 1989) Hydroplane
- 6 years ago
Craig Arfons, a former automotive drag racing champion, was the next to take up the challenge (of the world water speed record). In 1989, he put the finishing touches on a jet hydroplane called Rain-X Record Challenger, which boasted a lightweight composite hull and a jet engine that could deliver 5,500 horsepower with the afterburner lit. Arfons calculated that the boat's favorable thrust-to-weight ratio would give it a 200 percent power advantage over Warby's record-setting boat.
The record attempt took place on Jackson Lake near Sebring, Florida, on July 9, 1989. Arfons was trying to break the world water speed record of 317.6 MPH set by Ken Warby in 1978. The craft was traveling about 370 MPH on July 9, 1989 on Lake Jackson in Sebring, Florida, and Arfons let the afterburner run a few seconds longer than he initially had planned. By the time he shut down the afterburner and released the chute, it was too late. The craft lifted off the lake surface and the boat started to tumble out of control, disintegrating as it impacted.
Members of Arfons' crew say his boat reached a speed of 483 km/h (301.875 mph) before it became airborne and began to cartwheel across the mirror-smooth lake. Arfons tried to deploy a safety parachute, but the angle at which his boat was traveling prevented the parachute from opening. Arfons was killed as his boat shattered around him. He was 39. He was the sixth boater to be killed in America since 1936 while attempting the world water speed record.
Both his father and uncle had been world land and water speed record holders. Walt Arfons was a pioneer in the use of aircraft jet engines for speed record attempts. He set the world water speed record in 1979 at Milan on the Michigan Lake. Art Arfons (1926-2007) set the land speed record on 07 November 1965 at Bonneville Salt Flats driving the "Green Monster" at 576.533 mph, about 927 km/h.
The Rain-X Record Challenger was a 25-foot jet hydroplane built by Craig Arfons. It was first all composite boat built for the World Water Speed Record, constructed from kevlar/fiberglass foamcore and weight 2,500 lbs.
The record attempt took place on Jackson Lake near Sebring, Florida, on July 9, 1989. Arfons was trying to break the world water speed record of 317.6 MPH set by Ken Warby in 1978. The craft was traveling about 370 MPH on July 9, 1989 on Lake Jackson in Sebring, Florida, and Arfons let the afterburner run a few seconds longer than he initially had planned. By the time he shut down the afterburner and released the chute, it was too late. The craft lifted off the lake surface and the boat started to tumble out of control, disintegrating as it impacted.
Members of Arfons' crew say his boat reached a speed of 483 km/h (301.875 mph) before it became airborne and began to cartwheel across the mirror-smooth lake. Arfons tried to deploy a safety parachute, but the angle at which his boat was traveling prevented the parachute from opening. Arfons was killed as his boat shattered around him. He was 39. He was the sixth boater to be killed in America since 1936 while attempting the world water speed record.
Both his father and uncle had been world land and water speed record holders. Walt Arfons was a pioneer in the use of aircraft jet engines for speed record attempts. He set the world water speed record in 1979 at Milan on the Michigan Lake. Art Arfons (1926-2007) set the land speed record on 07 November 1965 at Bonneville Salt Flats driving the "Green Monster" at 576.533 mph, about 927 km/h.
The Rain-X Record Challenger was a 25-foot jet hydroplane built by Craig Arfons. It was first all composite boat built for the World Water Speed Record, constructed from kevlar/fiberglass foamcore and weight 2,500 lbs.