PILOT PROFILE:
Erik R. Lindbergh, Founding Pilot of the Rocket Racing League®
 When it came time for the Rocket Racing League®, a 21st Century sports phenomena, to ask someone to be a founding X-Racer Pilot and represent them to the public as a spokesperson in forwarding their message, their mission and their company, they asked Erik Lindbergh. The relationship was a natural fit, and not just because of aviation's most famous last name.
Lindbergh brings a lot more to the table than legendary lineage. He is an accomplished aviator in his own right, an experienced commercial pilot, certified flight instructor and glider pilot. He holds a degree in Aeronautical Science from Emery Aviation College and re-traced his grandfather Charles Lindbergh's solo flight from New York to Paris in a small single engine aircraft in 2002.
"Like many of us, I dreamed of flying rockets as a kid," says Lindbergh. "I had visions of myself flying into space and looking down on the earth… of flying to the moon and beyond. Fantasies like that feel real when you're young. We live in an extraordinary age of technology that is bringing new life to old dreams, and I see the Rocket Racing League® bringing dreams to life inspiring people all over the world."
In addition to his involvement with the RRL, Lindbergh serves as vice chairman of the Lindbergh Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to furthering his grandparents' vision of balancing technological advances with environmental preservation. He also serves as Vice President and Trustee of the X PRIZE Foundation, an organization founded by RRL co-founder Dr. Peter Diamandis to further civilian spaceflight.
"Erik's intrepid spirit and superior piloting skills will thrill RRL fans and advance our mission to re-ignite the public's interest in flight and space," said Granger Whitelaw, CEO of the Rocket Racing League®.
"I'm excited to welcome Erik into the founding cadre of rocket racing pilots, all of whom hail from backgrounds including military aviation, flight testing and world-class aerobatics." says Colonel Rick Searfoss, Chief Pilot of the Rocket Racing League® and former astronaut and space shuttle commander.
Lindbergh's involvement with the RRL is all the more interesting and compelling when you consider how he lives his life. He resides in the Pacific Northwest in a 'straw bale' house he built himself. He is an alpine and telemark ski racer and an avid back country skier. In the summer you will find him water skiing and mountain biking. If you see someone playing hacky sack in an airport, it's probably him.
 Lindbergh is also a noted artist; his unique sculpture and furniture designs are sold through his own gallery (www.LindberghGallery.com). Seven of his rocket ships were the first bronze sculptures ever to fly into space! His work has been featured in People Magazine, Sculptural Pursuit, the History Channel, NASA, and a national advertising campaign for Amgen.
He actively promotes the work of the Arthritis Foundation, is a founding board member of the Aviation High School in Seattle and is a senior advisor to MVP Air and a member of the Explorers Club. Erik has a long-standing relationship with Columbia Aircraft Manufacturing, born out of his journey across the Atlantic in the Columbia 300. He is also an Angel Flight mission pilot.
A wonderful storyteller, Erik is a professional speaker with clients such as: The Mayo Clinic, Intel, Young Presidents Organization, Ace Hardware, The Arthritis Foundation, Microsoft, National Air and Space Museum, and The Explorers Club.
"The Rocket Racing League® certainly has potential to be a huge financial success," says Lindbergh. "But I'm more interested in its ability to light a fire and give kids the 'juice' they need to reach their highest potential in life. There is a lot of apathy and cynicism in our culture today and something positive like this that has the power to capture people's imagination, to focus energies and accelerate the research and development of space travel, is absolutely worthwhile. That's a goal worthy of my legacy, and one toward which I work every day."
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