04.01.06 'Special' Edition: President George W. Bush, an old fighter pilot and the son of a former military pilot, maintains an active interest in the progress of aviation and aerospace technology.

In that vein, he plans to attend the rollout and public demonstration of the first Rocket Racing League aircraft at Las Cruces, NM, October 16-22, the White House said.

"This is an exciting leap in propulsion, calling on all of us to bring back the heady days of the Me-163, the X-1 and X-2, even the D-558-2 and the X-15. I had pictures of all of them on my wall as a kid," Mr. Bush said.

"But my mom threw them away, along with my baseball cards, and things have never been the same until now."

The President said, "Those rocket days were certainly the good old, all-American days, give or take one or two we didn't build, and it's great to see the idea brought back to enchant a new generation of adolescent boys -- and maybe some girls, too - in dreaming about rocket ships, building models collecting those pictures and taping their pictures to the wallpaper. Better they have picture of rockets instead of degenerate rock stars."

Mr. Bush has invited air race legend Cook Cleland to join him on Air Force 1 on the flight to Las Cruces and to observe the activities there.

"We'll be delighted to have Cook there," said Jim "Zoom" Campbell, Aero-News editor-in-chief and a pilot in the Rocket Racing League.

"He's been one of my heroes and he can bring whomever he likes to watch this important demonstration. Cadging a free ride with some VIP-type just makes it that much better."

The President's presence on the ground at Las Cruces will, of course, raise some airspace use issues for those planning to fly in for the demonstration, and the standard Presidential TFR for the event is available elsewhere in today's special edition.

FMI: www.xpcup.com