alt Hacker NewsI assume blimps or lighter than air components where illegal? Or is it just too hard to fly the larger volume around the course?
I assume blimps or lighter than air components where illegal? Or is it just too hard to fly the larger volume around the course?
Your assumption is correct, they were prohibited:
>3.7 Heavier than air: The UAS must be a heavier-than-air aircraft. The use of any lighter-than-air gases to provide buoyant lift is strictly prohibited. Teams may use chemically inert gases for subsystem actuation, safety inerting, and component rigidity, provided that there is no buoyant advantage and the gas is contained in components operating at pressures indicative of mechanical function.
https://www.darpa.mil/research/challenges/lift/rules