Surviving Red Bull Flugtag, or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying About Flying and Love Falling
If you ever get the urge to look ridiculous with friends in front of a crowd of strangers and have a ton of fun doing it, do a Red Bull Flugtag. “Flugtag” is German for “flying day,” and a Red Bull Flugtag is, quite simply, a competition in which teams of adrenaline-fueled crazy people build homemade flying machines powered by muscle, gravity and hope and push them off a 30-foot platform to see if they’ll take flight.
Spoiler alert: they rarely do. Most crash land in the water below, and everybody gets a thrill and a million laughs while the crowds (which can hit 75,000) go wild. As I wrote about in The Best Year Ever, I did a Red Bull Flugtag back in 2008, and it was a blast. Red Bull has hosted more than 300 of these Jackass-worthy events around the world, and with one happening on August 5 in Pittsburgh, it seemed like a good time to offer some recommendations for a successful Red Bull Flugtag from someone who’s done one and survived. So…
- Set your construction timeline and then double it. Set your budget and then triple it. Consider a Home Depot credit card; you’re going to spend so much time there that you’ll be on a first-name basis with the staff and they’ll probably look at you with a mix of curiosity and pity.
- Play to the home crowd with your theme. Part of your score is based on the crowd vote, so pick a theme that will garner instant appeal. Don’t go for highbrow or intellectual. Think sports teams, fanboy favorites, America. We flew as the Flying Ditkas in Chicago and people bought us free drinks for a month.
- The “rules” for aircraft construction are more like loose guidelines. As long as you show up in something that doesn’t look like a (complete) death trap, you’re good.
- In 1986, the space shuttle Challenger exploded because of an o-ring that cost 99 cents. More moving pieces = more chances something will fail. Plus, you’re going to be working with duct tape and nylon, not precision-machined aerospace materials, so unless you’re an engineer, Keep It Simple, Stupid.
- You probably won’t fly. It’s almost impossible to generate enough lift on a 100-foot long runway using human power. So accept it. You’re going to drop off the ramp like a rock. Plan on it. Build the best glider/crash lander you can.
- Work on your team costumes, skit, and song. Oh, yes. You’re getting points for enthusiasm, presentation and creativity. Your “flight” might last three seconds; your skit will last a minute and will be on a giant screen for all to see. So go for it. Channel your inner Backstreet Boy. Think crowd-friendly: AC/DC, Justin Timberlake, anything by Eddie Money.
- Protect your ribs and your junk. Water is hard from 30 feet up. Wear a jock and padding.
- Take lots of pictures and video. Unless you are an elite athlete, have the voice of an angel, or get elected governor, you’ll probably never do anything like this again. Savor it.
- Wear sunscreen. You’ll be standing in a holding pen for about four hours pre-flight and there may or may not be shade. Also, hydrate as your bladder capacity permits.
- Finally, drink lots of Red Bull to get your courage up. If you sneak a little vodka into it to steady your nerves, it’ll be our secret.
Godspeed, Flugtagger.
