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49-482: The land speed record ( LSR ) or absolute land speed record is the highest speed achieved by a person using a vehicle on land. By a 1964 agreement between the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) and Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM), respective governing bodies for racing in automobiles and motorcycles (two or three wheels), both bodies recognise as the absolute LSR whatever

98-662: A 1955 Custom Royal Lancer at Cypress Gardens in Florida. During that time, she also tried skydiving . The National Aviation Hall of Fame reports, "Betty earned a total of four Feminine World Land Speed Records and set a transcontinental speed record." She competed in races across the Andes mountains in South America and drove the length of the Baja Peninsula in Mexico. She set records at

147-413: A 4-hour trip, the distance covered is found to be 320 kilometres. Expressed in graphical language, the slope of a tangent line at any point of a distance-time graph is the instantaneous speed at this point, while the slope of a chord line of the same graph is the average speed during the time interval covered by the chord. Average speed of an object is Vav = s÷t Speed denotes only how fast an object

196-427: A career in aviation, so she claimed to be 18 to get a job with Eastern Airlines as a clerk, working at night. The job allowed her to rent planes and fly during the day. She earned ratings for single and multiengine on land and sea. At age 18, she received her commercial pilot licence and was certified as a flight instructor the following year, so she began teaching at Tampa 's Peter O. Knight Airport . She joined

245-446: A full hour, it would travel 50 km. If the vehicle continued at that speed for half an hour, it would cover half that distance (25 km). If it continued for only one minute, it would cover about 833 m. In mathematical terms, the instantaneous speed v {\displaystyle v} is defined as the magnitude of the instantaneous velocity v {\displaystyle {\boldsymbol {v}}} , that is,

294-501: A radio show in 1950. Skelton moved to Raleigh, North Carolina , in 1951 and piloted charter flights. In 1953, the founder of NASCAR asked her to fly some auto racers from Pennsylvania to North Carolina. A friend, Bill France Sr. , invited her to Daytona Beach, Florida , during speed week in February 1954. There, she drove the pace car at Daytona, then climbed into a Dodge sedan and was clocked at 105.88 mph (170.40 km/h) on

343-511: A retired naval surgeon , and they resided in The Villages, Florida . Both in their 80s, they lived in a retirement community where most residents used golf carts for transportation. Skelton drove a Corvette convertible with a color that nearly matched her red hair. She died on August 31, 2011. Bill France stated, "I would venture to say there is no other woman in the world with all the attributes of this woman. The most impressive of them all

392-556: A speed of 403.10 miles per hour (648.73 km/h) on Lake Eyre , Australia. This became the official FIA LSR, although Campbell was disappointed not to have beaten Breedlove's time. In October, several four-wheel jet-cars surpassed the 1963 mark, but were eligible for neither FIA nor FIM ratification. The confusion of having three different LSRs lasted until December 11, 1964, when the FIA and FIM met in Paris and agreed to recognize as an absolute LSR

441-417: A straight line), this can be simplified to v = s / t {\displaystyle v=s/t} . The average speed over a finite time interval is the total distance travelled divided by the time duration. Different from instantaneous speed, average speed is defined as the total distance covered divided by the time interval. For example, if a distance of 80 kilometres is driven in 1 hour,

490-413: A street at 50 km/h, slow to 0 km/h, and then reach 30 km/h). Speed at some instant, or assumed constant during a very short period of time, is called instantaneous speed . By looking at a speedometer , one can read the instantaneous speed of a car at any instant. A car travelling at 50 km/h generally goes for less than one hour at a constant speed, but if it did go at that speed for

539-574: A two-way average of 446.63 km/h (277.52 mph) in September 1965. Five weeks later, Goodyear hit back against Firestone with Lee Breedlove . While recordkeeping has not been as extensive, a report in 1974 confirmed that a record was held by Lee Breedlove, the wife of then overall record holder Craig Breedlove , who piloted her husband's Spirit of America – Sonic I to a record 496.492 km/h (308.506 mph) in 1965. According to author Rachel Kushner , Craig Breedlove had talked Lee into taking

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588-633: A vehicle of the North American Eagle Project running at the Alvord Desert, raised the women's four-wheel land speed class record with an official run of 632.40 km/h (392.954 mph), surpassing Breedlove's 48-year-old record. Combs continued with the North American Eagle Project, whose ongoing target is the overall land speed record; as part of that effort, Combs was killed, on August 27, 2019, during an attempt to raise

637-454: Is v = d t , {\displaystyle v={\frac {d}{t}},} where v {\displaystyle v} is speed, d {\displaystyle d} is distance, and t {\displaystyle t} is time. A cyclist who covers 30 metres in a time of 2 seconds, for example, has a speed of 15 metres per second. Objects in motion often have variations in speed (a car might travel along

686-648: Is judged to be more rapid than another when at a given moment the first object is behind and a moment or so later ahead of the other object." Betty Skelton She was born Betty Skelton in Pensacola, Florida on June 28, 1926. Her parents were teenagers and she was their only child. As a toddler, she was fascinated by the airplanes that flew over her home near the Naval Air Station and preferred model airplanes over dolls. When she turned eight, she started reading books on aviation and made her parents realize that she

735-460: Is moving, whereas velocity describes both how fast and in which direction the object is moving. If a car is said to travel at 60 km/h, its speed has been specified. However, if the car is said to move at 60 km/h to the north, its velocity has now been specified. The big difference can be discerned when considering movement around a circle . When something moves in a circular path and returns to its starting point, its average velocity

784-506: Is standardized over a course measuring either 1 kilometre (0.62 mi) or 1 mile (1.6 km), averaged over two runs with flying start (commonly called "passes") going in opposite directions within one hour. A new record mark must exceed the previous one by at least one percent to be validated. Until 1829 the fastest land transport was by horse. The first regulator was the Automobile Club de France , which proclaimed itself arbiter of

833-424: Is the distance travelled by the object divided by the duration of the interval; the instantaneous speed is the limit of the average speed as the duration of the time interval approaches zero. Speed is the magnitude of velocity (a vector), which indicates additionally the direction of motion. Speed has the dimensions of distance divided by time. The SI unit of speed is the metre per second (m/s), but

882-459: Is the highest speed record achieved across any of their various categories. While the three-wheeled Spirit of America set an FIM-validated LSR in 1963, all subsequent LSRs are by vehicles in FIA Category C ("Special Vehicles") in either class JE (jet engine) or class RT (rocket powered). FIA LSRs are officiated and validated by its regional or national affiliate organizations. Speed measurement

931-400: Is the length of the path (also known as the distance) travelled until time t {\displaystyle t} , the speed equals the time derivative of s {\displaystyle s} : v = d s d t . {\displaystyle v={\frac {ds}{dt}}.} In the special case where the velocity is constant (that is, constant speed in

980-420: Is zero, but its average speed is found by dividing the circumference of the circle by the time taken to move around the circle. This is because the average velocity is calculated by considering only the displacement between the starting and end points, whereas the average speed considers only the total distance travelled. Units of speed include: (* = approximate values) According to Jean Piaget ,

1029-565: The Blue Angels , a new US Navy precision-flying exhibition team. Skelton's repertoire included dozens of acrobatic tricks, but her most impressive maneuver involved cutting a ribbon strung between two fishing poles with her propeller, while flying upside down 10 feet (3.0 m) off the ground. She held the rank of major in the CAP and became a test pilot. Besides piston-driven airplanes, she also flew blimps, gliders, helicopters, and jets. After winning

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1078-815: The Chelsea Proving Grounds and was the first woman to drive a jet car over 300 mph (480 km/h) at the Bonneville Salt Flats . She also set three women's land speed records at the Daytona Beach Road Course , the last one being 156.99 mph (252.65 km/h) in 1956. That same year, she broke Cannonball Baker's 40-year record for the Transcontinental Auto Race from New York to Los Angeles. In 1956, she became an advertising executive with Campbell-Ewald and worked with General Motors on and in their TV and print ads. She

1127-632: The Civil Air Patrol a few years after it was formed in 1941. Source: Skelton's father, David, organized an amateur airshow in 1945 to raise funds for the local Jaycees . The airport manager in Tampa suggested that Skelton perform some basic stunts, but she had never done aerobatics. She borrowed a Fairchild PT-19 and Clem Whitteneck, a famous aerobatic pilot from the 1930s, taught her to loop and roll. Within two weeks, she had honed her skills and mastered simple aerobatic maneuvers, which she repeated for

1176-531: The Mercury Seven astronauts. NASA administered the tests at the request of Look for an article. She met and charmed the astronauts with her personality, then impressed them with her pilot skills. They nicknamed her "7½", and she was featured on the February 2, 1960 cover of Look . The United States Navy even awarded her honorary wings . However, nothing changed. "I complained that NASA wasn't giving more thought to women pilots... I wanted very much to fly in

1225-514: The National Air and Space Museum . In 1949, she set the world light-plane altitude record of 25,763 feet (7,853 m) in a Piper Cub . Two years later, she broke her own altitude record with a flight of 29,050 feet (8,850 m), also in a Piper Cub. She held the world speed record for piston-engined aircraft: 421.6 mph (678.5 km/h) over a 3-km course in a P-51 Mustang racing plane. She became hostess of Van Wilson's Greeting Time ,

1274-511: The Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) program, but the minimum age was 18½, so she was forced to wait. WASP participants ferried Air Force pilots and aircraft to their duty stations, and it was the only flying program that accepted women. However, it was discontinued four months before Skelton reached the required age. While she was a teenager, Skelton flew whenever she could. She graduated from high school in 1944 and wanted

1323-473: The derivative of the position r {\displaystyle {\boldsymbol {r}}} with respect to time : v = | v | = | r ˙ | = | d r d t | . {\displaystyle v=\left|{\boldsymbol {v}}\right|=\left|{\dot {\boldsymbol {r}}}\right|=\left|{\frac {d{\boldsymbol {r}}}{dt}}\right|\,.} If s {\displaystyle s}

1372-401: The FIA and other car-racing organisations, Guinness World Records does recognize gender-based land speed records. In 1906, Dorothy Levitt broke the women's world speed record for the flying kilometer, recording a speed of 154 km/h (96 mph) and receiving the sobriquet the "Fastest Girl on Earth". She drove a six-cylinder Napier motorcar , a 75 kW (100 hp) development of

1421-399: The FIA in 1947. Controversy arose in 1963: Spirit of America was not recognized due to its being a three-wheeler (leading the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme to certify it as a three-wheel motorcycle record when the FIA refused) and not wheel-driven so the FIA introduced a special jet and rocket propelled class . No holder of the absolute record since has been wheel-driven. In

1470-706: The K5, in a speed trial in Blackpool . in 1963, Paula Murphy drove a Studebaker Avanti to 262 km/h (163 mph) at the Bonneville Salt Flats as part of Andy Granatelli 's attempt on the overall record. In 1964, she was asked by the tire company Goodyear to try to improve her own record, which she raised to 364.31 km/h (226.37 mph) in Walt Arfons 's jet dragster Avenger . The rival tire company Firestone and Art Arfons hit back against Goodyear and Walt Arfons when Betty Skelton drove Art's Cyclops to achieve

1519-519: The NASCAR pace car. She helped launch Corvette News , the company's internal employee magazine, and served as its editor for many years. The publication is now known as Corvette Quarterly . She became vice president of Campbell-Ewald's new Women's Market and Advertising department in 1969, then retired in 1976 after 20 years in advertising. In 1959, Skelton was the first woman to undergo NASA 's physical and psychological tests, identical to those given to

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1568-658: The Navy... But all they would do is laugh when I asked." Skelton married Hollywood TV director/producer and Navy veteran Donald A. Frankman in 1965. They moved to Florida in 1976, where she kept a seaplane docked at their lakefront home in Winter Haven . She became a real estate agent in 1977 and published her book, Little Stinker . At the end of the century, Skelton was taking care of her ailing husband, who died in 2001, and she flew less often. "I just felt I wasn't as safe as I used to be," she said. In 2005, she married Dr. Allan Erde,

1617-471: The U.S. and Australia, record runs are often done on salt flats , so the cars are often called salt cars. The FIA does not recognize separate men's and women's land speed records, because the records are set using motorized vehicles , and not muscle-powered vehicles , so the gender of the driver does not matter; however, unofficial women's records have long been claimed, seemingly starting with Dorothy Levitt 's 1906 record in Blackpool , England, and, unlike

1666-544: The air show. Because neither the military nor commercial airlines would accept a female pilot, air shows provided the only opportunity for her to work as a pilot, other than instructing. In 1946, she purchased a 1929 Great Lakes 2T-1A Sport Trainer biplane and performed at the Southeastern Air Exposition, held in Jacksonville, Florida . That was the start of her professional aerobatic career, and also that of

1715-423: The average speed is 80 kilometres per hour. Likewise, if 320 kilometres are travelled in 4 hours, the average speed is also 80 kilometres per hour. When a distance in kilometres (km) is divided by a time in hours (h), the result is in kilometres per hour (km/h). Average speed does not describe the speed variations that may have taken place during shorter time intervals (as it is the entire distance covered divided by

1764-400: The beach sand, setting a stock-car speed record for women. Skelton had discovered her second passion. She was granted an Automobile Association of America auto race driver's license, as the first woman with that distinction. She became the first female test driver in the auto industry in 1954 with Chrysler's Dodge division. She drove the jump boat, L’il Miss Dodge , in a movie stunt above

1813-550: The car out for a record attempt in order to monopolize the salt flats for the day and block one of his competitors from making a record attempt. In 1976, the women's absolute record was set by Kitty O'Neil , in the jet-powered, three-wheeled SMI Motivator , at the Alvord Desert . Held back by her contract with a sponsor and using only 60 percent of her car's power, O'Neil reached an average speed of 825.127 km/h (512.710 mph). On October 9, 2013, driver Jessi Combs , in

1862-518: The championship in 1948, she bought a rare Pitts Special — a lightweight, open-cockpit (544 pounds (247 kg)) biplane designed and hand built by Curtis Pitts for aerobatics. The plane was repainted a dramatic red and white, and Skelton's Chihuahua , Little Tinker, outfitted with a custom-made working parachute, flew in her lap. Skelton was US Female Aerobatic Champion in 1948, 1949, and 1950. Her last two championships made her and her plane, Little Stinker , famous. After her third championship, she

1911-574: The four-wheel record. In late June 2020, the Guinness Book of Records reclassified the August 27, 2019 speed runs as meeting its requirements, and Combs was posthumously credited with the record at 841.338 km/h (522.783 mph), noting she was the first to break the record in 40 years. Craig Breedlove 's mark of 407.447 miles per hour (655.722 km/h), set in Spirit of America in September 1963,

1960-428: The higher speed recorded by either body, by any vehicles running on wheels, whether wheel-driven or not. Speed In kinematics , the speed (commonly referred to as v ) of an object is the magnitude of the change of its position over time or the magnitude of the change of its position per unit of time; it is thus a non-negative scalar quantity. The average speed of an object in an interval of time

2009-434: The intuition for the notion of speed in humans precedes that of duration, and is based on the notion of outdistancing. Piaget studied this subject inspired by a question asked to him in 1928 by Albert Einstein : "In what order do children acquire the concepts of time and speed?" Children's early concept of speed is based on "overtaking", taking only temporal and spatial orders into consideration, specifically: "A moving object

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2058-561: The most common unit of speed in everyday usage is the kilometre per hour (km/h) or, in the US and the UK, miles per hour (mph). For air and marine travel, the knot is commonly used. The fastest possible speed at which energy or information can travel, according to special relativity , is the speed of light in vacuum c = 299 792 458 metres per second (approximately 1 079 000 000  km/h or 671 000 000  mph ). Matter cannot quite reach

2107-717: The record in about 1902. Different clubs had different standards and did not always recognize the same world records until 1924, when the Association Internationale des Automobile Clubs Reconnus (AIACR) introduced new regulations: two passes in opposite directions (to negate the effects of wind) averaged with a maximum of 30 minutes (later more) between runs, average gradient of the racing surface not more than 1 percent, timing gear accurate within 0.01sec, and cars must be wheel-driven . National or regional auto clubs (such as AAA and SCTA ) had to be AIACR members to ensure records would be recognized. The AIACR became

2156-401: The speed of light, as this would require an infinite amount of energy. In relativity physics, the concept of rapidity replaces the classical idea of speed. Italian physicist Galileo Galilei is usually credited with being the first to measure speed by considering the distance covered and the time it takes. Galileo defined speed as the distance covered per unit of time. In equation form, that

2205-432: The total time of travel), and so average speed is often quite different from a value of instantaneous speed. If the average speed and the time of travel are known, the distance travelled can be calculated by rearranging the definition to d = v ¯ t . {\displaystyle d={\boldsymbol {\bar {v}}}t\,.} Using this equation for an average speed of 80 kilometres per hour on

2254-456: Was GM's first woman technical narrator at major auto shows, where she would talk about and demonstrate automobile features, later becoming official spokeswoman for Chevrolet. While Skelton was working with Chevrolet , she set numerous records with Corvettes , and owned a total of 10 models. Between 1956 and 1957, Harley Earl and Bill Mitchell designed a special, translucent gold Corvette for her, which she drove to Daytona in 1957 to serve as

2303-558: Was frustrated because no other challenges existed in aerobatics, and she was mentally and physically exhausted from the hectic, nonstop air-show circuit. She retired from aerobatics and sold the plane in 1951, but her first husband Don Frankman and she reacquired the airplane and donated it to the Smithsonian in 1985. Little Stinker is now on inverted display at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center at Washington Dulles International Airport , part of

2352-438: Was initially considered unofficial. The vehicle breached the FIA regulations on two grounds: it had only three wheels, and it was not wheel-driven , since its jet engine did not supply power to its axles. Some time later, the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM) created a non-wheel-driven category, and ratified Spirit of America ' s time for this mark. On July 17, 1964, Donald Campbell 's Bluebird CN7 posted

2401-536: Was serious about flying. Whenever they could, the family spent time at the municipal airport. She would talk pilots into letting her ride on local flights. Kenneth Wright, a Navy ensign, took a special interest in the Skeltons and provided instruction to Betty and her parents. He allowed her to solo in his Taylorcraft airplane when she was 12 years old, which was not permitted. After receiving her Civil Aviation Authority private pilot's license at age 16, she qualified for

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