EZ Rocket goes <a href=http://cosmiclog.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2008/07/29/1232296.aspx">; public with flight demo to paying crowds.

"Today's demonstration started with a takeoff powered by 1,200 pounds of rocket thrust. The engine roared for about 30 seconds as the racer took to the air.

Then, in a flash, the bright kerosene-fueled flame disappeared. A couple of seconds later, the roar snapped off, as if a spigot was being turned shut. The cutoff was punctuated by a fuel burp that some have dubbed a "bark" or an "elephant sneeze."

The silence that followed was eerie.

That's all part of the plan for the league's races: The racers can carry only so much fuel, and a big factor in the race strategy is how to optimize the rocket burns and the unpowered glides as pilots negotiate separate lanes in a "raceway in the sky." XCOR's rocket can't be throttled; it's either all on or all off.

In all, the X-Racer performed six rocket burns, ranging from 15 to 35 seconds in length. That was enough to keep test pilot Rick Searfoss airborne for nearly 10 minutes, rising to an altitude of about 2,000 feet.

The X-Racer has been tested in the air at the Mojave Air and Space Port in California, where XCOR is based, but this was the first time that the plane was flown in front of a paying audience. For that reason, Searfoss played it conservatively today. The rocket plane is due to make repeat appearances on Friday and Saturday.

Whitelaw said the typical competition flight would be somewhat flashier than today's demonstration.

"It'll actually be a little lower, a little closer, with more vehicles," he told me. "But for a first flight we wanted to be a little cautious."

An Armadillo-powered rocket plane, partially assembled, sits on display at the Rocket Racing League's booth at the EAA AirVenture show

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Armadillo powered? Wouldn't that be a little...slow???