The Shockwave jet truck was one of the few attractions that fit both drag races and air shows in North Carolina.
It was a new act. At drag racing events, three jet engines made it the fastest thing on wheels, while at air shows it was the only jet that never left the ground.
There were two airplanes at the Battle Creek Field of Flight Air Show when the truck crashed. The driver died in the crash. The truck had a mechanical failure, according to Neal.
The videos show the truck spinning out and tumbling after the parachute was deployed. A firework that was part of the show did not come from the truck that crashed.
After buying the truck from the man who built it, the Darnells have been performing in it.
In the 70s, Shockley built his first jet-powered dragster. The guts of the sleeping compartment and the engine were removed from the Peterbilt cab.
In an interview a decade later before an air show at the Norfolk Naval Air Station in Virginia, Shockley said that Shockwave was an instant hit when it was first released.
People like it. They can relate to that. People see trucks on the road. They've never seen one with that amount of power.
Fighter pilots told Shockley that the thrust felt like a plane taking off. He set a record for a semi truck by driving it over 300 mph.
There were two bucket seats, surrounded by heavy roll bars, at Shockley. As a reporter for The Daily Press in Newport News, I was able to ride along with him as he demonstrated his jet truck for the press before the opening of the Azalea Festival Air Show in April 1994.
I wore the same fireproof suit that Shockley wore. He said that the truck had a fire suppression system that smothered fires by sucking up all the oxygen and that it had three separate braking systems.
Donna followed Shockwave down the runway in a conventional truck.
She said that it was a lot safer than it looked. The public comes out to see things that look dangerous.
It is difficult to describe the sensation of coming to a stop all the way down the runway. I remember my peripheral vision disappearing as I was pushed back into the seat, then just as suddenly straining against the system of safety belts. We had reached a top speed of 284 mph.
Les was 50 years old. The family sold the truck and its name to the Darnells after two years. Neal said his son loved performing.
Everyone who knew him was very fond of him. He was living the dream.
There have been air shows in North Carolina over the years, including the Cherry Point Air Show at the Marine Corps Air Station.
He said the tires blew, the parachutes ripped, and the truck's front end fell off the ground. He said he ran out of runway and had to spin the truck around to stop.
He always left as he always did. The death of Shockley was due to the effects of a stroke in 2019.
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