XCOR EZ-Rocket: Difference between revisions
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The first flight took place on July 21, 2001, flown by [[test pilot]] [[Dick Rutan]]. |
The first flight took place on July 21, 2001, flown by [[test pilot]] [[Dick Rutan]]. |
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On a typical flight, the EZ-Rocket takes off on rockets, gains altitude for a minute or so, then switches off the rockets and glides to a |
On a typical flight, the EZ-Rocket takes off on rockets, gains altitude for a minute or so, then switches off the rockets and glides to a [[deadstick landing]]. |
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The vehicle actually flies better during |
The vehicle actually flies better during deadstick glide landings than a Long-EZ due to lack of drag from a stationary [[Pusher configuration|pusher]] propeller — the vehicle's aerodynamics are cleaner in spite of its belly tank. It is also lighter due to the lack of a piston engine (the rocket propulsion system is significantly lighter), so enjoys significantly lower [[wing loading]] than a stock Long-EZ. |
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XCOR registered it as a conventional aircraft, rather than a suborbital, because the vehicle does not reach the 100 km [[Kármán line]] altitude. |
XCOR registered it as a conventional aircraft, rather than a suborbital, because the vehicle does not reach the 100 km [[Kármán line]] altitude. |
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Revision as of 00:17, 12 July 2012
The XCOR EZ-Rocket is a test platform for the XCOR rocket propulsion system. The plane is a modified Rutan Long-EZ, with the propeller replaced by first one, then a pair of pressure-fed regeneratively cooled liquid-fuelled rocket engines and an underslung rocket-fuel tank. The engines are restartable in flight, and are contained within Kevlar armour shielding for safety reasons. The EZ-Rocket is registered as an experimental aircraft.
Development and history
The first flight took place on July 21, 2001, flown by test pilot Dick Rutan.
On a typical flight, the EZ-Rocket takes off on rockets, gains altitude for a minute or so, then switches off the rockets and glides to a deadstick landing.
The vehicle actually flies better during deadstick glide landings than a Long-EZ due to lack of drag from a stationary pusher propeller — the vehicle's aerodynamics are cleaner in spite of its belly tank. It is also lighter due to the lack of a piston engine (the rocket propulsion system is significantly lighter), so enjoys significantly lower wing loading than a stock Long-EZ.
XCOR registered it as a conventional aircraft, rather than a suborbital, because the vehicle does not reach the 100 km Kármán line altitude.
Milestones and records
- October 8, 2000 - First firing of an XCOR Aerospace LOX-powered rocket engine.[1]
- July 21, 2001 - First flight, flown by Dick Rutan (single-engine configuration).[1]
- October 6, 2001 - First flight in twin-engine configuration.[1]
- July 24, 2002 - First touch-and-go of a rocket-powered aircraft (world record).[1]
- December 3, 2005 - Set the point-to-point distance record for a ground-launched, rocket-powered aircraft, flying 16 km from Mojave to California City in just under 10 minutes, flown by Dick Rutan).[2][3] Also first official delivery of U.S. Mail by a rocket-powered aircraft.[2] In recognition of this achievement, the FAI awarded Rutan the 2005 Louis Blériot Medal.[4]
- December 15, 2005 - First arrival of a rocket-powered aircraft at the Mojave Spaceport on a flight originating at another airport, return flight from California City, piloted by Rick Searfoss).[2]
- 2008: The XCOR EZ-Rocket X-Racer prototype rocketplane flew at the 2008 EAA AirVenture Oshkosh air show.[5]
Derivatives
The Rocket Racing League aircraft currently in development, the Mark-III X-racer, is a design descendant of the EZ-Rocket aircraft. Although XCOR is not the developer of the rocket engine for the Mark-III, XCOR did develop the rocket engine for the Mark-I X-Racer, the first of the X-Racers to use use a single rocket engine on a Velocity SE basic airframe, and the first X-Racer to utilize kerosene instead of isopropyl alcohol fuel. XCOR used both design and operational experience from the EZ-Rocket in the Mark-I rocket aircraft design.[citation needed]
Specification
- Two 400 lbf (1.8 kN) thrust rocket engines (non throttleable, restartable in flight)
- 20 sec 500 m takeoff roll
- Vne = 195 kt
- climb rate = 52 m/s (10,000 ft/min)
- maximum altitude = 10,000 ft
- Fuel : isopropyl alcohol and liquid oxygen
- Chamber pressure : ~ 350 psi
- specific impulse : 250 to 270 seconds[citation needed]
- Noise: 128 dB at 10 meters[6]
See also
References
- ^ a b c d "First Flights - XCOR Aerospace". Mojave Virtual Museum. Retrieved 2006-11-13.
- ^ a b c Deaver, Bill (2005-12-22). "XCOR EZ-Rocket makes more history at CalCity". Mojave Desert News.
{{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - ^ FAI Records
- ^ List of Blériot medals awarded to Dick Rutan
- ^ XCOR X-Racer, by Nancy Atkinson, Universe Today, 2009-08-06, accessed 2010-04-26.
- ^ [1]