October 5, 2005

Rocket-Propelled Aircraft Racing

(Filed under: Extracurricular)

It's an 8-year-old's dream. Combine NASCAR with the podracing from Star Wars: Episode I: rocket-propelled aircraft racing. How cool is that?

A typical hourlong race imagines a spectacular X-Racer liftoff allowing fans to follow each rocket plane by tracking their 20-foot exhaust plumes and watching large-screen TVs.

Streaming multi-angle video would be available from each aircraft, showing cockpit, "on-track" and "side-by-side" and wing-angle views. Fans also would be able to track races by using hand-held GPS devices connected to WiFi systems.

The rocket planes will have a liquid oxygen/kerosene fuel mix, calculated to have a burn time of four minutes, requiring pilots to shut down their engines repeatedly and glide, then restart to pass opponents at up to 300 mph.

The race course would be two miles long, a mile wide and about 5,000 feet high.

They hope to have an exhibition race in 2006 with league racing potentially starting in 2007. No estimates were given for league start-up costs, but each plane is supposed to cost under $1 million. Sounds pretty cool... as long as there's no bump drafting.

Posted by kevin at October 5, 2005 9:27 AM

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Comments

Posted by: Clance' McClannahan at October 8, 2005 1:01 PM