profession: pilot career: actor - Jet Aviation

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Air Racing | The Rocket Racing League pilot, with over 300 carrier – arrested landings. He left the Navy about a year ago and is now in an MBA program. “The league seemed like a great opportunity to stay in the flying community and fly aircraft that are exciting and fast,” said Bri- denstine. “As a team owner the idea is to put together the pieces to fly airplanes in front of large audiences, and to generate enough revenue to both cover the costs and reinvest in technology that advances rocket science and space technology.” It was the Bridenstine aircraft that flew at the Experimental Aircraft Association’s (EAA) air show in Oshkosh. It was piloted by Rich Searfoss, a two-time NASA shut- tle commander. During the 10-minute flights, Searfoss performed various aero- batics using between 15 to 35 seconds of engine thrust. After take-offs that produ- 26 Outlook 02/2008 01 02 ced flames bright enough to make crowds squint, he would turn off the engine and glide. Throughout the demonstrations there were bursts of thrust followed by more gliding. The engine produces a flame 10 to 15 feet long and its roar is heard and felt miles away. “There was a tremendous crowd, with lots of excitement and lots of energy,” said Bridenstine. “Everyone wanted to see the vehicle.” The engine on the plane burned liquid oxygen and kerosene, providing between 1,200 pounds and 1,500 pounds of thrust. That engine has since been replaced by a liquid oxygen-alcohol engine made by Armadillo Aerospace. The new engine has 2,500 pounds or more of thrust. Test pilot Len Fox has successfully completed several test flights with the Arma- dillo engine. A second team, the Santa Fe team, was originally scheduled to use the alcohol-burning engine at Oshkosh to race against the Bridenstine team, but it did not receive Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) approval in time. The Rocket Racing League works closely with the FAA to obtain approvals for its aircraft, which are classed as experimental and need to be approved for exhibition racing. The airframe being used by the Santa Fe team is slightly different than the Bridenstine plane. Both are made by Velocity Aircraft, a company the league purchased earlier this year. The canard aircraft are very light and stable, and they glide well. The Velocity XL-5 employed by the Santa Fe team is wider, longer and heavier than the Velocity SE used by the Bridenstine people.
03 01 The Armadillo engine is tested 02 Evening test firing of the Bridenstine DKNY Rocket Racer 03 Crew prepping for inaugural flight 04 Bridenstine DKNY Rocket Racing Team 05 The Armadillo engine installed on the rocket racer Teams can make minor modifications to the avionics and aerodynamics of the aircraft, but the league wants to keep the planes very consistent at the beginning. “We want it to be more about the pilot and team strategy than the vehicle or how much money a team has,” said Whitelaw. In the future, he expects teams to be given more options to customize their aircraft. He also expects the aircraft to become stronger, safer, lighter, faster and capable of longer fuel runs and more acrobatics. He does not expect the planes to fly more than 300 miles an hour, because pushing 04 05 speed to the extreme would make the development and testing of many parts and technologies impractical. The business In addition to its role in promoting the development of rocket technology, the league is very much a business venture. Whitelaw admires the business plan used by NASCAR and Formula 1. The brand DKNY Men has become the first major sponsor and will support the Bridenstine team, as well as serve as clothing sponsor for the whole league. The fashion company wants to promote a line of men’s suits and hopes that associating itself with Rocket Racers will boost its image with men. The league is expecting more sponsors to follow. Those interested in starting a Rocket Racer team can fill in an online form. There are questions about the level of experience of the owner, the pilots and the team’s head of maintenance. At the end of the form, the prospective owner must also check a box about his or her available capital. Choices range from “less than $1M” to “more than $10M.” To start a team, owners must buy a $1.25 million kit from the league that includes the plane, an engine, avionics, training and the ground support equipment to refuel and move the aircraft. “It definitely takes capital to have a team,” says Marc Cumbow, owner of the Santa Fe crew. Aside from the initial fee, Cumbow has invested extensively in research and development. He is happy to see that the league has begun construction on the RRL Aerospace Business Park in his home state of New Mexico. The idea behind the business park in Las Cruces is to develop an industry cluster where teams and support companies can locate, similar to Charlotte, North Carolina for NASCAR and Indianapolis, Indiana for the Indy Racing League. The Rocket Racing League hopes this concentration of technology will benefit Outlook 02/2008 27
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