Where does this come from, and can I check it?

Ken Warby averaged 511 kilometres per hour on a New South Wales dam. The figure is taken from Britannica, which is linked in full on this page. Every fact on Mondo Knows names its source rather than repeating an unsourced claim.

Is this really a records & extremes fact?

Yes. It sits on the Records & Extremes shelf, one of 2,600 sourced facts grouped into space, animals, the human body, history, science and more. Category pages collect every fact in the same field.

What else can I read about it?

The links under the fact point to a quiz, game, puzzle or calculator on the same subject, and the shelf below shows related facts. The wording here is original, and quoted phrases are marked as quotations.

Mondo Knows Facts

Spirit of Australia holds the water speed record

Ken Warby averaged 511 kilometres per hour on a New South Wales dam Warby built the hydroplane in his backyard and set the record on Blowering Dam on 8 October 1978, averaging 511.11 kilometres per hour over two runs. The boat was powered by a surplus jet engine and had no gearbox or brakes. Several drivers have died attempting to beat it, and the record has stood for more than four decades. It sits in Mondo's records & extremes collection, one of 200 facts that each trace back to the reference below.

Where this comes from

Britannica

Facts that can change over time are reviewed and updated. If something here looks wrong, Mondo would rather know than be confidently incorrect.

Go further

Technology trivia Sports trivia

More facts like this

A message in a bottle surfaced after 132 yearsA German sailor's note from 1886 washed up in Western Australia The Great Barrier Reef is the largest structure built by living organismsIt stretches over two thousand kilometres along the coast of Australia Barrow Island recorded the fastest non-tornado wind gustTropical Cyclone Olivia generated a gust of 408 kilometres per hour The saltwater crocodile is the largest living reptile on EarthLarge males can exceed six metres in length and weigh over one tonne The pitch drop experiment has run since 1927Only nine drops of tar have fallen through its funnel in nearly a century Uluru is often called the largest single rockThe sandstone monolith has a circumference of about 9.4 kilometres

Tags: boats, speed, australia

Spirit of Australia holds the water speed record: the short answers

Where does this come from, and can I check it?: Ken Warby averaged 511 kilometres per hour on a New South Wales dam. The figure is taken from Britannica, which is linked in full on this page. Every fact on Mondo Knows names its source rather than repeating an unsourced claim.
Is this really a records & extremes fact?: Yes. It sits on the Records & Extremes shelf, one of 2,600 sourced facts grouped into space, animals, the human body, history, science and more. Category pages collect every fact in the same field.
What else can I read about it?: The links under the fact point to a quiz, game, puzzle or calculator on the same subject, and the shelf below shows related facts. The wording here is original, and quoted phrases are marked as quotations.