Rocket Racing League First Exhibition Race August 1st and August 2nd, 2008

On Mon, 30 Jun 2008 07:06:27 -0700 (PDT), Harry K
wrote:

OK. I am a bit out of date but my understanding is that it is timed
circuits, not 2 or more in the air at the same time. Not what I
consider 'racing'.

No, from what I understand, it's head-to-head. However, the rockets burn
through fuel quickly...I've heard that less than half of a typical 15-minute
flight will be under power. The RRL is doing pit stops, but of course a plane
just out of the pits will be a lot slower and have less acceleration than those
already aloft (due to still carrying a heavy fuel load).

Further, reading between the lines of the press release. You won't see
the planes flying except on a video screen.

You won't see the *course* any way than on a video screen. Unlike Red Bull and
Reno, there are no physical pylons. The pilots apparently follow their flight
directors, which are programmed with the route. If you want to see how they're
doing, you have to view the information on the video screens.

You'll see the planes flying, but I've heard that most the flying will occur at
1,000 feet or above (one guy told me 5,000 feet!). Since the majority of each
flight is power-off, they probably need the altitude to stretch their endurance.

The most interesting aspect will probably be the pit stops...the current record
for a rocket-powered-airplane pit stop is something like two hours! They've
supposedly reduced that by more than an order of magnitude. However, as most
airports don't have grandstands, you probably won't be able to watch the action
in the pits directly since the people in front will block everyone else's view.
Hence, you'll probably end up watching the pit stops on the video monitors as
well.

It *does* look like the RRL was considering grandstands, at least initially.
Check out their proximity to the runway on this promotional artwork on the RRL
web page:

http://www.rocketracingleague.com/pr.../runwaybig.jpg

Ten rocket planes going by, a half a wingspan away? I don't think they even
MAKE Excedrin tablets that large... :-)

Ron Wanttaja