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