It’s a bird, it’s a plane... Nope. It’s the Red Bull flugtag. Come Sunday and almost everyone in Bangalore is going to be looking up - not at the sky but at the range of crafts that will attempt to defy gravity and soar over Sankey Tank in a bid to emerge as India’s first Flugtag champions.
Organised by Red Bull, Flugtag, for those who don’t know yet, is German for ‘flying day’ and started in Vienna, Austria, in 1992. With over 100 such events in their kitty, Red Bull decided to come to India and choose none other than the adventure capital of Bangalore to host the event for the very first time in the nation of inventions.
The ‘airshow’ will have homemade, human-powered crafts designed by four-member teams launching off a 22-foot high flight deck, in the hope of soaring into the distance, with only clear blue water to catch their inevitable fall. With themes like the Stone Age inspired pterodactyl, a flying Ganesha, Superman's underpants and other ingenious models ready to soar accompanied by an array of eccentric costumes, this is one adventure thrill you don’t want to miss.
To add to the madness, India's premier comedy collective - Tanmay Bhat, Rohan Joshi, Gursimran Khamba and Ashish Shakya of All India Bakchod will be the hosts while Nikhil Chinapa, Rannvijay Singha, Monica Dogra, Ashwini Ponnappa and Varun Aaron will judge the event.
Sarvesh of team Gotham Knights believes their Batman-inspired glider craft ‘Knight Wing’ will fly the farthest has his fingers crossed.
“The craft is completed. Only the base needs some final touch-ups. We’re all Batman fans and we’ve got a chance to showcase our passion for Batman through this event.” Comprising three mechanical engineers and a physics graduate, the team comprises hopes to win the event with their comic book adaptation craft.
Mohammed Bilal of team Puliyogare Mix says they are proud to present their craft – ‘The Ultimate Flying Panty’. “We are big fans of All India Bakchod and got to know of the event through the series. We were inspired by all the videos online and decided to take this quirky project up for the fun aspect of it. It’s almost in shape and has only a few last minute minor details left.”
While most teams looked at modern aviation designs for their crafts, one team stood out from the lot and decided to adopt one of the most ancient and first-known flying designs in recorded history as their inspiration.
Team Udann Thastri has aptly named their craft ‘Pushpak Vimaan’ from the Ramayana where Ravana flies a flying contraption to kidnap Sita. “This is the first mention of a flying vehicle anywhere in history. Everyone has their own interpretation of the craft and we have our own. We believe we’ve got it since we are also helicopter designers as well. A lot of people also don’t know about the Ramayana so we thought we can let the world know about our rich aviation heritage. We will also be dressing up as mythological characters for the event.”
Make sure you are at Sankey Tank in Malleswaram on September 28 to witness a lake-full of epic.
Entry is free but to avoid a mad rush, give a missed call to 08401400400 and you will receive a personal invitation to the event through a response SMS that you can show at the gates of Sankey Tank.
