Rocket Aircraft Racing League

Here's the header from their website

---

The Rocket Racing League has been announced, and it sounds like there is some serious money behind it.

Here's some excerpts from their website:

"Similar to auto racing organizations, the RRL will organize, host and run competitions across the United States, with the finals taking place each year at the X PRIZE Cup in New Mexico.

The league also plans to produce nationwide tours of its rocket planes and pilots to answer the public's demand for high-excitement entertainment. A video game based on the RRL is slated to launch in late 2007.

Rocket races will operate much like auto races, with the exception that the "track" is up in the sky. Courses are expected to be approximately two miles long, one mile wide, and about 5,000 feet high, running perpendicularly to spectators.

The rocket planes, called X-Racers, will take off from a runway both in a staggered fashion and side-by side and fly a course based on the design of a Grand Prix competition, with long straight-aways, vertical ascents, and deep banks.

Each pilot will follow his or her own virtual "tunnel" or "track" of space through which to fly, safely separated from their competitors by a few hundred feet.

Highly skilled X-Racer pilots will employ state-of-the-art differential GPS technology to ensure minimal chances of physical contact between the racers.

The RRL plans to host a variety of races as it grows and each race will result in points awarded to its top finishers and qualifier. Timed qualifying rounds can be incorporated into the races, comparable to the 24-hour Le Mans race."

Sounds to me like someone finally figured out how to get a loaded Vari-EZE off the ground in less than two miles of runway on a hot day!

This should be an interesting project to follow, and see what finally evolves from their original concept.....

Hat tip to Slashdot