Red Bull Flugtag Hong Kong 2010 @ West Kowloon

By Miranda Yeoh  •  in Reports
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The first time ever in Asia, the Red Bull Flugtag event was an exciting experience! Thanks to Reebok (who was the official footwear sponsor of the event), this JUICE writer was sent to cheer for Reebok, who was one out of the 40 plus teams that entered this one-of-a-kind event!

Pronounced as “Flew-tahg”, this Red Bull event takes place worldwide every year. Explained by Wiki, it states that “It is an event owned and operated by Red Bull in which competitors attempt to fly homemade size (max 30ft) and weight (max 150 kg) limited human-powered flying machines. The flying machines are usually launched off a 30 foot high pier into the sea (or suitably sized reservoir of water). Most competitors enter for the entertainment value, and the flying machines rarely fly at all.”

And entertainment it was! Before they “take off”, each team has to perform a 20 second mime or dance that correlates to the theme of their planes and my goodness were there some truly funny acts! Some guy from one of the teams even proposed to his girlfriend before they jumped off the ramp. Thankfully, the girl said yes!

With our Zigtechs on our feet, we went to the Flugtag site in style. Reebok had us take the scenic route via yacht that gave us a spectacular view of the take off point and the entire city of Hong Kong covered in a thick envelope of mist. Unfortunately, this JUICE writer got really seasick and couldn’t handle the choppy seas so I got off the boat to check out the area.

I really liked how gung-ho Hong Kongers were! Everyone dressed up in intricate costumes to go with the planes that took them about 2 months to plan and create. We saw an Avatar inspired plane, 8-bit Stormtroopers, and even a mahjong set plane. That’s a whole lot of work for a plane that was only going to be destroyed in mere seconds!

We managed to see the Reebok Zigtech plane in the process of its last finishing touches too. HK based creative agency Salon De Pigeon went on board with Reebok to make a Zigtech Plus inspired man made glider that took about 28 days to complete and that weighed at just about 45kg. With a Ninja theme, they also had HK model Chrissie Chau on board acting as a kidnapped victim! Unfortunately the glider didn’t fly as intended and it crashed as soon as it took off. But hey, it was all in the name of good fun after all.

In the end there can only be one winner. The Power Rangers themed flying machine from Dreamsbond took first place while Dream Of Flying and YFY Flying Object won 2nd and 3rd place respectively. Check out Reebok’s video entry below! Special thanks to Reebok for giving us the opportunity to experience this awesome event!

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nPhwFVklJX4[/youtube]

Red Bull Flugtag Hong Kong 2010 was held at West Kowloon on 10 October 2010. Check out pix in the gallery. More pix will come so stay tuned!