Calling All Pilots! Red Bull Flugtag Long Beach Is Cleared for Approach

Applications are now being accepted for this outrageous flying competition that will splash down in Long Beach's Rainbow Harbor on August 21st. Think you've got what it takes? Can you succeed where Icarus failed? Then what are you waiting for? Applications can be downloaded at www.redbullflugtagusa.com and are now being accepted either online or via snail-mail. So if you've got the guts, want the glory, or just know someone you'd like to push off a 30-foot high ramp, don't miss what could be the flight of your life! And don't spend too long taxiing on that procrastination runway -- the deadline is May 7th, and it will come sooner that you think. So don't be left grounded.

F.Y.I. OF THE SKY

Red Bull Flugtag, which means "flying day" in German, is a competition that dares both the brave and the brainy to design, build and pilot homemade flying machines off a 30-foot high ramp in hopes of achieving human-powered flight. But while distance is important, creativity and showmanship are also necessary to impress the judges. These criteria have inspired such outrageous crafts as a sky-high Popemobile, an airborne outhouse, a flying fire engine, and even a replica of Santa and his sleigh to test their wings at Red Bull Flugtag. What crazy crafts will grace the skies (however briefly) above Rainbow Harbor? It's up to you. Be creative! Teams with a craft concept that has a funny or interesting "hook" often stand out -- so keep that in mind when you break out the sketchpad.

While the sky may be the limit on creativity, there are still a few flight regulations. First off, all flying machines must be entirely human-powered (no external energy sources or stored power, so forget about the slingshots, catapults or anything besides your own burliness.) Second, no matter what they say, size does matter -- all crafts must be less than 30 feet wide and must weigh no more than 450lbs (including the pilot). And before you run off to the glider store, money in hand, you should know that no prefabricated crafts are allowed. 

FLIGHTS OF LEGEND

Since the first Red Bull Flugtag took place in Vienna, Austria, in 1991, more than 80 Flugtags have been held around the globe, attracting up to 300,000 spectators for a single event. The record for the farthest flight-to-date currently stands at 195 feet and was set at Red Bull Flugtag Austria in 2002, but the U.S. record is not far behind, standing at a whopping 155 feet and set in 2007 by a flying banjo at Red Bull Flugtag Nashville. After a year away from the U.S. skies, the pressure is on for this year's Flugtag flyers to blow these records away!

Red Bull Flugtag is free and open to the public. For more information, including applications, photos, and video footage from past Red Bull Flugtag events, visit www.redbullflugtagusa.com.