Flugtag Set to Fly by Convention Center

Splashing into the waters of downtown Tampa doesn't normally sound appealing, but for the sake of contest and show, hundreds will do it on Saturday.

Red Bull's infamous Flugtag competition graced the Tampa Convention Center in July of 2008 and garnered large crowds to watch homemade aircrafts crash into the mirky waters. The event returns this year to once again offer competitors a chance to entertain as long as they're willing to make the plunge.

"That water isn't the cleanest so it should be interesting going in," pilot of team Stumble Force's Android phone themed craft James Bell said. "I'm not too worried about the water as much as I am the drop. Three stories is no short distance to plunge."

Flugtag translates from German to "flying day" in English and is the creation of Red Bull owner Dietrich Mateschitz. It first landed in the U.S. in 2002 and has since hit 17 U.S. cities since.

The competition is made up of 40 teams of up to five people who work for months building a homemade human powered flight craft that several team members push and one person pilots off of an elevated deck, through the air and into a body of water. A panel of local celebrities judges the teams based on three criteria; showmanship, distance and creativity.

There have been more than 90 Flugtag competitions worldwide, but the company has come back to Tampa Bay for a second time. In 2008, the event was held in the middle of summer, leaving spectators to fight heat  and heavy crowds while teams faced little difficulty from the wind. This time out, competitors will face a much different experience as heavy winds are predicted.

"The wind could be a good thing or it could kill us," Bell said. "Our craft is basically one big hang glider so if we get a good gust it could blow us wherever it wants us."

The fact is, most of the crafts don't fly or glide very far. The U.S. record for a Flugtag flight is 207 feet, but the number of crafts that plummet straight down far out number the ones that fly.

Last time the event was staged in Tampa, a St. Petersburg based team called Tampa Bay Watch won by drifting 100 feet. This year they've changed the theme to Willy Wonka's Flying Flugtag Adventure and have had to adjust their tactics due to rule changes.

"Last time we tethered the glider behind a boat that we pushed off the ramp and into the water," team pilot Keith Humphrey said. "The boat going down dragged the glider up to a speed that we couldn't have done otherwise and we were able to fly because of a sling shot effect. This time they've changed the rules on us so we had to change the craft a bit because you're not allowed to do it the way we did anymore, you have to push it yourself."

A repeat performance and grand prize trip to Arizona to meet Red Bull Air Race Champion Kirby Chambliss at his "Flying Crown Ranch" is on team Wonka's agenda this year.

"We're confident we're going to fly but we don't know how far," Humphrey said. "Our glider this time sits on top of a launch vehicle that will fall in the water separating from the glider. Hopefully we get the right kind of wind and can be celebrating again at the end of the day."