TULSA, OK– A truly unique event is going to take place this weekend at Tulsa International Airport – racing rockets!
QuikTrip stores in conjunction with the Tulsa Air and Space Museum will host the first ever QuikTrip Air and Rocket Racing show on Saturday April 24th. The show will feature airborne and static displays of military aircraft, including a demonstration of an F-15 Strike Eagle fighter jet and aerobatic acts such as wingwalkers and stunt planes. The show will conclude with a dramatic flyby of a B-2 Spirit "Stealth" Bomber.
The headliner of the event, however is the Rocket Racing League. The Rocket Racing League is a showcase of exprimental rocket powered aircraft that use a combination of ethanol and liquid oxygen to produce some 2,500 pounds of thrust to propel the planes built of lightweight composite materials up to 300 miles per hour or more. It is said that the planes used by the RRL at full throttle can be heard for miles around and are so loud that you can feel the ground shake.
The pilots in the RRL will compete in various competitions that will showcase their flying skills. Some races will resemble circuit style courses while others will look very much like an airborne drag race. The audience will be able to keep track of the racers in the show by use of huge screens that will show camera viewpoints on board the aircraft for a unique pilot’s-eye perspective.
The event is also being used to raise awareness of theTulsa Air and Space Museum’s bid to add a retired Space Shuttle Orbiter vehicle to it’s museum collection. The Shuttle program is slated to end later this year and it so happens that a major component of the Shuttle, the cargo bay doors, were built right here in Tulsa, not far from where the QuikTrip Air and Rocket Racing Show will take place.
The show will also pay homage to Tulsa’s rich history in the aviation and aerospace industry, which currently employs some 32,000 workers in the Tulsa area.
The gates will open at 9:30am and the first aerobatic act will take to the sky at noon. Military flybys and fans can wander the static displays and vendors area from 9:30am until noon.
The B-2 Bomber is scheduled to make it’s pass around 3:55pm. Tickets for the event can be purchased at tulsaairshow.com, and participating QuikTrip stores and Arvest Bank locations. Click here for more.
Tickets will also be available at the gate.