Alright folks. My last challenge yielded 6 entries. This one is a bit different, and will require a more aerodynamic approach.

The goal is simple: Build an aircraft that can take off in the shortest distance possible with the most minimal stall speed possible, and land in the shortest distance.

The rules:

- Aircraft may use VTOL nozzles, but may not be VTOL and may not use them for directional control, only forward thrust.

- Aircraft must have all engines attached to the air-frame (NO DETACHABLE ENGINES)

- Aircraft can have clipped parts, but no modded parts are allowed.

- All entries MUST be posted as successors to this upload.



The judging flights will be from the south runway. I will measure your plane's take-off distance by the number of stripes on the runway the plane passes before lift-off, and upon touch-down to stop.

The aircraft will be judged on the following key factors:

- Distance to Take-off.

- Minimum take-off / landing speed.

- Distance to stop after touch-down

- Some points will be given to aesthetics, but this is not an important area of judging. Practicality over good looks, I say.

BONUS: the purpose of SSTOL aircraft is to land in places where there are no conventional airfields and usually on rough terrain. The sturdier your plane the better as I will likely try landing it in a number of weird places after the initial landing test. This isn't a requirement to win, but will score some brownie points and perhaps an honorable mentions section.

The deadline for this competition will be Friday, June 12, and I will judge the entries on Saturday June, 13.

Prizes are as follows:

1st place: 5 planes of your choice rated 5 stars.

2nd place: 3 planes of your choice rated 5 stars.

3rd place: 2 planes of your choice rated 5 stars.

I will also rate all entered planes 5 stars provided they meet the challenge requirements.

Good luck and HAPPY FLYING!

!!UPDATE!!

THE RESULTS ARE IN!

After extensive flight testing of all qualifying entries, three winners have emerged, but only one can be named "Best SSTOL in Show"!

In third place, with his unique gull wing design, it's MrWhiskers85 with a takeoff distance of and landing distance of just 6 lines, and a stall speed of a meager 85mph!

In second place, with his bicycle landing-gear wonder, Engini, with a take off of 6 lines, and landing of JUST TWO LINES, and a staggeringly low stall speed of just 50mph!

An finally, in first place, with a takeoff and landing distance of just 4 lines each, an amazing 50mph stall speed, and the robustness to land just about anywhere, Vikdesigns takes the "Best SSTOL in Show" title, become this SSTOL competition's champion!

(UPDATE!)

In my half-asleep stupor I mistakenly completely looked over @JacobHardy64's plane. This is unfortunate, but as his plane actually had a much slower stall speed than Vikdesigns' entry (less than 40mph!), his plane should have been best in show. As it stands, rewards have already been given, but a special concession has been made. JacobHardy64 and Vikdesigns will share the title of Best in Show, and JacobHardy64 will also recieve a 1st place reward!

I am very sorry for the competition mix-up. I hope this doesn't stop anyone from joining any of my future design battles (There's a cool one coming up soon!).

Congratulations to our winners, and a hearty THANK YOU to everyone who participated. This competition was much more than I expected, and it was very interesting to see everyone's ideas to create their own perfect SSTOL aircraft!

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

These planes didn't perform particularly well as SSTOLs, but they receive the SSTOL competition's HONORABLE MENTION badge for creativity.

AlphaOneIntustries created a unique tilt-wing design that utilized variable pitch wings and engines to achieve STOL performance. While the design was inventive, and aesthetically interesting, it's poor performance as a Super STOL and the difficulty of control made it a poor contender. Still, it receives the honorable mention for being the coolest looking, and one of the most inventive designs of the competition.

Likewise Jettison created a cool design that similarly used variable pitch engines. While I couldn't get the design to work personally, it's an interesting concept, and worthy of the HONORABLE MENTION badge!

Thanks again everyone, and as always:

HAPPY FLYING!