Tens of thousands of onlookers battled a relentless Saturday afternoon sun to watch the Red Bull Flugtag Texas, held in Austin for the first time since 2003. Engineering prowess. Bravery. Creativity. Dancing skills. The gall to throw all kinds of garbage into Lady Bird Lake.
"This is tailor-made for Austin folks, because it's so weird," said Larry Burger, who was working security at the event.
A Flugtag (German: flight day, airshow) is an event in which competitors attempt to fly in homemade flying machines. The flying machines are usually launched off a pier about 30 ft high into the sea (or suitably sized reservoir of water). Most competitors enter for the entertainment value, and the flying machines rarely fly at all. The first Flugtag took place in Austria in 1991.
Twenty-eight teams competed Saturday, mostly from Texas but some from as far away as Alberta. Their entries were limited only by their size — they could not exceed 30 feet in width and had to weigh less than 450 pounds — and the imaginations of their designers. The prizes included a piloting course and skydiving lessons.
among the entries:
(1) The Vast Right Wing Conspiracy, a plane piloted by people in Margaret Thatcher and George W. Bush masks who hung an effigy of Al Gore in the center of their glider.
(2) An oversized frying pan with a team dressed like bacon and eggs
