Rocket Racing League moves closer to starting gate

Science fiction will turn very real in August when the Rocket Racing League holds its first exhibition races at the Experimental Aircraft Association's AirVenture 2008 in Oshkosh, Wis.

League CEO Granger Whitelaw announced the League's first exhibition races for Aug. 1 and 2 at Oshkosh during a news conference April 14 in New York.

Granger -- a two-time Indianapolis 500 champion team partner -- co-founded the League in 2005 to launch Star Wars-style races with futuristic rocket-powered aircraft.

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"The first exhibition race of the rocket racer is an important milestone in the progression of the Rocket Racing League," Granger said in a prepared statement. "We look forward to sharing the experience and thrill of rocket racing with the public."

The league originally expected to hold its first exhibition races in 2006 and begin competitive shows in 2007, but development of the rocket engines needed to fly the aircraft has taken longer than expected.

"We're about 15 months behind schedule, but we're on track now," Granger said at the conference.

He said more exhibition races will be held at the Reno National Championship Air Races in Nevada on Sept. 10 through 14, the X Prize Cup in Las Cruces, N.M., in October, and at Aviation Nation at Nellis Air Force Base in Las Vegas, Nev., Nov. 8 and 9.

At those shows, two rocket racers will compete head-to-head, flying at up to 340 miles an hour. The pilots will fly through virtual, three-dimensional racetracks projected in the sky with new software technology developed by the League.

The pilots will view the raceway through in-panel and 3-D helmet displays. Spectators will witness the action live through simulcast video on 50-foot screens that allow them to see what the pilots see.

The League will begin competitive races in 2009 at those same venues and at others to be announced later this year, Granger said. So far, six teams have formed to compete in the races.

Granger also said that Armadillo Aerospace of Mesquite, Texas, is now developing engines for the rocket racers -- making it the second company to work with the League.

XCOR Aerospace of Mojave, Calif., has built liquid oxygen and kerosene engines for the League's aircraft. The first test flights using XCOR engines took place last November (see footage posted on YouTube atwww.youtube.com/rocketracingleague).

Armadillo is developing engines that use a combination of liquid oxygen and ethanol, said Vice President and Program Manager Neil Milburn.

"It will burn liquid oxygen and ethanol at a gallon per second," Milburn said. "We're fairly close to the final design. We'll have it finished in about two weeks."

Both the Armadillo and XCOR engines will enable pilots to throttle up and down. They will both shoot long, colorful plumes out the back of the aircraft during races.

"Our engine produces a blue flame that we augmented with sulfur water to give it a chemical glow," Milburn said. "It now shoots a brilliant, orange-yellow plume 30-feet long."

Whitelaw also announced the League's acquisition of Velocity Aircraft Inc. of Sebastion, Fla., which builds four-seat jets that will be modified to handle rocket engines. The company will build composite airframes for the rocket racers. It will be run by the League's subsidiary company, Rocket Racing Composite Corp.

In addition to supplying rocket-racing airframes, Granger said the acquisition will allow the League to make and produce rocket-powered private aircraft for sale to the public. At a target of $1 million per plane, Granger said that business will permit the League to become an important competitor in the emerging very-light-jet market.

The Rocket Racing League plans to build its headquarters in Las Cruces on a 171-acre swath of land next to the municipal airport. It will set up its own manufacturing facilities there, and expects to entice supply companies to co-locate at the park to develop a broad aerospace industry cluster to service the emerging space industry in southern New Mexico.