Bib #11, Jin’s Zero, crossed the finish line.
“And that’s the goal! The Zero clocks in at 15.9 seconds! He’s broken the sixteen-second mark! That’s approximately 226 kilometers per hour!”
Ear-splitting cheers and applause erupted from the crowd.
“Not bad, I suppose,” Jin muttered. He stood up from the cockpit and waved to the spectators. Reiko moved quickly to retrieve the Zero for him.
“Oh, thank you.” Jin patted Reiko on the head and turned his attention back to the airfield for the next flight.
“Bib #12 is Lordtoss-sama! The tapered-wing aircraft Swallow, start!”
The Swallow lifted off effortlessly after only a minimal taxi.
“The wing loading must be incredibly low,” Jin mused. The aircraft’s movements were exceptionally light. Moreover, he noticed it was equipped with counter-rotating propellers.
“Fast! It’s accelerating rapidly!”
The Swallow appeared to be powered by a formidable engine, showing eye-opening acceleration.
“Because the airframe is so light, it would be highly susceptible to counter-torque. He must have chosen counter-rotating propellers specifically to counteract that,” Jin analyzed.
Displaying remarkable stability, the Swallow rounded the pylon with a tight, graceful arc.
“Its lightness gives it a fantastic turning radius, too.”
Jin was genuinely impressed. The design took full advantage of the windless conditions provided by the barrier.
“Crossing the line now! The time is 15.9 seconds! He’s tied with Jin-sama!”
Once again, the venue was swallowed by thunderous cheers.
“Now for the final flight! Bib #13, Marikka-sama! The tapered-wing aircraft Eagle, start!”
Despite its size, this aircraft also seemed to have a low weight. After a gentle liftoff, it picked up speed with nimble ease.
“Oh, this one is fast too!”
“The design seems focused on minimizing drag as much as possible.”
True to the commentators’ words, Marikka’s Eagle was the most slender of all the entries, and its main wings were notably thin. This was likely a measure to offset the drag created by the larger airframe. Consequently, its top-end speed was excellent, and its posture remained rock-solid as it banked around the pylons.
“Fast, fast! This looks like it’ll be another incredible record! And... goal!”
Marikka’s time was exactly 16.0 seconds—approximately 225 kilometers per hour.
With that, every participant had completed their run. The results were as follows:
1st: Jin 1st: Lordtoss 3rd: Marikka
Unintentionally, the three guests had swept the top three positions. The rankings for the point-earning contestants followed:
4th: Rubina Garrett (1st among point-earning contestants) — 100 points 5th: Werner Randol (2nd among point-earning contestants) — 80 points 6th: Florence Fahlheit (3rd among point-earning contestants) — 60 points 7th: Shu Nidou (4th among point-earning contestants) — 40 points 8th: Sidney Marek (5th among point-earning contestants) — 20 points 9th: Natalia 10th: Elvis Alcott 11th: Greena Kuzuma 12th: Eugene Foul 13th: Sireen Eschenbach
“Phew, I made it in time.”
Just before the next event, the low-speed flight trial, Sion of the All-Creation arrived. She had been delayed by pressing business in the Nord Federation and had missed the start of the speed trial, but she had finally managed to rush to the scene.
“Sion-sama has arrived!” the MC, Luckhart, announced, prompting a fresh wave of applause from the stands.
“Sion-sama, we would be honored if you would join us as a commentator.”
“I won’t be much help with the technical side of things, but I’m happy to give my impressions,” Sion replied with a smile. Her popularity was immense, and the applause showed no sign of stopping.
“Thank you! Sion-sama will be joining our panel. And now, we shall commence our second event: the low-speed flight trial!”
“Since these aircraft rely on aerodynamics to stay aloft, the slower they fly, the more difficult it becomes,” Stayhart explained.
“Exactly. For this reason, each contestant will have three attempts, with the goal of achieving the slowest possible time. Furthermore, unlike the speed trial, the timer will only start once the aircraft is airborne.”
“So no one can pad their time by dragging out the takeoff roll.”
Sion chimed in with a question. “Are there measures in place for crashes?”
Given the low speeds, there was a high risk of stalling and falling out of the sky.
“Yes. There is a barrier set fifty centimeters above the ground to catch any falling craft. Of course, touching the barrier results in immediate disqualification.”
“I see.”
“Additionally, to prevent contestants from wasting time with wide, looping turns, the course is bordered by outer barriers. Contact with those also results in disqualification. For reference, the course width is approximately ten meters.”
“Thank you. I think I have the gist of it.”
With the rules clarified, the low-speed trial finally began. Jin personally felt that this event was the true test of a creator’s skill, which was why he had pushed for the three-attempt format.
“Bib #1, Natalia! The triplane Halcyon has started!”
The timer began the moment she lifted off and cleared the crash-judgment altitude. The trial would conclude once the craft completed two laps and returned to the same position. The measurements were handled by golems to eliminate human error as much as possible.
“...It really is moving slowly, isn't it?”
“The stadium is kept in a windless state by the barriers, so we don't have to worry about gusts,” Luckhart noted.
Jin listened idly to the balanced banter between Luckhart, Sion, and Stayhart. Meanwhile, the audience watched with bated breath as the planes crawled through the air.
Like the speed trial, the craft had to circle two pylons, but the distance between them was now 25 meters, totaling 100 meters for two laps. The Halcyon drifted around the pylon with a lazy, floating motion.
“She’s cleared the turn! Low-speed turns are notorious for causing stalls or altitude loss, but Natalia is handling her craft with expert precision!”
“She’s keeping her altitude steady even with a deep bank angle...” Jin observed, impressed. She must have practiced extensively.
“This kind of low-speed flight is surprisingly captivating,” Stayhart added.
Normally, such an event would require an indoor venue, but the barriers allowed them to hold it outdoors without issue.
“She’s approaching the goal... and goal! The time is 33.5 seconds! That’s approximately 10.7 kilometers per hour!”
The difference between the top speeds of 200 kilometers per hour and this minimum speed of 10 was staggering.
“This is definitely interesting,” Jin said, his excitement growing.
“Bib #2, Shu Nidou! The swept-wing aircraft Denkou has started!”
“Oh, it looks a bit unstable,” Sion noted.
“Swept-wing designs are fundamentally intended for high-speed flight, after all.”
The Denkou wavered in the air. As it attempted a turn, it stalled, dropped in altitude, and touched the barrier—disqualified. Fortunately, the barrier ensured the aircraft wasn't damaged.
“A real shame, but he still has two more tries. Let's see what he does next!”
“Bib #3, Eugene Foul! Tapered-wing aircraft, start!”
“I feel like he’s going a bit fast.”
“You’re right, but he’s very stable.”
True to the commentary, the tapered-wing craft handled the turns with zero issues, crossing the finish line at 25.2 seconds—approximately 14.3 kilometers per hour.
“Maybe he just wanted to secure a clean run first,” Jin speculated. That, too, was a valid strategy.
“Bib #4, Greena Kuzuma! The elliptical-wing aircraft Tempest, start!”
“Very stable.”
“And quite slow, too.”
While not as slow as the triplane, the Tempest moved at a crawl. It finished with a time of 30.9 seconds—roughly 11.7 kilometers per hour. Like Eugene, she seemed to have prioritized completing the course on her first attempt.
Every participant was fired up, eager to prove that this low-speed trial was the ultimate showcase of both their piloting technique and their engineering technology.