Radial Rocket RG To Roar At Reno 2011!

(click pic to enlarge)  The Radial Rocket RG will race in the Sport Class at Reno 2011

 I'm running behind getting some cool info up on some of the exciting racers planning to fly low - go fast - turn left at the 2011 Reno Air Races: September 14-18. One of the racers that has me drooling for the amazing sounds of the Russian M-14 radial is the all composite Radial Rocket RG. Now I don't expect the airplane to wind up with any trophies, but honestly I don't even care... just hearing this beast is gonna be worth the trip! Check out the short cell phone video below to get a really good feel for how the M-14 makes every flat engine from Lycoming or Continental sound like a loser : )

 The reality is that the Sport class was won in 2010 by Jeff LaVelle in a Glasair III running a tic over 339 mph. The Radial Rocket RG posts a Vne of 280 mph. So, unless the guys from Kansas have gone hog wild making some serious airframe mods, the Rocket will be more entertainment than hardcore competitor. But for my money, I don't think anything else in the Sport Class will provide this awesome level of entertainment. I just love round engine airplanes that sit the pilot on the centerline! The only thing that could make the Radial Rocket RG any better would be a taildragger version. If you're up on your RR info you know that the fixed gear version is a taildragger but the RG is a trike. You can learn more about why in my extensive post of the RR from late last year.

 If I had a box of gold buried in the backyard I'd be digging it up about now to buy me a Radial Rocket kit. Glasair's and Lancair's are really nice, but tandem seating and an affordable (and perfect sounding) M-14 on the nose get the nod from me every time.

 More Reno preview info coming soon... 

Radial (Retro) Rocket With Hot Paint Now Flying - Oh Yeah!

Hot Radial Rocket taildragger recently test flown (photo: Airborne Kustomz) 

(4 pix) 

 First flight: February 19, 2011.

 If you've been paying attention at all to AirPigz lately you should know I'm a pretty huge fan of the Radial Rocket. This homebuilt kit airplane is an excellent blending of today's technology with the emotion-inspiring shapes from the golden age of aviation. As I've said before, anytime you bolt a 360 hp radial on the front of a small taildragger, you've got my attention!

 This recently completed Rocket owned by Pete Malone from Missouri has a paint scheme that matches the awesome retro shapes... this my friends is exactly what General Aviation is missing: Passion! The paint was done by Airborne Kustomz out of Texas and you can check out some videos of the process at the Airborne Kustomz Radial Rocket page. I hear there's a good chance the airplane will be at Oshkosh this year too. That makes me happy.

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Hot Stuff! Radial Rocket RG (With 360hp Thump’n Russian Radial)

The new Radial Rocket RG from New Century Aerosport

(10 pix)

 There are four things in my opinion that make a perfect airplane. Round engine, pilot’s seat on the centerline, right hand on a stick and left hand on the throttle, and dragging your tail. If you’ve got those four things, you’ve got me hooked. And tho many pilots haven’t experienced all of these aircraft attributes, the only one that most modern pilots would likely disagree with is the tail draggin’ part. Enter the Radial Rocket RG.

 With 360hp of thump’n Russian M14-P radial power swinging an 80” 4-blade MT constant speed prop, the Radial Rocket from New Century Aerosport in Olathe Kansas brings centerline seating and right-hand-stick-left-hand-throttle happiness, plus the straight forward simplicity of tricycle landing gear to the high-class composite kit aircraft scene. The sound alone from that M-14 is worth the price of admission as far as I’m concerned. And interestingly, that 360hp comes at a pretty affordable price compared to the flat 6’s you’ll find under the hood in a Lancair Legacy. In my mind, the Radial Rocket RG is an art deco alternative to the Legacy. With truly nostalgic lines and a sound right out of the golden age of aviation, the RR RG offers 240mph+ high-speed cruise and a pretty authentic fighter-like feel due to the seating configuration.

Tricycle, retractable landing gear Radial Rocket RG

The very friendly looking RR RG cockpit

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Videos: Radial Rocket RG Drags Its Nose... But Not In The Air!

The new retractable gear version of the Radial Rocket

(1 pic & 3 videos)

 The new retractable gear version of the Radial Rocket homebuilt by New Century Aerosport is now flying! Even tho the original Radial Rocket is an awesome fixed gear taildragger (with the fabulous 360hp M-14 radial), the RG version has made the switch to tricycle landing gear. Why the change? Well, 2 reasons... one because there are a lot more people interested in an airplane of this high performance but with the reduced testosterone requirements of being a trike -- and two, because making the taildragger version into an RG would have been significantly harder to do. Getting long main gear legs that are attached forward of the main spar to actually have somewhere to go when folded would be a much bigger redesign of the existing airplane. For now, going trike is the best answer to the question.

 These videos give some great insight into the RG prototype that recently began flight tests. You'll see how it looks like a lean-and-mean version of a scaled down T-28 on the ground... and then it's just pure airborne beauty in the sky. If you're in a hurry, I recommend you watch about one minute of the first video below to see this gorgeous airplane inflight with the wheels tucked up. If you've got the time, stick with it til about the 2:20 mark to see the gear cycled.

 Then I suggest you watch the first minute or so of the next video (below) showing the airplane on the ground with that music-making M-14 running. Then hop down to the video at the bottom to watch the gear being cycled several times while it's on jacks. This gear is really fast! Looks and sounds solid as well.

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Audio Comparo: Yuneec E430 Takes On The Radial Rocket (HeHe)

 I've been doing a lot of research on electric powered flight these last few days which has left me remarkably encouraged for where the state of the art will soon be. There are a lot of projects in the works and some leaping and bounding going on. I'll be posting more about that before long.

 One of the things that's hit me hard about electric flight tho is the sound of the airplanes... or the relative lack thereof. So, to make me feel a little better, I did a little audio comparo today, pitting the Yuneec E430 all-electric aircraft against the Radial Rocket powered by the 360hp Russian M-14 radial internal combustion engine. Is it a fair comparo? Of course not. That's not the point. But it does kinda point out how much the sound can drive the passion for flight. At least it does for me.

 So, take a listen to the Yuneec in the video above. It's only 23 seconds long, so you'll get the important sound bite quickly. It's actually pretty interesting how much that little electric motor and prop sound like a smooth and powerful turboprop as it flies by. I was somewhat surprised by how much I liked the way it sounded.

 Then, after you listen to the Yuneec, check out the Radial Rocket video below. If you're anything like me, by 30 seconds into it your heart rate will quicken and large amounts of saliva will begin to pool in your mouth. By a minute into the video you might be thinking something like: "If I sold the house and lived in my car, I could have one of those beasts!" Yeah, the sound of a radial engine, with a bazillion moving parts rubbing up against each other with a little oil between them, controlled explosions of hydrocarbon  fuel and air going on at an amazingly high rate, and an exhaust output that would curl ole Al's hair are really a large part of what makes a really great airplane. So, while I'm ok with electric airplanes moving in and changing the game, I just hope will have some gasoline (and the bucks it'll take to buy it) for as long as I live so we can be sure to have airplanes that sound like the Radial Rocket does!

(more details on the Radial Rocket coming soon... this is definitely one to talk about!)