One of my latest photoshootings was held in India. After many times of traveling in this amazing country this was my first time in one of their southern biggest cities – Bangalore. Not so many people in India heard about Red Bull Flugtag so the event got a huge media attention.
Bangalore now joins an elite list of 140 cities across the world that have hosted Red Bull Flugtag, as India also became a part of the club of 47 countries. I was honored to be part of it as official photographer.
Everything was flying at India’s 1st Red Bull Flugtag, as laws of gravity were defied and records were broken. 35 thousand Bangaloreans witnessed, 31 courageous teams launch their hand-made flying machines off a ramp and straight into the historic waters of Sankey Tank one of the last surviving lakes of Bangalore. Everybody was little bit surprised with decision of the Bangalore government for giving permission for such an event to be conducted at a place like this.
The teams spent months designing, building and testing their machines for what they hoped would be a few seconds of glory! Each team consisted of four brave flight crew members with the courage to dive from the ‘flight deck’ 22 feet above Sankey Tank. Just as important as the actual distance travelled in the air was the showmanship element, with all the teams looking to entertain the crowd and get the judges on their side.
After a long day of thrills, spills and short-haul flights, Visar-jet from Mumbai took top spot and managed to fly a distance of almost 60 ft. The team said ecstatically, “The fact that our craft flew and the judges liked our concept is an unbelievable feeling. There was a lot of hard work that went into winning this trophy and we are glad that it has all paid off. Building this craft for India’s 1st Red Bull Flugtag.
Red Bull Flugtag (flight day) is an event organized by Red Bull in which competitors attempt to fly home-made, size-and weight-limited, human-powered flying machines (max 10m/30 ft, 150 kg/330 lbs). The flying machines are usually launched off a pier about 30 feet (9.1 m) high into the sea (or suitably sized reservoir of water). Most competitors enter for the entertainment value, and the flying machines rarely fly at all.