Circumnavigate Kerbin--In less than an hour!

[waterlubber]

You heard the challenge. Circumnavigate Kerbin in less than an hour! It can be done, and quite easily, too. I crashed into the mountains besides KSC after 59 minutes of flying, and my craft wasn't the most efficient, either.

Here are the rules:

• Mods are allowed. Crafts that have mods with [modded] engines, overpowered low-drag parts, etc. will be in a separate category. Mods such as QuizTech aero, KAX, Procedural Parts/Wings, stock fuel switch, and other simple mods will be grouped with stock, albeit with a note.
• No passing the karman line, or 25 km. Your apotheosis must never be in space.
• The best proof of your circumnavigation is a video. PersistantTrails is good too, but lots of screenshots will be accepted!
• Rules are enforced by spirit. You may bend them, as long as you remain within the scope of the challenge!

Leaderboards:

Modded:
Fastest Time:

Lowest Fuel Consumption:
 

Stockalike:
Fastest Time:

Lowest Fuel Consumption:


Have fun!

[Der Anfang]

Apotheosis above 25 km? That makes no sense. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apotheosis

[Scarecrow]

There have been quite a few 'circumnavigate Kerbin' challenges in the past.  I don't remember one that asks you to do it in less than an hour, but I do remember that because it takes so long in real time to complete any circumnavigation challenge, they tend to not have quite so many participants.

[A35K]

Do thermal turbojets from Interstellar which use no fuel count?

[Der Anfang]

23 hours ago, A35K said:

Do thermal turbojets from Interstellar which use no fuel count?

I'm pretty sure this challenge, as most challenges are stock, with the exceotion of informational mods such as MJeb or KER...

[Aetharan]

Somebody has to point it out, so this time around, I'll be "That Guy"^TM.

• Is this challenge new?  This challenge is extremely similar to the Velocity Circumnavigator sub-category within the Kerbin Circumnavigator Challenge, which is still a semi-active thread even if somewhat old, and has not yet seen a major version update since it began.  The only differences here are that you are allowing part-mods (tracking them in a category separate from stock-alike) and requiring a lower operational ceiling by 5 km, with an apparent misconception of just what the Karman line represents.  A plane can maintain aerodynamic lift above 25 km without reaching orbital velocity (in the real world and in game).  I would suggest operational ceilings of 30 km (where Rapiers flame out) or 70 km (where you've actually entered space).
• Is this challenge possible?  You've made a claim of near-success, but provided no proof.  My latest entry in the above-linked challenge comes close, except for the operational ceiling you've set (which I exceeded by about 800m 1,140m.)  It's generally considered good form to submit an entry into your own challenge, with screenshots or video, so that players considering entering it know it to be within reach.
• What are we trying to do?  How do we win this anyway?  Since nobody in this thread is going to be transforming into a deity, Apotheosis isn't the word you're looking for.  It's just a nitpick, but it is a point of clarity that has already seen some attention, so I figured I'd bring it up.  You're looking for "apoapsis."  What, exactly, constitutes a circumnavigation in your book?  Are both polar and equatorial circumnavigations fair game?  Do prograde and retrograde circumnavigations count equally?  Does the craft need to land intact at its starting point, or is crashing somewhere within a degree or so of the KSC close enough?  If it does have to land, must it do so with all of the parts that it started with, or are staging / burnoffs allowed?

I'm not trying to bring you down here, but I strongly suggest that you look over the Challenge Submission Guide, and refine this challenge to clear up your exact intentions and farther differentiate it from the Kerbin (Velocity) Circumnavigator Challenge.  It might be fun to compete in what amounts to that with mods, if the parameters are clear.

Edited December 14, 2015 by Aetharan
Replacing an estimate from one screenshot with a measurement.