William Atkins
Monday, 14 April 2008 21:25
Science -
Space
Page 1 of 2
The Rocket Racing League, a sort of NASCAR in the Sky, has announced its first exhibition rocket-powered aircraft races on August 1-2, 2008, in Oshkosh, Wisconsin at the annual Experimental Aircraft Association AirVenture air show.
One of the company’s founders is
Granger Whitelaw, now its chief executive officer. Whitelaw is the team owner of a company that has twice won the Indy 500 auto race. The company backing the Rocket Racing League (RRL) is called Rocket Racing Inc.
However, the exhibition race is only the beginning.
The founders of the
Rocket Racing League have already purchased an airframe-manufacturing company, partnered with two rocket engine builders, and set up subsidiaries for its sky racing business.
They hope their Rocket Racing League will be parallel with high-performance automobile racing, like NASCAR.
Rocket Racing purchased
Velocity Aircraft, based in Sebastian, Florida, in order to build the airframes for the aircraft. The new subsidiary is called Rocket Racing Composites Corporation.
The sleek, high-decibel airplanes will use a rocket engine that burns liquid oxygen and kerosene—spouting a bright ten to fifteen foot flame out of its rear.
The rocket engines are being manufactured by
Xcor Aerospace (Mojave, California) and
Armadillo Aerospace (Mesquite, Texas).
Other subsidiaries are Rocket Racing Technology Development, which will deal with the avionics and electronics involved in the air-racing project, and Rocket Racing Land, which will manage the company’s facilities in New Mexico and headquarters in Las Cruces, New Mexico.
The
Experimental Aircraft Association AirVenture Oshkosh air show, where the exhibition races will take place, occurs from July 28 to August 3, 2008, in Oshkosh, Wiscinsin. It will be held at the Wittman Regional Airport. The air show is an annual event for aviation enthusiasts held each summer in Oshkosh.
Besides the exhibition races in Oshkosh, the company has also scheduled exhibitions at the
Reno Air Races (Nevada), in September 2008, at the
X-Prize Cup in New Mexico, in October 2008, and in Las Vegas, Nevada, later in the year.
The exhibitions in Oshkosh will involve two aircraft flying against each other at approximately 340 miles per hour. They will fly around a six-mile course (one mile wide and two miles long) four times, going from as low as 150 feet to as high as 1,500 feet above the surface of Earth.
The two pilots are reported to be a former U.S. military pilot and a former NASA astronaut/pilot. Each plane is estimated to cost about one million U.S. dollars.
How will the new sport operate? Also, find out the names of the teams currently signed up for the Rocket Racing League. Please read on.
