"Now, the one you’ve all been waiting for: Bib #11, Jin-sama’s Zero! It is now... taking off!"
The Zero spread its main wings to their fullest extent, minimizing its wing loading as it lifted off with effortless grace. It proceeded into level flight before suddenly pulling into a climb—or so it seemed.
"Ninety degrees... no, one hundred and twenty!?"
"It looks that way. He's climbing diagonally backward."
"Could this be...?"
While the announcer and commentator were still processing the sight, the Zero performed an outside loop at an altitude of approximately forty meters, transitioned back into level flight, and after a brief interval, performed another outside loop.
"Ah, just as I thought!"
"It's a triangular eight!" Luckhart and Stayhart shouted almost simultaneously.
"I believe it's also known by the alias 'Hourglass,'" Sion added.
An "Hourglass" referred to the device used to measure time with sand. It was one of the flight patterns for Control Line aircraft—planes operated via wires. Jin's knowledge of the maneuver came from his middle school days, when he had frequently borrowed and read specialized magazines about Control Line planes from a classmate.
Because it required fewer turns than a square eight, the shape was easier to distinguish, and cheers erupted from the spectator stands.
"This time it’s a loop... no, it’s a horizontal eight!"
"And he’s performing them consecutively!"
To appeal to the audience's visual senses, Jin utilized "residual images." By tracing the same trajectory multiple times, he emphasized the maneuver and left a lasting impression.
"Now it's a vertical climb!"
"He's incorporating rolls as well."
"It's going higher and higher..."
True to their observations, Jin's Zero ascended to an altitude of about eighty meters. While the aircraft was clearly visible on the monitors, it looked like a tiny speck to the naked eye. From there, the Zero retracted its wings and transitioned into a vertical dive.
"O-Oh!"
"It's fast!"
"Jin, what are you planning...?"
With the combined forces of thrust and gravity, the Zero's speed increased rapidly. In the blink of an eye, it plummeted toward the ground.
"It's dangerous!"
"It's going to crash!"
Everyone present surely thought the same thing. The aircraft's maximum speed was estimated to exceed three hundred kilometers per hour. However, the Zero suddenly deployed its main wings and pulled its nose up. Its speed dropped sharply. Then, just two meters above the ground, it transitioned into a gentle level flight and landed slowly.
"Ah, that gave me a chill."
Even knowing that a protection barrier was in place, people instinctively feared a violent collision.
"As expected of Jin-sama."
Generous applause was bestowed upon the Zero as it finished its landing.
"Next is Bib #12, Lordtoss-sama! The tapered-wing aircraft, Swallow, is taking off!"
After takeoff, the Swallow ascended gently in a spiral. It leveled off at an altitude of about twenty meters and began a large turn with a radius of approximately fifty meters.
"He's incorporating rolls in the middle of the turn."
"This is quite a sight to behold."
"It looks like Ro has given this some thought as well," Sion remarked.
Based on what they had seen so far, the audience seemed to respond better to leisurely performances than high-speed ones. Perhaps incorporating that observation, Lordtoss performed his routine at a somewhat slower pace.
"Now he's performing an undulating flight."
It was more of a wave than a zigzag, repeatedly ascending and descending at forty-five-degree angles.
"Oh, it flipped right over!"
Lordtoss's Swallow performed the same maneuver while inverted. Next came a horizontal eight—or rather, a pattern that added loops to both ends of three undulating flight cycles. It was a maneuver that likely had no official name. Following that, he landed after weaving together consecutive outside loops from inverted flight, Immelmann turns, and Split S maneuvers. Great applause rose from the spectator stands.
"And finally, the last entry for the free performance is Bib #13, Marikka-sama! The tapered-wing aircraft, Eagle, is taking off!"
The Eagle took off softly and transitioned from level flight into a horizontal eight. However, its turning radius was unusually small. After completing a horizontal eight with a radius less than half of what she had shown during the compulsory maneuvers, the Eagle went on to draw a "four-leaf clover."
"That’s so like Marikka," Sion murmured.
"Now it's climbing."
"That's an interesting movement."
In the latter half of the climb, rather than performing a loop, the aircraft turned and transitioned into a descent. It was a maneuver similar to a "wingover" in Control Line flying. The Eagle then lost altitude and entered inverted level flight, climbed again, and descended with another wingover.
"...What was it called? Right, an 'inverted wingover'."
Sion recalled hearing Jin speak about it on Hourai Island long ago. Marikka had certainly been with them at the time.
"That girl... she remembered it well."
Marikka was recreating several flight patterns for Control Line aircraft that she had heard about from Jin in the past. Their most prominent characteristic was behavior based on turns, as if an imaginary pilot stood at the center of the arc.
"It’s quite novel... though I wonder if the audience, who don't know about Control Line flying, will understand it."
However, Marikka felt that was perfectly fine. She was recreating the things Jin had taught her long ago, back when she was young. She believed that doing so was the best way to show her respect for him.
"Marikka-sama’s Eagle has landed! With that, the performances of all participants have concluded!"
Thunderous applause and cheers filled the venue.
"Now that every participant has finished their routine, recordings of the performances will be shown on the large magi-screens throughout the venue. Please cast your scores after viewing them."
During that interval, Jin and the others would be checking and maintaining their aircraft in preparation for the final event: the race.
"The results are in!"
1st Place: Bib #11 – Jin (88 points) 2nd Place: Bib #12 – Lordtoss (86 points) 3rd Place: Bib #10 – Rubina (85 points / 1st among official competitors) 4th Place: Bib #5 – Sireen (82 points / 2nd among official competitors) 5th Place: Bib #13 – Marikka (80 points) 6th Place: Bib #1 – Natalia (78 points / 3rd among official competitors) 7th Place: Bib #2 – Shu (73 points / 4th among official competitors) 8th Place: Bib #8 – Florence (72 points / 5th among official competitors) 9th Place: Bib #3 – Eugene (69 points / 6th among official competitors) 10th Place: Bib #9 – Elvis (66 points / 7th among official competitors) 11th Place: Bib #7 – Werner (64 points / 8th among official competitors) 12th Place: Bib #6 – Sidney (36 points / 9th among official competitors) 13th Place: Bib #4 – Greena (35 points / 10th among official competitors)
"Rubina and Sireen worked hard, didn't they?"
"They even surpassed Marikka-sama!" Sion noted, and Luckhart commented in response.
"Looking at this, it seems low-speed aircraft really do have the advantage."
"But next is the race, right? I think the fast ones will have the advantage this time."
Indeed, the race—the final event of the competition—was about to begin.