Health

/

ArcaMax

Wacky machines will take flight in Red Bull competition

Sharon Kennedy Wynne, Tampa Bay Times on

Published in Lifestyles

TAMPA, Fla. -- One of the weirdest spectacles in aviation history returns to Tampa for the first time in more than a decade Saturday when the Red Bull Flugtag competition sets loose the imaginations of wacky inventors who dare to create outlandish feats of flight.

The competition is expected to draw more than 100,000 spectators to the Hillsborough River shoreline. There, thrill-seekers will launch one-of-a-kind airships off a 27-foot flight deck constructed at the Tampa Convention Center.

Flugtag (German for flying day) brings out crafts that are powered solely by human strength and launched from the raised platform. They compete to see who can fly the farthest before splash-landing in the water below.

This is the first return of Red Bull Flugtag since 2011. Spectators get in free. Activities start at noon, and the first craft will take flight at 1 p.m. at the convention center, 333 S. Franklin St., Tampa.

 

“We can’t wait to watch these daring pilots take flight, or maybe more accurately, take a plunge, right outside the Tampa Convention Center,” said Mayor Jane Castor at the event’s announcement.

At the last competition in Tampa, a giant chicken landed face first in the water. A fire truck also took a nose dive, and a red and white mushroom got some air but didn’t make it far. The day was won by Willy Wonka’s Amazing Flying Flugtag Adventure.

A panel of judges will score participants based on distance traveled, creativity of their craft and the showmanship of their 30-second skit before takeoff.


©2024 Tampa Bay Times. Visit at tampabay.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

 

Comments

blog comments powered by Disqus

 

Related Channels

Ask Amy

Ask Amy

By Amy Dickinson
Asking Eric

Asking Eric

By R. Eric Thomas
Billy Graham

Billy Graham

By Billy Graham
Chuck Norris

Chuck Norris

By Chuck Norris
Dear Abby

Dear Abby

By Abigail Van Buren
Dear Annie

Dear Annie

By Annie Lane
Dr. Michael Roizen

Dr. Michael Roizen

By Dr. Michael Roizen
God Squad

God Squad

By Rabbi Marc Gellman
Keith Roach

Keith Roach

By Keith Roach, M.D.
Miss Manners

Miss Manners

By Judith Martin, Nicholas Ivor Martin and Jacobina Martin
My So-Called Millienial Life

My So-Called Millienial Life

By Cassie McClure
Positive Aging

Positive Aging

By Marilyn Murray Willison
Scott LaFee

Scott LaFee

By Scott LaFee
Sense & Sensitivity

Sense & Sensitivity

By Harriette Cole
Single File

Single File

By Susan Dietz
Social Security and You

Social Security and You

By Tom Margenau
Toni Says

Toni Says

By Toni King

Comics

Archie Jerry King Cartoons Peanuts Walt Handelsman Daryl Cagle Scott Stantis