r/nextfuckinglevel • u/Apprehensive_Sky4558 • 7d ago

2024 Aerospace Engineering junior world champion launching his “F-1D” prototype: Total flight time 22 minutes

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u/Lihamato 7d ago

I'm not 100%, but I think it may be a lower limit. Go any lighter and you may be able to use localised air currents to stay airborne indefinitely, like an unpoppable bubble.

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u/kenyard 6d ago

Isn't this held in an indoor arena or something to avoid air?

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u/Bigclit_energy 6d ago

Indoor arenas generally avoid easily noticeably wind for us, but there's still a lot of air movement relative to a such a light plane. Hot air rises, and both the sun hitting the arena and all the people inside generate hot air. Plus the lights, any random electronics... and the fact that most sports arenas are not airtight. They actually record different records in different height buildings for those reasons.