DUBAI // Forty-seven teams have been cleared for take-off for the forthcoming Red Bull Flugtag event in Dubai.
The home-made flying machine competition takes place at Dubai Creek Park on November 27 after a nine-year hiatus.
Participants will aim to break the world Flugtag record, which was set by the Chicken Whisperers in 2013, who managed to propel their flying machine 78.64 metres at an event in Long Beach, California.
Teams are also judged on the creativity of the craft and their showmanship on the day.
At the 2007 event in Dubai, 36 teams competed in front of 30,000 spectators.
Aviation instructor John Price, a teacher at the Higher Colleges of Technology, was there. He said: “It was a blast, with all the goofy planes and the funny shows.”
This year, he has teamed up with fellow teachers from the college and they have their sights firmly set on the world record.
A team of Emirati students from HCT will also be competing against the team of teachers.
Saeed Al Bishary will be the team’s pilot. He said: “We always see such big events on screens but now it’s in our own country and we are very much part of it. We are very excited to participate and go up against our teachers.”
The teams have all built their own hand-made aircraft with a maximum weight of 200kg (including the pilot), and must pass the Red Bull Flugtag safety check.
Flugtag events have taken place more than 100 times worldwide since the it was launched in Vienna in 1992. As many as 300,000 spectators have witnessed a single event.
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(via The National)
