Ed Shadle

In

At age 67, Ed Shadle is a speed demon who’s attempting to steal something the British have had for 20 years — the world land speed record. And he plans on doing it with a jet-powered car he created himself.

Shadle, who worked with IBM for 30 years, created the car from an old fighter plane. The North American Eagle is an old Lockheed F-104 Starfighter that he modified to not lift off the ground.

But Shadle doesn’t want to be the driver of the car when the record attempt is made in Nevada, so he’s looking for a driver by holding an essay contest. Shadle says the car will go up 800 mph, which is more than half of the speed of the old airplane that flew 1,400 mph.

Shadle talks with Growing Bolder about what it’s like to drive a car like that and how he plans to break the record.

For more information on Shadle and what he’s attempting to do, check out his Web site.