It’s so much better than NASCAR or even the Red Bull Air Races. Rocket-powered airplanes will race against each other in real time for live audiences. Folks at home can watch too on TV or streaming internet. This will be a lot more entertaining than the Red Bull Air Races in which the planes take turns, one at a time, through a timed race course.
The airplanes of choice for the Rocket Racing League are heavily modified Velocities from Velocity Aircraft. The Velocity already has a futuristic appearance due to the pusher engine and the composite construction. The rocket racer teams replace the standard piston engine with a 2000-pound thrust rocket engine that gulps liquid oxygen and kerosene (or ethanol).
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The competitions are unique in that they will not need a lot of infrastructure like sports stadiums or race tracks. A Rocket Race can be hosted by any existing medium-sized airport. The Federal Aviation Administration has approved 20 locations so far.
The league expects 10 rocket racers to be ready for the 2010 season.
The Rocket Racing League was founded by Indy 500 champion team owner Granger Whitelaw and Dr. Peter Diamandis who founded the X Prize foundation. The X Prize paved the way for Burt Rutan’s SpaceShipOne team to blast two civilian astronauts into space.
We got a chance to talk briefly with Dr. Diamandis at AirVenture. What a thrill!
~Matt Thomas
Showing posts with label rocket racing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label rocket racing. Show all posts
February 5, 2009
November 23, 2008
Can Air Shows Be Better?
Well at least someone is asking this question. Aero-TV interviewed a few of the notable Air Show names at the International Council of Air Shows 2007 convention.
Air shows can feature breathtaking aerial armadas and unique aircraft at the high end of the entertainment spectrum, or at the other end, single performers flying similar repetitive maneuvers in similar airplanes. Honestly, how many times can a Cuban 8 be entertaining?
Air shows are ripe for improvement, and this blog entry could be a laundry list of complaints, but instead we will list some positive examples of recent air show innovations that raise the bar for aviation entertainment…
Rocket Racing League rocket-planes
Self-launched jet-powered glider
Red Bull aerobatic helicopter
Sean D. Tucker is a long-time air show favorite. He may not have been the first to pioneer the audio-feed from the cockpit, but he is the best at it. During his performances he can talk directly to the crowd:
“Hey everybody, watch this…….whoa baby………..Yeah!”
Franklin’s Flying Circus presents a pirate-themed air show. It’s original but just a tad gimmicky. At least they don’t endlessly play Bette Midler’s “Wind Beneath My Wings” or Lee Greenwood’s “God Bless the USA" during the performance like other air show acts.
Other notable crowd-pleasers are the huge formations of aircraft like RV’s or T-6’s or T-28’s that now appear annually over Oshkosh and the heritage flights of civilian-owned warbirds flying along side modern military fighters
Here’s the interview on Aero-TV:
Can Air Shows keep up with the times?
Don't see a video screen?
Try disabling ad blockers and refreshing this page.
If that doesn't work, click here to update your Flash player.
Air shows can feature breathtaking aerial armadas and unique aircraft at the high end of the entertainment spectrum, or at the other end, single performers flying similar repetitive maneuvers in similar airplanes. Honestly, how many times can a Cuban 8 be entertaining?
Air shows are ripe for improvement, and this blog entry could be a laundry list of complaints, but instead we will list some positive examples of recent air show innovations that raise the bar for aviation entertainment…
Rocket Racing League rocket-planes
Self-launched jet-powered glider
Red Bull aerobatic helicopter
Sean D. Tucker is a long-time air show favorite. He may not have been the first to pioneer the audio-feed from the cockpit, but he is the best at it. During his performances he can talk directly to the crowd:
“Hey everybody, watch this…….whoa baby………..Yeah!”
Franklin’s Flying Circus presents a pirate-themed air show. It’s original but just a tad gimmicky. At least they don’t endlessly play Bette Midler’s “Wind Beneath My Wings” or Lee Greenwood’s “God Bless the USA" during the performance like other air show acts.
Other notable crowd-pleasers are the huge formations of aircraft like RV’s or T-6’s or T-28’s that now appear annually over Oshkosh and the heritage flights of civilian-owned warbirds flying along side modern military fighters
Here’s the interview on Aero-TV:
Can Air Shows keep up with the times?
Don't see a video screen?
Try disabling ad blockers and refreshing this page.
If that doesn't work, click here to update your Flash player.
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