Engineering Human-Powered Flight: What Is Red Bull Flugtag?

Where can you see things like a giant bowl of chili launching off a cliff and crashing into the Ohio River, all while former NFL superstar Chad Ochocinco holds up a scorecard like you’re at the Olympics?

Welcome to Red Bull Flugtag!

 

@redbullcanada These Red Bull Flugtag flights just keep getting better 😂🚀 #Flugtag #Flying #Funny #Flight ♬ original sound – Red Bull Canada

 

How did Red Bull Flugtag start?

The first Red Bull Flugtag was in 1991 in Austria, and since then Red Bull has put on 100+ Flugtag events all around the world. It’s traveled to six continents, including 17 U.S. states.

What does “flugtag” mean?

Flugtag (pronounced FLOOG-TOG) is the German word for “flying day.”

What is Red Bull Flugtag?

Red Bull Flugtag is an eccentric event that’s both a competition and a giant party. Dozens of teams spend months building their own human-powered aircraft, and on flight day they launch their flying machines (along with one pilot) off a giant flight deck into water.

Participants come from all walks of life, from engineers and artists, to local business owners and advocacy groups. You don’t need an advanced degree to join in. Just ingenuity and a dash of showmanship. Some teams go for the gold with well-designed plane replicas, while others show up in aircraft that look like they belong at a Mardi Gras parade.

 

Meanwhile, tens (sometimes hundreds) of thousands of spectators watch from the shore and from their boats while they eat, drink, and jam out to music that you can hear blasting throughout the host city. The 2023 host city was Cincinnati, Ohio:

 

A large crowd stands on the shore and in boats along the Ohio River while they watch teams compete in Red Bull Flugtag in Cincinnati, Ohio. Engineering Human-Powered Flight: What Is Red Bull Flugtag?

A large crowd stands on the shore and in boats along the Ohio River while they watch teams compete in Red Bull Flugtag in Cincinnati, Ohio.

 

Also joining the party is a panel of celebrity judges. They give teams points based on not only distance flown, but also creativity and showmanship.

Most teams only make it a few feet or immediately nosedive into the water, though there are some diamonds in the rough that succeed. The world record is 258 feet:

 

@redbull our faces when it KEPT GOING: 😱 #redbull #givesyouwiiings #flugtag #flying #worldrecord ♬ BORN FOR THIS – Foxxi


 
Even with Flugtag aircraft rarely seeing much success, the event is still a spectacle. It’s not every day you get to see a pirate ship and a giant cheeseburger try to fly. Teams will even try to up their showmanship score by adding dance moves and custom music to their pre-flight introduction.

Additional sources:

https://www.redbull.com/us-en/events/red-bull-flugtag-cincinnati

https://www.redbull.com/us-en/events/red-bull-flugtag-cincinnati/location-faq

https://www.redbull.com/us-en/events/red-bull-flugtag-cincinnati

https://www.redbull.com/us-en/tags/flugtag

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Kelly Obbie

Social Media Coordinator at CADENAS PARTsolutions | A 2018 graduate of The Media School at Indiana University, Kelly studied journalism, public relations, English and Spanish and has experience in news writing and editing as well as social media writing and management. She also has professional and personal experience in videography and photography. She currently lives in Ohio but has lived in four states, and in her free time, she enjoys running, hiking, learning languages, and watching Disney movies.