A TIMELINE OF FLIGHT

Red Bull Flugtag challenges teams of everyday people to build homemade, human-powered flying machines and pilot them off a 6-metre high deck in hopes of achieving flight! Flugtag may mean "flying day" in German, but all these crafts ultimately splash into the waters below. They are judged not only on their flight's distance, but creativity and showmanship as well.

 

A TIMELINE OF FLIGHT

1480’s – LEONARDO DA VINCI STUDIES OF MANNED FLIGHT.

Leonardo da Vinci makes the first real studies of flight accumulating over 100 drawings that illustrated his theories of flight. Notable Craft: The Ornithopter

 

1799 – 1850’s – GEORGE CAYLEY’S EARLY GLIDERS.

George Caley, in his work to discover a way for man to take to the air, designs many different gliders. Notable Achievement: Shaping Wings to Allow Air Correct Air Flow

 

19TH CENTURY EFFORTS.

German Engineer Otto Lilienthal continues to evolve glider theories. He was the first person to design a glider that could fly a person for long distances. His book on aerodynamics that was published in 1889 was the text used by the Wright Brothers as the basis for their flying machines. Achievement: Surviving more than 2500 flights before succumbing to gravity.

 

1903 – THE WRIGHT BROTHERS FIRST FLIGHT

After spending many years learning about the early discoveries in flight, the Wright Brothers regularly took to the air in gliders, much like Cayley. Their work with gliders focused on control for their powered experiments. Notable Achievement: First heavier-than-air flight of 120 feet at Kitty Hawk.

 

1991 – THE FIRST FLUGTAG

The first Red Bull Flugtag took place in Vienna, Austria, in 1991. Since then, more than 80 Flugtags have been held around the world -- from Ireland to San Francisco -- attracting up to 300,000 spectators. The record for the farthest flight-to-date currently stands at 195 feet set in 2000 at Flugtag Austria. The U.S. record stands at 155 feet set in Nashville, Tennessee, in 2007.

 

2010 - Will flight history be made this year? Let’s stay with us…