The first head-to-head race of two rocket-powered planes is planned for next week, but only one plane may take to the air.
The Rocket Racing League – a company founded by X-Prize Foundation chairman Peter Diamandis and winning Indy 500 car race team owner Granger Whitelaw – aims to pit two planes against each other at the EAA AirVenture air show in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, as early as 29 July.
The two rocket racers' engines are being designed by Armadillo Aerospace of Mesquite, Texas, and by XCOR Aerospace of Mojave, California. XCOR's plane is ready, but the Armadillo plane is still awaiting a flight permit from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
Nascar in the sky
Whitelaw, the league's executive officer, says he doesn't yet know if the permit will come through in time. The FAA has "been very helpful in trying to accommodate us, but they don't move at rocket speed," Whitelaw told New Scientist. "They're still on piston power."
He insists the delays with the Armadillo plane are not due to technical problems. "It's completely ready to fly," he says.
Both planes are being shipped to the Oshkosh airfield. New Scientist will be there to cover the event if it goes forward. The exhibition event would be the first taste of the company's plan for a competitive rocket racing league, an airborne version of Nascar or Formula One.
To navigate the course, planes will alternate between rocket-powered flight and coasting with the engines off to conserve fuel. Firing the engines for too long could damage the plane's airframe, which is not meant to withstand speed much greater than the 560 kilometres per hour.
Click the following link to read the full article:
LINK: Rocket planes to ship for first demo race
The Rocket Racing League – a company founded by X-Prize Foundation chairman Peter Diamandis and winning Indy 500 car race team owner Granger Whitelaw – aims to pit two planes against each other at the EAA AirVenture air show in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, as early as 29 July.
The two rocket racers' engines are being designed by Armadillo Aerospace of Mesquite, Texas, and by XCOR Aerospace of Mojave, California. XCOR's plane is ready, but the Armadillo plane is still awaiting a flight permit from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
Nascar in the sky
Whitelaw, the league's executive officer, says he doesn't yet know if the permit will come through in time. The FAA has "been very helpful in trying to accommodate us, but they don't move at rocket speed," Whitelaw told New Scientist. "They're still on piston power."
He insists the delays with the Armadillo plane are not due to technical problems. "It's completely ready to fly," he says.
Both planes are being shipped to the Oshkosh airfield. New Scientist will be there to cover the event if it goes forward. The exhibition event would be the first taste of the company's plan for a competitive rocket racing league, an airborne version of Nascar or Formula One.
To navigate the course, planes will alternate between rocket-powered flight and coasting with the engines off to conserve fuel. Firing the engines for too long could damage the plane's airframe, which is not meant to withstand speed much greater than the 560 kilometres per hour.
Click the following link to read the full article:
LINK: Rocket planes to ship for first demo race
Comment