Aviation races

[willpittenger]

Several years ago, I proposed this, but because there was no aviation forum, no one understood what I was talking about. Now perhaps they will.<br /><br />Back prior to WWII, there were a series of races like the Schneider Trophy designed to promote and enhance aviation. After WWII, some races were run, but governments won most of them. Today, most aircraft races are limited to WWII aircraft and/or trainers -- all of which have out of date technology.<br /><br />I would like to propose that we create new races designed to push technology. The only real overriding rule would be that all aircraft involved pass safety inspections. There would be several categories based on the type of aircraft (commercial airliner, dedicated cargo craft like the C-5 Galaxy, private planes like the Piper Cub, fighters, etc) and the course type. The courses would be one of the following: Closed loops whose length would vary with the speed of the aircraft type, straight runs, and rally courses.<br /><br />The rally course type would be the most demanding. The aircraft would be told to proceed towards heading X until they receive a new heading on frequency Y. Only one or two race officials would know the complete final course. Note: In categories with fighters, the course might demand frequent rapid turns.<br /><br />Also, I think one of the categories should be unlimited. Anything with wings (or not) qualifies. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <hr style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em" />Will Pittenger<hr style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em" />Add this user box to your Wikipedia User Page to show your support for the SDC forums: <div style="margin-left:1em">{{User:Will Pittenger/User Boxes/Space.com Account}}</div> </div>

 

[jschaef5]

I am not sure how the rocket races are going to work but it sounds similar. Although the main goal of most races today seems entertainment and not technology development. <br /><br />The Red Bull Air Race seems like pure advertisement but it is pretty insane to watch....<br /><br />The Xprize's seem to be a great method for pushing technology and its more of a race over development time rather than performance which seems to be what you want. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

 

[CalliArcale]

Red Bull actually has become a major proponent of aircraft restoration -- mainly by the owner becoming good friends with a pilot. It started out with a single restoration, but turned into a major obsession. The Red Bull Air Race is actually a classic pylon race, I understand, similar to the Reno Air Race. Military fighters can perform well in these (many of the surviving Mustangs have been converted into racers) but there are also civilian aircraft built exclusively to race. These are races for single-engine aircraft, and they are keen tests of a pilot's skill -- not only to fly fast, but to fly accurately, with tight turns low to the ground. It's definitely dangerous.<br /><br />The rocketplane race idea is to kick these races up a notch. Technology development would happen, just as it does in the pylon races and in NASCAR, although since the idea is to win, the new technology tends to be most immediately applicable to racing (for obvious reasons). But it's not intended just to drive technology, a la X-Prize. It's intended to be a self-sustaining industry in its own right. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p> </p><p><font color="#666699"><em>"People assume that time is a strict progression of cause to effect, but actually from a non-linear, non-subjective viewpoint it's more like a big ball of wibbly wobbly . . . timey wimey . . . stuff."</em>  -- The Tenth Doctor, "Blink"</font></p> </div>

 

[Testing]

Perhaps you should follow this:<br /><br />http://www.if1airracing.com/ <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>