Red Bull Flugtag Miami

July 13, 2010



Kathy with Team KISS





Red Bull Flugtag Miami



The makers of Red Bull energy drink came up with the idea for their infamous “Flugtag” (which means “Flying Day” in German) in 1991 when they held their first competition in Vienna, Austria and since that day they have traveled the world hosting more than 80 events in 40 countries. I have long wanted to attend one of these wacky events, but had yet to see one in person until this year’s event in Miami.







The event involves teams of creative individuals who design, build and pilot homemade flying machines off a 30 foot high ramp in hopes of achieving human powered flight. The entries are judged by distance flown, creativity and showmanship. This event brought out 35 entries including one from Key West and one from a team from my alma mater, Purdue University.









Staying just across the street from Bayfront Park, Kathy & I got up early and got to the park early enough to set up our folding chairs in a prime location just next to the judging stand. It was a good thing too, because by the start of festivities, there were over 85,000 people lining the shore and off-shore in boats, rafts and kayaks to watch the event.









Getting there early also allowed us plenty of time to hang out in the paddock area and meet and greet the entrants as well as get up close views of the flying machines. The diversity, creativity and just plain wackiness reminded me of Fantasy Fest without the booze and nudity. Each entrant also performs a short 30m second skit before their flights and many were practicing the skits in advance of being judged.







The Winning Team

The event also had a aerobatic display by the Red Bull air force and stunt sky-diving team before the actual flights started. This included a wicked cool demonstration by Chuck Aaron flying the Red Bull Helicopter that included flying the copter upside down. It was amazing, as was the skydiver who jumped out of a plane in a kayak and landed smoothly on Biscayne Bay.

Team Flying Manatee

The actual flights started around noon and they did not disappoint. While most of the machines barely flew at all, plunging directly off the ramp into the bay. A few performed decently. The winning distance flew all of 54 feet, not bad but far short of the record 195 ft. world record distance. The winning team was the Team Formula Flugtag Flug from Palm Beach Gardens with the team from the University of Miami in 2nd place.







The Purdue team made the top 5, which I never would have believed upon seeing their train shaped entry, but it actually glided down smoothly rather than plunging straight in. Not bad at all. The event moved right along in spite of the number of entries and was wrapped up before 3 PM. It was a perfect day for flying, bright, sunny and hot. Not too hot for the masses of people who enjoyed the Flugtag.

Purdue Team



Red Bull Flugtag website

Miami Heat

July 12, 2010





SPAM Allstars

Miami Heat

Friday evening, Kathy & I hit the road for a quick trip to the mainland to attend the 2010 Redbull Flugtag in Miami. We had booked a hotel just across Biscayne Boulevard from the site of the event, which was being held at Bayfront Park. Miami was in a festive mood with the signing the previous evening of LeBron James to join NBA stars Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh with the Miami Heat for the upcoming season and a festive party atmosphere was prevalent throughout the city- the perfect time for a little weekend escape from Key West.





Happy Heat Fans



When we arrived at the hotel, we noticed crowds of people wearing Heat gear headed just up the street to the home of the Heat, The American Airlines Arena. We decided to wonder down and see what was going on. We got there too late to get in, the place was full as over 18,000 fans packed the arena for a rally to officially welcome LeBron. They also had a big screen set up outside and thousands more fans were lining the steps to the AAA as bands played and people literally danced in the streets. You would have thought they had already won the NBA championship.











The entire Bayfront area, packed with Heat fans and Flugtag fans felt more like South Beach than downtown as we walked down to the staging area after watching the introduction of James, Bosh & Wade. The entrants in the Flugtag were all silently lined up waiting for the next morning’s event and we got to take a close look without the masses around.

Kathy







After checking out the entries, we caught a taxi over to the Transit Lounge to catch the late night show from one of our favorite Miami bands, The SPAM Allstars. We usually catch them in Key West at the Green Parrot, but wanted to see them play on their home turf. The Transit Lounge is about as close to a Key West style bar as you will find in Miami. A true music venue rather than the posh lounges which are much more typical in South Beach, the club is a great venue.





The band hadn’t started playing yet, so we took the chance to walk around the corner so that I could show Kathy one of my all-time favorite Miami haunts, Tobacco Road. Another amazing Miami iconic music venue, Tobacco Road has been around for years and hosts all sorts of great music. This night, the band playing was a recreation of the Blues Brothers band which I initially wrote off as a novelty until watching them play a few songs. They were actually quite good and we stayed for a set before heading back to Transit.



The Blues Brothers

The SPAM Allstars were just getting going when we got back and the large crowd was jamming. The band was great, the larger stage giving them a chance to put on more of a performance than we see in the cramped quarters at the Parrot. They even had a groovy video screen behind the band that played a mix of interesting short clips that accented the music. It was a late night, but a great hot time in Miami.

Transit crowd

SPAM Allstars

Miami Bayfront from Hotel