Check Out Rocket Racing's Display At North AeroShell Square, Booth S-58, and Visit Velocity At Booth #412/418 - North Aircraft Display  

The ULTIMATE Fast Company: The Rocket Racing League

Founded in 2005 by two-time Indianapolis 500 champion team owner Granger Whitelaw and aerospace pioneer and X PRIZE Foundation founder Dr. Peter Diamandis, the Rocket Racing League (www.rocketracingleague.com) is the only entertainment sports league that combines the exhilaration of racing with the power of rocket engines, fully satisfying our universal love for power and flight through the thrill of Rocket Racers .

Oshkosh Special Event Schedule

Rocket Racing League Live - Booth S-58, Mon-Sun, 9am-5pm

Fan Activities & Benefits:

• Fly RRL Flight Simulators
• Custom Photo Postcards
• RRL "Inaugural Flight" Commemorative Sticker
• Rocket Racer Design Contest
• RRL Video Game Stations
• RRL updates and news
• RRL Pilot Autograph Sessions
• Daily Q&A Sessions with the RRL Team
• RRL Games and Prizes

Live Presentations -- Monday, July 28

• RRL Forum Discussion, 8:30-9:00 a.m.

• Theater in the Woods, 7:55-8:25 p.m. - Rocket Racing League - Granger Whitelaw

Press Conference and Flight

• Tuesday, July 29, 2:15pm, North AeroShell Square, Booth S-58

Inaugural Flights

• Friday, Aug 1, 2:30pm, Flight Line
• Saturday, Aug 2, 2:30pm, Flight Line

Rocket Racing League - The Rocket Racers

Rocket Racer® is the name of the race vehicles being developed to compete in the Rocket Racing League®.

The RRL and its technology partners flew and retired a pre-cursor vehicle called the "EZ-Rocket." The EZ-Rocket utilized a modified Long-EZ aircraft frame and two, four hundred pound liquid oxygen (LOX) and alcohol engines.

The next generation of race vehicle, called the Rocket Racer®, is currently under development and began test flights in the fall of 2007. This vehicle will utilize a Velocity (www.velocityaircraft.com) airframe and a single 1,500-2,000 pound thrust liquid oxygen and kerosene rocket engine that emits a 10-15 foot-long flame and roar heard and felt for miles around.

Rocket Racer® vehicles are scheduled to compete in exhibition races is 2008, with as many as 10 Rocket Racer® vehicles competing in an official Rocket Racing League season by 2010. The RRL will take every safety precaution in the design of all Rocket Racer® aircraft to enhance the safety of pilots, their planes, and the viewing audience.

Rocket Racing League - The Races

To be held at venues across the country, the Rocket Racing League will feature multiple races pitting up to 10 Rocket Racers going head to head in a 4-lap, multiple elimination heat format on a 5-mile "Formula One"-like closed circuit raceway in the sky. The Rocket Racer pilots see the "raceway in the sky" via in-panel and 3D helmet displays. For the hundreds of thousands of fans in attendance, they will witness the racing action live and in real-time display on multiple large projection screens. For the millions of fans watching on televisions and PCs at home, they will experience the thrill of the Rocket Racing League via unique remote and rocket-mounted cameras that give at-home fans the sensation of riding right alongside famed League pilots.

Rocket Racing League - The Pilots

Capable of accelerating from zero to full-throttle in a split second, the Rocket Racers will be piloted by world-renowned aviators including retired NASA Astronaut Rick Searfoss, aerobatic pilot Sean Tucker, Len Fox, Erik Lindbergh, Jim Campbell and Jim Bridenstine, among others.

Rocket Racing League - The Teams

Six teams are currently registered to compete in the Rocket Racing League's Inaugural Season. The teams include Thunderhawk Rocket Racing, Santa Fe Racing, Bridenstine Rocket Racing, Rocket Star Racing, Team Extreme Rocket Racing and Canada-based Beyond Gravity Rocket Racing.

Rocket Racing League - Management

Granger B. Whitelaw, Co-founder, President & CEO

Granger Whitelaw serves as President and Chief Executive Officer of the Rocket Racing League , overseeing the league's management, operations, partnerships and corporate affairs.

Mr. Whitelaw is the Founding Partner and Managing Director of BlueCar Partners, LLC, a global venture-consulting firm that provides capital, strategic consulting and business development services to promote the growth and success of innovative companies. Over the past 15 years, Mr. Whitelaw has led the firm in the launch and expansion of more than 20 companies, including the AMBER Development Group which supports the next-generation of the Amber Alert system, International Fuel Technology, a fuel science and research company, GPS Industries, creator of GPS-related sporting equipment, Kalorama Studios, a major motion picture and event site in Washington, D.C., TrendSphere, a think tank and consultancy for Fortune 500 Chief Technology Officers, and Vemics, creator of breakthrough collaboration technologies. Previously, Mr. Whitelaw served as Vice President of Mergers & Acquisitions at Grady & Hatch.

Dr. Peter H. Diamandis, Co-founder and Chairman

A pioneer and leader in the commercial space arena, Dr. Peter H. Diamandis created many of the leading commercial space companies; opening the personal spaceflight industry.

Dr. Diamandis is the Chairman and CEO of the X PRIZE Foundation (www.xprize.org), which awarded the $10,000,000 Ansari X PRIZE (www.xprize.org) for private spaceflight and is now implementing prizes in a variety of different arenas. He is the Chairman & Co-Founder of the Rocket Racing League . Diamandis also serves as the CEO of Zero Gravity Corporation (www.nogravity.com) a commercial space company developing private, FAA-certified parabolic flight utilizing Boeing 727-200 aircraft. Diamandis is a co-founder of Space Adventures, Inc. (www.spaceadventures.com), the company that brokered Anousheh Ansari, Dennis Tito and Mark Shuttleworth's flight to the International Space Station.

Velocity Aircraft

The Velocity is a true high performance airplane with the ability to make 1000 mile cross country trips at speeds in excess of 200 kts- while carrying four adults and baggage in total comfort.

With the rear mounted engine, the noise, propeller turbulence, engine heat and fumes are behind you, providing an atmosphere comparable to a modern sports sedan. The sleek lines of the fuselage, coupled with the swept wings and racy canard draw attention to the aircraft wherever it goes.

Using modern day airfoil technology, clean cabin lines, and non-complex systems, the Velocity exceeds all other aircraft in its class - in efficiency, performance, and simplicity. Piloting chores can be shared by both pilots, and the Velocity's incredible stability and spacious instrument panel make it an excellent IFR platform.

With extremely crisp controls and excellent aerodynamic stability, the Velocity has been described as if it were mounted on rails, allowing you to fly long distances with minimal pilot load, yet it will dogfight with the best of the two seat sport planes. Once on the ground, the Velocity is as sure-footed as a cat, with its full-castoring nosewheel, 100" wheelbase, 80" track, and oversize wheels and brakes.

Cool Facts About Velocity!

• Velocity aircraft are available in 2 different models with a number of different options, all with easy access gull-wing doors. From the 42" wide Standard Elite, to the cavernous XL-5, there's a Velocity model for every taste and budget.
• Velocity aircraft have been used in a number of highly specialized applications. From military atmospheric research, to use as UAV platforms, to the first generation of the X-Prize Foundation's Rocket Racers, Velocity aircraft have done it all. The speed, comfort, and versatility of the Velocity design is paralleled by none.
• The Velocity XL, mated with the Continental IO-550, is able to deliver remarkable takeoff performance at airports with higher altitudes. The ground roll at airports with a field elevation of 6000' AGL is less than 3000' - at gross weight.
• The Velocity has one of the highest usable payloads in its class, with the interior space to match; 48" of shoulder room for four adults (or 4 adults plus 1 child, with the XL-5!) mated with an 1100lb useful load.
• The TSIO-550 powered Velocity TXL is able to deliver upwards of 250kts TAS at altitude, with a 1250+ mile range - all in plush comfort, even for the big guys. Are you 6 foot 8? Have trouble fitting comfortably in most planes? The XL was engineered specifically with the big guys in mind.
• The Standard Elite Velocity was designed with load factors of +12 and -9 G's, and has been statically tested to +6 G's. Can your airplane do that?
• The engineering of the canard and main wing gives the Velocity extremely docile stall and slow flight characteristics. When was the last time you saw a 200 knot airplane demonstrate smooth controlled flight at 65 knots?
• Customization goes beyond just instrument placement in a Velocity. The nature of its construction and its generous payload capacity lend the Velocity to complete customization. Fully integrated entertainment systems, plush leather, air-conditioning, bench or buckets; getting there isn't half the fun in a Velocity, it's entirely fun.

• The nature of the Velocity construction has been extensively engineered to provide even the least experienced builder with a user friendly, self explanatory build process. No specialty tools are needed - chances are you already have 90% of what you'll ever need to build a Velocity.
• The Velocity SE has been selected by The Rocket Racing League as their first generation Mark 1 X-Racer. Aerospace luminary Dr. Peter Diamondis' Rocket Racing League has been working in conjunction with XCOR Aerospace and Velocity Inc. to implement XCOR's rocket design into the Velocity aircraft. (In fact, Aero-news.net's editor, Jim Campbell, is a Rocket Racing League pilot!)
• The Velocity is truly easy to build and customize; even the most inexperienced builder can deliver a production quality airplane at a fraction of the cost of a certified, but fully customized to your specs.
• The average cost to perform an annual inspection on a certified airplane is more than $3000. Tired of the costs? The average annual inspection on a Velocity is less than $1000. Efficient and powerful, the Velocity XL delivers greater performance than most twins at a far lower operating cost.

FMI: www.rocketracingleague.com, www.velocityaircraft.com, Rocket Racing's Display At North AeroShell Square, Booth S-58, and Visit Velocity At Booth #412/418 - North Aircraft Display