Claypool-Based Team To Compete In Red Bull Flugtag
Posted
David Slone-dslone@timesuniononline.com
CLAYPOOL - Home-made, human-powered flying contraptions will take to the air Sept. 6 during the Red Bull Flugtag in Chicago for a chance at fame and prizes.
A Claypool-based team will be one of the 31 teams from across the country to showcase their whacky idea. The five-man team will launch their pilot, Jason Kern, 26, Atlanta, Ga., and craft off a 25-foot ramp over Lake Michigan. The contraption that flies the farthest wins.
Team Iowa, the Claypool-based team, worked on their pirate-themed craft Saturday and Sunday at the home of teammate Brad Malcolm's parents, West CR 600S, Claypool. It was the first time they all were able to work on it together as the five guys don't live in the Warsaw area themselves.
Along with Kern and Malcolm, 26, Chicago, the other team members are Josh Allen, 26, Chicago; Steve Fritz, 26, Orlando, Fla.; and Eugene Vorsovsky, 25, Carmel.
"Our plan is to have a pirate ship and a glider," said Kern. The glider will serve as the sail for the pirate ship. Once the team pushes the ship off the shore, Kern will take hold of the glider and fly as far as possible.
Fritz said the team has no experience in gliding. It will be a really light glider, he said, made with PC pipe, carbon fiber and apoxy. A skull and crossbones will be painted onto the 15-foot wide by 8-foot long glider, Allen said.
"They're just wanting for me to do a face plant in the water," said Kern.Kern said all five of the teammates have been friends since high school or college. Malcolm and Kern grew up in Goshen. Allen, Fritz, Vorsovsky and Malcolm are Ball State University architectural graduates, and Kern went to Purdue University.
Malcolm said Vorsovsky and he started working on the craft a few weeks ago.
Red Bull Flugtag ("flying day" in German) is a competition that allows aviation amateurs and everyday citizens to work toward human-powered flight, according to a press release from Red Bull. Hundreds of teams from across North America applied to participate in the Red Bull Flugtag, but only 31 were chosen for the competition. Teams competing in Chicago will represent Iowa, Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Michigan and Ohio.
North Avenue Beach in Chicago hosts the third and final Red Bull Flugtag this year in the United States.
The first place team wins an all-expense paid trip to a Red Bull Air Race World Series U.S. stop. Second place wins a skydiving trip with the Red Bull Air Force, and third place wins a Red Bull Flugtag hometown viewing party.
There are three rules for the Flugtag. All flying machines must be entirely human powered. It can not have any external energy sources or store power. The width of the craft is limited to 30 feet. All crafts must weigh no more than 450 pounds, including the pilot.
Fritz said before the craft is pushed off for the flight, the team has to do a one-minute skit. They all will be dressed up as pirates. Fritz, who Allen said was in charge of the script, said they'll probably throw "gold" beads or trinkets out to the crowd, there will be an inflatable doll in a sword fight and the captain will spot some "sea wenches," which will lead the ship off the cliff. Fritz said the contest is based on flight distance, creativity and people's choice. People can vote for the best craft via text message, which will be announced later.
"The main objection is to see how far you can fly," Kern said. "We're going to break the record."
Malcolm said they hope to fly more than 300 feet.
Uncle Fattys Rum Resort in Chicago is sponsoring Team Iowa. Fritz said his sister works there, so she was able to help garner the sponsorship for the team.
"We were kind of inspired by Captain Morgan's," said Kern.
A team can put as much money into their craft as they want. Uncle Fattys is covering the costs for Team Iowa.
"A lot of teams are college teams, so they don't have a lot of money to spend on this," said Fritz.
Red Bull is putting Team Iowa up in a hotel in Chicago for two nights. Each team gets two rooms, Kern said.
Team Iowa is transporting their craft by a large covered trailer.
The first Red Bull Flugtag took off in Vienna, Austria, in 1991. Since then, more than 30 countries around the world have participated. Currently, the world record for farthest flight is 195 feet, set in Austria in 2000. The U.S. record is 155 feet, set in 2007 in Nashville, Tenn.
Allen said the Red Bull Flugtag is held in three different U.S. locations each year. One is in the Midwest or East Coast, one in the South and the third is somewhere out West.
Gates for the Sept. 6 Chicago event open at 11 a.m., with the first craft launching at 1 p.m. No tickets required. The event is free and open to the public.
At a Red Bull Flugtag in Chicago three years ago, Fritz said more than 65,000 people attended.
Malcolm said, "It's just a big social event for everyone to come out and have a good time."
