profession: pilot career: actor - Jet Aviation
profession: pilot career: actor - Jet Aviation
profession: pilot career: actor - Jet Aviation
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Air Racing | The Rocket Racing League<br />
<strong>pilot</strong>, with over 300 carrier – arrested<br />
landings. He left the Navy about a year<br />
ago and is now in an MBA program. “The<br />
league seemed like a great opportunity to<br />
stay in the flying community and fly air-<br />
craft that are exciting and fast,” said Bri-<br />
denstine. “As a team owner the idea is to<br />
put together the pieces to fly airplanes in<br />
front of large audiences, and to generate<br />
enough revenue to both cover the costs<br />
and reinvest in technology that advances<br />
rocket science and space technology.”<br />
It was the Bridenstine aircraft that flew at<br />
the Experimental Aircraft Association’s<br />
(EAA) air show in Oshkosh. It was <strong>pilot</strong>ed<br />
by Rich Searfoss, a two-time NASA shut-<br />
tle commander. During the 10-minute<br />
flights, Searfoss performed various aero-<br />
batics using between 15 to 35 seconds of<br />
engine thrust. After take-offs that produ-<br />
26 Outlook 02/2008<br />
01<br />
02<br />
ced flames bright enough to make crowds<br />
squint, he would turn off the engine and<br />
glide. Throughout the demonstrations<br />
there were bursts of thrust followed by<br />
more gliding. The engine produces a flame<br />
10 to 15 feet long and its roar is heard and<br />
felt miles away. “There was a tremendous<br />
crowd, with lots of excitement and lots of<br />
energy,” said Bridenstine. “Everyone wanted<br />
to see the vehicle.”<br />
The engine on the plane burned liquid<br />
oxygen and kerosene, providing between<br />
1,200 pounds and 1,500 pounds of thrust.<br />
That engine has since been replaced by a<br />
liquid oxygen-alcohol engine made by Armadillo<br />
Aerospace. The new engine has<br />
2,500 pounds or more of thrust.<br />
Test <strong>pilot</strong> Len Fox has successfully completed<br />
several test flights with the Arma-<br />
dillo engine. A second team, the Santa Fe<br />
team, was originally scheduled to use the<br />
alcohol-burning engine at Oshkosh to race<br />
against the Bridenstine team, but it did not<br />
receive Federal <strong>Aviation</strong> Authority (FAA)<br />
approval in time. The Rocket Racing<br />
League works closely with the FAA to obtain<br />
approvals for its aircraft, which are<br />
classed as experimental and need to be<br />
approved for exhibition racing.<br />
The airframe being used by the Santa Fe<br />
team is slightly different than the Bridenstine<br />
plane. Both are made by Velocity<br />
Aircraft, a company the league purchased<br />
earlier this year. The canard aircraft are<br />
very light and stable, and they glide well.<br />
The Velocity XL-5 employed by the Santa<br />
Fe team is wider, longer and heavier than<br />
the Velocity SE used by the Bridenstine<br />
people.