Racer rockets through test flights
Burns Flat facility chosen for evaluations
Racer rockets through test flights

By Jennifer Palmer

Published: September 5, 2008

BURNS FLAT — The Bridenstine DKNY Rocket Racer recently completed a series of successful test flights at the Oklahoma Spaceport in Burns Flat.

The Rocket Racer flew seven times in four days and was evaluated for engine performance and aerodynamics. Granger Whitelaw, Rocket Racing League's founder and chief executive, said Thursday that the aircraft performed "superbly.”

The Rocket Racer, a piloted aircraft, achieved speeds of zero to 110 miles per hour in less than six seconds. Flights reached heights above 12,000 feet.

Bill Khourie, executive director of the Oklahoma Space Industry Development Authority, said he was thrilled that the Rocket Racing League chose the Burns Flat facility for the test flights.

"It was a major milestone in our evolution,” he said.

The Oklahoma Spaceport provided the league with a nearly 3-mile-long runway, hangar facilities, safety officials, air traffic control and other support staff and housing.

The Rocket Racing League performed the flights to test a new liquid oxygen-alcohol engine, manufactured by Armadillo Aerospace, a developer of rocket-powered vehicles based in Mesquite, Texas.

Whitelaw said because the flight tests were successful, the league now can proceed with planned exhibition races. They also are working to obtain an exhibition racing certificate from the Federal Aviation Administration.

Rocket Racing League, based in New York, is building the aircraft and funding the engine development. Whitelaw said the league has six rocket racers under development that will be used for races he described as an in-air Indianapolis 500.

Exhibition races could begin as early as this year, with televised races coming in 2009, he said.

To learn more, visit www.rocketracingleague.com.

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