Wednesday 23rd May 1928

Fritz von Opel drove the rocket-car Opel Rak 2, equipped with 24 Brander powder rockets, to 143 mph (220 km/h) at the Avus Track, near Berlin before 2,000 invited spectators. The car was armed with 24 powder rockets manufactured by Friedrich Sander. Fritz von Opel ignited them with a foot pedal. The 6,000 kilograms of total thrust had enough force to blow up an entire block of residential /office buildings. The pilot was separated from the explosives by a single steel armor plate. There were stabilizing wings on the sides with a negative angle of attack, whose function was to compensate for the uplift and kept the car on the ground. The RAK 2 actually lifted off in the end, but von Opel managed to keep it under control. The entire run lasted around two minutes.