Re: Rocket Racing League

In article <11kibo2ne6b0df7@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>,
Pat Flannery <flanner@xxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>I think they would have had a very difficult time getting FAA aproval of
>it as anything more than a very, very, experimental aircraft.

This is definitely one of the things that experimentals are for. (Note,
incidentally, that racers are a recognized subcategory of experimentals.)

>relitivly short flight duration it would have had would make operating
>it tricky; you'd have pretty well been limited to taking off and landing
>at the same airport...

Probably you would operate from some place that wasn't too busy and simply
get clearance for takeoff and landing simultaneously, so it's your runway
until you're back on it.

>LOX fueling would take skilled personal...

Not really. Those aren't rocket scientists refilling the LOX tanks at
hospitals and such.

>and in the
>event of some unexpected aircraft arriving and needing to use your
>intended landing runway you would have had almost no loiter time.

Gliders already deal with this. (In fact, you would *be* a glider by
landing time.) For one thing, if memory serves, they have right of way
over powered aircraft except in real emergencies.

There's also the option of retaining enough fuel -- since XCOR's engines
are restartable -- for a go-around. Which would be a sensible thing to
do anyway.

>This would have been something for airshows, although you could have
>made a fortune giving people rides in a two seat version.

Alas, paying passengers are not something you can do with an experimental.

>It would have been smarter to figure out a way to stick some hidden
>intakes on it and install a small jet engine.

Perhaps, but I bet it would be a lot more complicated. (Jets are heavy,
and quite fussy about airflow quality.)
--
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