Flying Fanatics Prepare for take off

Red Bull Flugtag lands in Australia again! Sadly Transmoto’s request for a motor powered flying bike was denied, but that doesn’t stop any one else having a go.

If you think you can master a makeshift aircraft, slap on a name as crazy as Larry the Lobster or Pregnant Cow and be prepared to launch yourself off a 6 metre high platform into Sydney Harbour, you should be gearing up for Red Bull Flugtag 2010. The hilarious, world-renowned manmade flying competition swoops back into Australia for the second time on Sunday 7th November, 2010.

Taking flight at the Royal Botanic Gardens in Sydney, registrations to participate in this crazy event are now open. 40 teams will be hand-selected to take to the skies (if they make it that far!), some vying to take out the unbroken world record of the 60m flight set in 2000 at Red Bull Flugtag in Austria.

Austria is home to the original Red Bull Flugtag, where it all began in 1991. Since then, the event has been held more than 50 times around the world in amazing locations like London and New York. Australia finally got its first taste of Red Bull Flugtag in 2008 where over 60,000 spectators turned up to cheer on – and laugh at – over 30 wannabe pilots attempting to fly their man-made aircrafts over Sydney Harbour.

On the back of its huge Australian success in 2008, Red Bull Flugtag is again calling for all adrenalin junkies, creative craftsmen and…the brave! The chosen teams will be judged on creativity, performance and distance and will have a lot to live up to! Last year, a giant flying flounder swooped to victory, ahead of a range of crazy contraptions like a Lego bi-plane and an ACME rocket!

If relying on your friends’ makeshift aircraft building skills and launching off a 6 metre drop into the ocean isn’t your thing, watching them attempt this feat might just be! Red Bull Flugtag 2010 is an ideal spectator event and not only do you get to sit back and be entertained by amateur aircraft fans, but you get to do it all for free!

Not only will the successful contestants pride themselves on unleashing their flight-worthy machines, but they’ll also score some top prizes to keep them flying high! The winning team can choose to either attend the next Red Bull Air Race in Perth or a full pilot’s course for the team pilot. Those that come in second will win a weekend trip to the Gold Coast to attend a Freefall Sky Dive Course and third place getters will win a Tandem Sky Dive!

So, if you think you can whip up a flying machine to rival the successful giant Flying Founder from 2008, or a clever contraption to smash that 60m longstanding record, head to www.redbullflugtag.com.au and request an entry kit. Then it’s time to dust off the drawing board and get cracking (deadline for designs is 28th July, 2010).