photo credit: Jixar[/caption]Today is Redbull’s annual Flugtag event, hosted in Miami this year. “Flugtag” meaning “flying day” in German is the perfect name for the competition, hosted by Redbull, which has applicants submit their own home-made flying contraptions and launch them off of a 30-foot deck, usually like a flight deck on a military battleship, into the water.
The teams that are selected to participate are judged on 3 different criteria. The first is how well your contraption actually flies or how far it gets once it is sent flying off the deck. The second criteria is creativity of the craft, which in the past has resulted in teams creating incredibly original designs that often look like they would fly as well as a rock. The final judging criteria is showmanship, after all, the hundreds of thousands of people in attendance don’t really care about how your creation flies, but rather how you look crashing it.
Teams for this year’s event include names such as “The Flying Manatee”, “Mullet Slappers”, “One Giant Leap”, and a ton of other chuckle-worthy names. In all, 38 teams were selected from 270 applicants. The only rules for designing and making the crafts is that they must be handmade and human powered; other than that, contestants were given carte blanche to be as creative as they want with their flying machines.
For anyone in the Miami area interested in Redbull’s Flugtag, the event is free for those attending. Gates for the event at Bayfront Park opened at 10 am and the last flight is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. There are food, beverage, and beer vendors to keep the crowd occupied in between flights. People can also watch the events from their boats to avoid the hot crowds on shore. If you can’t make it to the event in Miami, you can check out www.redbullflugtagusa.com for videos from this event and more flugtag events coming up around the country.
Thank you for using and crediting the picture :)
ردحذفSincerely, Jixar