Friday was always going to be the last day of our faster runs. We'd calculated a long time ago that 150mph was about the maximum safe speed for Loch Fad with adequate stopping distance and without having to use the water brake. After all, we knew nothing of the water brake's performance and had no intention of relying on it. That said, we had made sure it worked properly just in case. As it happened, it would be deployed for real before the day was out.
The day began as usual with the endless round of checks and we were always careful to maintain a leisurely pace. One of my pet hates is imaginary time pressure. We almost lost a diver to a stupid accident by convincing ourselves we were against the clock when we weren't so the cry - there's no time pressure - would often ring across the boat shed.
We checked everything then uplifted 23 gallons of fresh fuel. We'd got through a fair bit the day before!
Launch was at 14:42 and at 14:48 we once again strapped Stew in and made ready for a run.
This was to be the leisurely display profile we'd now perfected. Up to 120mph, waft up the loch on our annoyingly high engine idle, taxi round while trying to avoid a flameout then waft back again to glide to a standstill opposite the slipway. We'd disconnected the second boost pump again, and for reasons unknown, the idle had dropped to where it ought to be so that was a bit of a puzzle but not to be complained about.
The weather was against us, though. The wind was up to 12 knots and K7 weather-cocked and swallowed a gulp of water as Stew tried to wrestle her onto the proper heading. He aborted until the rpm recovered then had another go. Gulping water got the inside of the engine spotless but didn't help it make thrust. The second attempt was much better and Stew cruised up the loch at 118mph - perfect. Then the shutting down gremlin got him and we had to go up the loch and tow him home.
Nothing daunted, we prepped for another go and lit the engine at 15:32. The wind had freshened and conditions were even trickier but this was all information we needed for future outings. The operations logs would doubtless prove a vital resource so we made sure everything was recorded. Stew fought the weather-cocking again but then punched K7 onto the right course an fired up the loch but he reported that visibility wasn't good and the wind could be felt even at 120mph. 14-17 knots of wind, we decided, was approaching the limit. The loch was flat calm at the other end so Stew turned and 'floored it' to get her up and she streaked through the narrows (Loch Fad is the shape of an egg timer) at the usual speed but the weather on the other side was a bit lumpy and visibility wasn't great. He got bounced around a bit, water came over the top and the engine got another mouthful of water when coming off the plane.
At that point, Stew took the executive decision that Ted ought to take over in the prevailing conditions - such was the benefit of having two such professional operators in charge of the driving.
Stew being brought ashore for the final time. He'd done a superb job as our 'understudy pilot' and we quietly wondered if it wasn't more demanding than flying multi million pound government assets over people intent on shooting you down or flying inches from your mates in the world's most prestigious jet powered aerobatics team. Either way he earned his K7 driving proficiency badge.
It was after five when we strapped Ted in, the weather usually died off around this time so we assumed it would do its usual. We'd decided the low speed profiles would wait until Monday so this was to be another demo profile as before so we'd topped off the fuel and air at the jetty, run the battery charger for a while (K7 needs battery power for pumps, valves, etc. but has no on-board charging capability) and got ready to go.
K7 lit up as usual but didn't get very far. Our linkages caught us again and shut the engine down before it was even started this time so Ted cruised about twenty yards at walking pace then the engine died.
We retrieved him and refilled the start bottles by decanting from spares ashore then had another go. This time even less happened. Ted pressed the start button in the cockpit and nothing went whoosh-bang. A failed electrical connection was diagnosed aboard the start boat (the start button on the instrument panel was wired off-board to control the start solenoids on the start boat then disconnected once the engine was lit) so that was soldered and we tried again.
We expected minor issues so we didn't complain, we just got on and mended them.
This time we got Ted going and he soon disappeared in a cloud of steam and spray then guess what happened. Yes, the engine flamed out a mile and a half away.
Ted straightening up on track ahead of his first run.
Now here is where things got a little disjointed.
Because this was to be the last of these profiles we decided to get ambitious and try for four runs. This would mean going up the loch and back down as usual but the plan this time was to taxi round as we had practiced at the other end of the lake then shoot back up and down again.
Above is Ted setting off on that first run. The wind was blowing directly down the loch from the far end and that wasn't unusual but it was that little bit stronger this time. Firstly you can see how much effort it took to get K7 on track. With a tiny rudder and that huge fin on the top it's just no contest. The fin looks good but it's a proper nuisance. The other thing to note is the waves in the narrows. They weren't visible from ground level but you can see them from the drone.
The idea of four runs was sound but the engine flamed out at the end of the first run yet again so off we went with the start boat to get it going. We had a quick meeting with Ted and agreed that we could salvage the other three runs in one go assuming the engine didn't get up to its antics at the other end when he came off the throttle. Normally, having run that way, it was shut down anyway so it didn't matter but Ted would have to keep it going this time. The other issue was K7's ocean liner sized turning circle. This didn't matter too much at the top end because the entire width of the loch was available but at the slipway end there wasn't as much room so it was going to mean coming down closer to the southern shore, describing a big 180 degree loop at low speed then accelerating away closer to the northern shore. In hindsight we ought to have worked up this manoeuvre but it didn't seem so difficult so we fired the engine and sent Ted on his way.
From my vantage point all I saw was the diminishing cloud of steam, which also did an amazing job of making sure the engine was almost inaudible but Ted didn't reappear and soon the radios crackled to life to say that he'd stopped. That was that so we began the slow drag back to the slipway but when we got there it was clear something unusual had happened and what it was was this.
We hadn't factored in Ted's 20mph tail wind so he peaked at 157mph but that in itself shouldn't have been an issue. What was an issue, though, was the wind funnelling through the narrows had created the step on the water that Ted fell off at 150mph. Because of K7's forward centre of gravity and quite steep planing surface angles she nods on climbing out of the water and throws that cloud of spray ahead of herself two or three times until everything settles down but she does exactly the same thing when coming off the plane too and when she fell off the step in the water she started 'NODDING REALLY HARD'.
This unanticipated pitch oscillation could not be allowed to get in sympathy with the one that was coming anyway so Ted counted an extra banana (Stew measured seconds in bananas by saying one banana, two bananas, three bananas and so forth and soon we were all at it). So Ted got his spare banana out of the way while K7 stopped nodding then closed the throttle. But now he'd used up extra loch and was closer to the southern shore than anyone was used to in anticipation of looping left, except the loop left wasn't going to happen now. It was time to get rid of some speed.
First the water brake went down throwing twin rooster-tails high into the air, then Ted killed the engine and finally he scrubbed off the remaining speed in the standard powerboating way by getting a little sideways. It was all beautifully done but eyebrows had been raised.
What no one knew was that the move wasn't without precedent. Some rapid stopping was needed after the canopy loss incident, for example, and Stew had used the sideways scrubbing thing though less obviously. The difference this time was that all the skills were on display and up close.
Several spectators had ben startled and our resident film crew seized on this manna from heaven. At last, some jeopardy when all we'd done all week was be metronomically dull and methodical. Now they had some spice for their film and who could blame them.
They really got the money shot!
This shows the violent shaking that Ted got as he exited the narrows and the rooster-tails from the water brake. The foreshortening of the camera makes it all look much closer too, though Stew held the record for getting closer to the dam but that was because the wind blew him before anyone was in the water. It's certainly impressive but see below, drone footage of exactly the same run.
Again, you can see the wavelets and the nodding, but there's none of the drama. Ted just glides to a stop with room to spare. Less room that we were usually content with, it has to be said. But it's an old truism that the best pilot is one who can fly you back out of trouble should he ever fly you into it in the first place and on the day, Ted was that pilot and that's why he got the job.
It made great TV but also the trolls and idiots feasted on it. Almost crashed, lost control, etc. etc. Some who ought to have more common sense even threw it in as an excuse to declare Loch Fad too short when clearly there's more then enough water there for safe and controlled demo runs but it was all spiteful bolleaux. We have more detailed knowledge of how to operate K7 than anyone else on earth and that is beyond question.
As a post script to all this, we did get mildly told off by Malcolm. He'd dropped his radio in the loch and so was temporarily out of comm's and in the meantime we'd changed the plan and neglected to tell him so our project manager and head of safety wasn't told what was coming next and got as much of a surprise as everyone else.
And that was us for the week. Boat recovered then rest and recuperation was to be had over the weekend and we needed it!
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