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The Rocket Racing League confirms its first Exhibition Race for August. Credit: The Rocket Racing League.
Yee, and indeed harr! Drooling speed freaks and dedicated jet heads can now shamelessly jump for joy at the news that the Rocket Racing League has this week officially set the date for the league’s very first airborne exhibition race.
The race event, which will take place during the EAA AirVenture air show in Oshkosh, WI (August 01 and August 02), will see a pair of daredevil competitors take to the skies in a rocket-powered racing demonstration for the gathered crowd’s shameless entertainment.
The participating racers will be able to view the NASCAR-esque “raceway in the sky” via the assistance of onboard and 3D helmet displays of the racetrack, while the expected 700,000 spectators will be able to follow all of the breathtaking action on massive projection screens.
“The first Exhibition Race of the Rocket Racer is an important milestone in the progression of the Rocket Racing League,” trumpeted Granger Whitelaw, Chief Executive Officer of the league. “We look forward to sharing the experience and thrill of rocket racing with the public.”
The Rocket Racing League was founded in 2005 by two-time Indianapolis 500-winning team partner Granger Whitelaw and X Prize Chairman and CEO Peter Diamandis. The league is billed as “a new entertainment sports league” combining the exhilaration of racing with the power of rocket engines.
The league proper will see real competitive events held throughout the United States and will feature multiple races that pit as many as ten “Rocket Racers” head-to-head in a four-lap, multiple elimination heat format across a five-mile sky-bound raceway circuit.
“EAA has followed the development of the Rocket Racing League concept with great interest,” enthused EAA President Tom Poberezny regarding the air show’s hosting of the first exhibition race. “We are excited about the opportunity to develop a whole new audience of aviation enthusiasts, while at the same time promoting aviation innovation.”
After completion of the league’s first official exhibition event, several other exhibition races are scheduled to be held before the close of the year. These will take at the Reno National Championship Air Races (Reno, NV, Sept 10-14), the X Prize Cup (Las Cruces, TBD 2008), and Aviation Nation, Nellis AFB (Las Vegas, NV, Nov 08-09).
In related news, the Rocket Racing League has announced that subsidiary outfit Rocket Racing Composites Corp. has acquired Florida-based Velocity Aircraft, which manufactures four-seat canard pusher experimental aircraft. The acquisition will see Velocity Aircraft tasked with producing a consistent airframe for all competing Rocket Racers. Additionally, the league has also revealed that Texas-based Armadillo Aerospace will be providing LOX engines for the Rocket Racer competitors.
Don't See ItApr 15th, 2008 - 13:36:52
I see this thing flopping like a fish on the deck. I think the environ-mentals will have a field day with this one not to mention the lack of overall interest in events that relatively few will ever see. The only chance this endeavor has revolves entirely around the leagues ability to get regular television coverage of it's events and we all know how a completely new sport fairs when facing it's first exhibitions.
I just don't see this thing going anywhere.
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