profession: pilot career: actor - Jet Aviation

Air Racing | The Rocket Racing League
01 Rocket racer going airborne on first flight
02 Preflight testing on the rocket racer
03 Team owner Jim Bridenstine & Granger
Whitelaw, co-founder & CEO Rocket Racing
League at Oshkosh
First flights with a rocket racer
Len Fox flew F/A-18s and A-4s for the Navy and has tested 54
types of planes in his career. He recently flew Rocket Racer test
flights with the new Armadillo liquid oxygen-alcohol engine. The
August tests involved roughly 10-minute flights at altitudes ran-
ging up to 8,000 feet and speeds of up to 219 miles per hour. Fox
was able to go from zero to 105 miles per hour in 6.7 seconds.
Mr. Fox, what was it like flying the Rocket Racers?
Anytime a pilot has an opportunity to be involved in the develop-
ment and first flight of a prototype, it is a challenging and reward-
ing experience. The development stage challenges the imagina-
tion in creating the test plan, procedures and contingencies in
the event of emergency. On the first flight, the pilot must be ready
to pick up all the cues that a plane is emitting and address those
cues with flying skills if necessary. Final satisfaction comes in
30 Outlook 02/2008
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executing the initial test series in accordance with the plans and
procedures developed. This plane marched through its first seven
flights.
Was it significantly different than the other planes you have flown?
The basics are the same in that the pilot is managing power and
attitude to attain an altitude / airspeed combination.
What skills are necessary to maneuver with short bursts of thrust?
An indispensable skill will be the ability to manage the energy of
the aircraft. That energy will be in form of thrust and airspeed and
altitude. Pilot experience in the realm of gliding will be beneficial
in maximizing energy management by using a glider pilot‘s eye to
accurately assess a Rocket Racer‘s position relative to the available
landing options.