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00:00Boston, America's oldest city.
00:04Known as the Cradle of Liberty, it was a pivotal site in the resistance to British rule
00:09that would eventually create the most powerful nation on Earth.
00:13Today, teams of fearless Bostonians will honor their history and once again break free.
00:19But this time, it's from the shackles of gravity,
00:22as they pilot an array of weird and wonderful flying machines from this gigantic runway.
00:27The question is, who will soar above the city like an American eagle
00:31and who will plummet like a Thanksgiving turkey?
00:35Welcome to Red Bull Fluke Tag.
00:57Hello and welcome to Boston.
01:00Home to some of the most important moments in American history,
01:03including the infamous Tea Party, Paul Revere's ride,
01:07and now the greatest air show on Earth, Red Bull Fluke Tag.
01:11We're stood on a custom-built platform eight metres above the Charles River
01:15and in just a few moments a group of fearless aviators and their home-made flying machines
01:19are going to throw themselves over the edge in an attempt to glide as far as possible.
01:23Now, Boston is renowned globally as an academic centre of excellence.
01:27MIT, or the Massachusetts Institute of Technology on the other side of the river there,
01:32is arguably the best university on the planet.
01:34So it stands to reason that the standard of engineering in the hangar should be breathtaking.
01:39But, Vic, you've been down there. Is it as high as we hoped?
01:42I have, Ed. And you know what? It is even better.
01:45There are some incredible flying machines back there, not just from a structural viewpoint,
01:49but also the levels of creativity are second to none.
01:52You're happy about that?
01:53Yeah.
01:54So I can safely say that the 30,000-strong crowd who've come here today are in for a great show.
01:58Now, the first of our teams are almost ready to throw themselves off this runway,
02:02but before they do, please pay attention to this pre-flight demonstration of the history and rules of Fluke Tag.
02:08In a day and age when technology has made mankind the master of the sky,
02:15it's fair to say we've lost a certain je ne sais quoi when it comes to the experimentation
02:21and flamboyance of aviation's earliest pioneers.
02:25But one event seeks to turn back the clock and inject the fun back into the fundamental principles of flight.
02:32Red Bull Fluke Tag. German for flying day.
02:37Fluke Tag challenges artists and engineers alike as teams of friends, family and colleagues
02:43try to create a homemade flying machine that not only looks great, but flies too.
02:49Since its first event in 1992, Fluke Tag has gone on to be watched by millions around the world,
02:54from California to Cape Town, Miami to Moscow.
02:59Fun might be the order of the day, but this is most definitely a competition.
03:04And to decide a winner, a panel of judges scores each team on three categories,
03:09including design of the craft, a 30-second pre-flight performance,
03:14and last but not least, the total distance flown.
03:18And despite what you're thinking, some of these machines can and do fly.
03:23Exhibit A, the current world flight record of a colossal 78 metres set in 2013 in Long Beach, California.
03:32At the end of the day, the team with the most points, combined with the total distance flown,
03:37will be crowned today's Red Bull Fluke Tag champion.
03:42The wait is over. The first of our teams is on the flight deck, ready to go.
03:47All that is left to do now is hand over to our man in the commentary box, Darren Fletcher.
03:52Thank you guys. So there is the magnificent Charles River,
03:56and these planes will be looking to fly as far as they possibly can.
04:00And what is essential, and certainly helpful, is a moderate headwind.
04:04One of those, and it helps the craft fly that little bit further.
04:07Something wonderful, the first team, their motto is unexpected every time.
04:13What they are expecting today is a decent flight.
04:16We're going to find out what these Boston Brain Boxers have come up with for this latest event.
04:26There is the hang glider on the top, which is quite a popular way to build these particular vehicles.
04:32And here we go towards the end of the takeoff ramp.
04:35And there's the release, and there's the flight, and down we go.
04:38And there's the taste of Charles Riverwater for the first team today.
04:42Something wonderful, 12.8 metres.
04:45And we tend to think that's about par for the course today, analysing the conditions
04:50and what we have here in Boston for this one.
04:54There we see the takeoff.
04:56And it just needed that little bit of a gust to give it that extra push at the start,
05:04and it tended to nosedive down.
05:06It's not too bad.
05:07Now, don't forget the teams are going to be judged on performance as well.
05:10They'll receive a score out of 60, and they get 49 to kick us off.
05:20Lots of people here today, as always.
05:22And the next team we have is Dinosaur.
05:25You can see what they've done there.
05:26And I'm reliably informed this is a horrifying amalgamation of a Velociraptor and a Golden Eagle.
05:34And there is the performance element of all this.
05:38The crowd enjoying it as they always do.
05:45So let's have a look at this latest team then.
05:47I mentioned a headwind.
05:50A moderate headwind is ideal.
05:52The wind is just starting to get up a little bit, which might pose a problem.
05:55So off goes Dinosaur.
05:57Down goes Dinosaur.
05:59And it was more dino plunge in the end into the Charles River.
06:048.2 metres as well.
06:06We said 12.8 was about par for the course.
06:09So you can do the maths as well as I can.
06:11In fact, probably better than I can.
06:13And it never really got going.
06:14You can see the headwind now lifted it backwards.
06:17Too much wind at it.
06:19And it lifted it.
06:21No forward motion.
06:22And straight down into the water.
06:25The performance is 43.
06:30What a great day.
06:31What a great day.
06:32Did you enjoy it?
06:33I had a blast.
06:34Absolutely.
06:35This is going to go down in history.
06:37I'm going to tell my kids this when they think I'm not cool.
06:40I don't think there is any chance of your kids not thinking you're cool.
06:43That was amazing, guys.
06:44Go and celebrate.
06:45That was brilliant.
06:46Can I have a video?
06:47Team Dinosaur.
06:48Team Dinosaur.
06:49Team Dinosaur.
06:50Okay.
06:51Gustave and the Whiteheads come next here in Boston.
06:54And we've got an historical situation here.
06:56Because they claim the Wright Brothers weren't the first people to fly.
07:00They claim that it was Gustave Whitehead in 1901.
07:04Two years before the Wright Brothers.
07:06So everything you've been taught from this point on, forget it.
07:09Because these boys are going to disprove the theory.
07:11And there is the craft they've built.
07:13Dave is the pilot.
07:15The wingspan on this particular plane is spectacular.
07:18But the flight isn't.
07:19Look at it.
07:20Straight down.
07:21Like a lead balloon into the Charles River.
07:2410.9 metres.
07:25Which is better than I thought initially.
07:27But still nowhere near good enough.
07:29Look how wide it is.
07:30And you can see the problem again with the wind getting slightly blowier than it was at the outset.
07:36They're not quite getting the release off the runway.
07:39And they're plunging straight down with a big splash as well to finish the day.
07:44Good old Gustave at the front gets a wet chin early on that flight.
07:51Why not?
07:52Let's look over to our judging panel.
07:54So 40 for the performance out of 60 for Gustave and the Whiteheads.
08:00Say hello to Team Fight or Flight.
08:02Big hockey fans, what do you prefer doing?
08:04Fighting or flying?
08:05Fighting.
08:06Fighting.
08:07I'll take that as fighting.
08:08Here to fight.
08:09As the pilot today, flying.
08:11Well, they puck up the courage to take to the air.
08:14Let's learn a little bit more about them.
08:17My name is Dave.
08:18I'm the pilot for Team Fight or Flight.
08:20And we're from Boston.
08:21So on our team, we have Brian and we have Alex.
08:24And the two of them took on the hardest task, which is building the glider.
08:28Rich, our creative guy, he did all of the decoration and paper mache work
08:33and making sure everything looks really good.
08:35And lastly, we have Sean, who's our team choreographer slash costume designer
08:40to make sure we're gonna look good ourselves on the day of.
08:43They can be a bit unruly at times, but for the most part,
08:46we banded together and put together a pretty good, I think, craft.
08:50It really helps when you have a lot of beer in hand.
08:52Our craft's theme is based around the local hockey team here,
08:56the Boston Bruins.
08:57And one of, if not the most famous player in their history, Bobby Orr.
09:02We decided to encapsulate what we think is the most important moment
09:06in Boston aviation history when Bobby Orr scored
09:09Stanley Cup championship winning goal
09:11and ended up flying through the air
09:13and was captured in this beautiful photograph.
09:15So we're gonna have him flying on top of our craft.
09:18On flight day, Bobby Orr is gonna soar
09:20and bring home the championship one more time.
09:25Okay, so team fight or flight,
09:27and what they've gotta do basically is fly better
09:29than a former ice hockey player,
09:31albeit one of the great ice hockey players of all time,
09:34the great Bobby Orr.
09:36There's the performance and the spandex swimming trunks might go down well with the judges.
09:44We'll wait and see.
09:45Let's have a look.
09:48Then off they go towards the end of the ramp.
09:50Not too much in the way of speed.
09:55And then off he go.
09:56He turned around the wrong way.
09:58Started to spin round towards the left.
10:007.3 metres.
10:02And I've gotta be honest, I think Bobby Orr went further than that
10:05on the picture that we saw.
10:07And it all went wrong when it flew out towards the left, didn't it?
10:11Can't go left and far at the same time.
10:14You've gotta go in a straight line.
10:18There's the performance.
10:2045 for team fight or flight.
10:23You know what?
10:24The crowd loved you, and the judges did too,
10:26and I think it's all down to...
10:28It's down to...
10:30Oh, yeah.
10:31Was it sort of in your game plan to maybe distract them before the flight
10:40so they wouldn't even notice really how well you do now?
10:42Well, we wanted to get the hearts however we could,
10:44whether that was flying far or by showing them our assets.
10:47Well, you brought the entertainment.
10:49I can't wait to see you later at the after party.
10:50Are you gonna be dressed like this?
10:52Maybe.
10:53Maybe.
10:57Okay, the Flying Franks, named, we think,
11:00after the famous Fenway Frank, the ballpark food
11:04at the home of the Boston Red Sox.
11:06They love a hot dog over here.
11:07So team Flying Frank are gonna try and get the sausage
11:11as airborne as they possibly can.
11:16There we can see the sesame seeds on the side of the bunt
11:19and the ketchup-coloured wings on the top.
11:22Bit of mustard on the side as well.
11:25Will it fly?
11:26We will wait and see.
11:27There goes the bun and straight down!
11:29Oh, he's caught the wings on the ramp
11:31and that's never good, is it?
11:33You could see that the legs started to thrust around.
11:36He panicked the pilot
11:37and then the wing tip caught the ramp and down he went.
11:43Here we see it, look now.
11:44There's the legs.
11:46The wing on the left never released
11:48and I think this is the first example of the headwind
11:51becoming a little bit too strong.
11:53It's stored, look, on take-off.
11:55The man on the left can't get let go of the wing.
11:57He can't stop his legs shaking around
11:59and the plane itself can't go forward.
12:01It's a disaster from start to finish.
12:04They've actually gone further than the plane itself
12:10by just jumping off.
12:11And there's the score, 40 out of 60 for the performance
12:13for the flying ranks.
12:15In one of the cruelest pieces of legislation that ever passed,
12:20Boston once banned Christmas for more than 20 years.
12:24Luckily, though, it's been reinstated
12:26and this crowd of 30,000 people have seen it come early
12:30because they get to see teams from across America
12:32doing battle in the skies above Boston for Red Bull Flugtag.
12:36We've got a short break.
12:37Do not go anywhere.
12:50Welcome back to Red Bull Flugtag here in America's
12:53oldest city, Boston.
12:54We've got teams of friends, family and colleagues
12:57who've all built homemade flying machines
12:59to launch off an eight metre platform
13:01in a bid to fly as far as possible.
13:03The action is coming thick and far,
13:06so let's get straight back into it on the flight deck.
13:08Let's do exactly that.
13:11And we've got Flying Ryan next,
13:13commemorating one of their friends here,
13:16this particular team.
13:17It's been a labour of love developing this particular craft
13:20and they hope it's going to fly really well.
13:22It's our second female pilot of the day as well.
13:25A couple of brave girls out there on the ramp
13:27in windy conditions here in Boston over the Charles River.
13:33Towards the end of the ramp there's nothing in the way of speed
13:37towards take off and it's up there and it catches the wind again
13:40and it pushed it backwards a little bit.
13:427.3 metres but the plane itself was in the air for a long time
13:48for not much in the way of distance and a big splash at the end.
13:52It's a slightly different way of doing it,
13:54hope the wind would do its job but it didn't really,
13:56it was too windy at the front again,
13:58stopped it in flight and down it went
14:01and the performance score, 45.
14:04Joanna, Wonder Woman, how did that feel?
14:08It was amazing, I'm just so glad that I actually committed to it
14:11and flew, I didn't fly backwards so that was amazing.
14:15You were like actual Wonder Woman because you got so much height,
14:18so much air, you were just hanging there for ages.
14:21Did I look pretty?
14:22You looked beautiful.
14:24Thank you darling.
14:25It was so much fun though.
14:26It's a great time, great event,
14:28it was in honour of our friend Ryan who passed away
14:31so it was for him, the Flying Ryan.
14:33He'd be so proud.
14:35Okay so next we've got Flight Riot,
14:38now these are one of the pre-event favourites
14:40because they are absolute anoraks with regards to Flight.
14:44Anything to do with Flight,
14:45these boys know what they're talking about.
14:47They spent $585 to build their plane
14:51and they think they're coming here to win,
14:54that's the sole intention, it looks the part,
14:56they're talking the part
14:58and we'll see whether they can live up to it here in Boston today.
15:01Towards the end of the runway,
15:04that ramp and on it goes and on it goes
15:06and that wasn't bad at all was it?
15:08Nice and smooth from the take-off to the landing,
15:11way past 12.8, 21.0 metres,
15:15which is 68.8 feet in terms of distance.
15:19That's a really good flight, look how smooth it was,
15:22aerodynamically sound, did what it was supposed to do
15:25and did it very well indeed.
15:28There you see it from side on,
15:30it never wavered in the air, just got the distance.
15:34Now we await the performance score and that's good as well,
15:3752 out of a possible 60.
15:40Flight Riot, I'm going to keep with the Pokemon theme there,
15:44you absolutely caught them all.
15:46The crowd loved you, the judges gave you amazing marks,
15:49you flew and your craft is still intact.
15:52You must be feeling good.
15:53It feels great, it feels great, it was such a blast.
15:56We keep on saying it, we built this thing in 10 days,
15:59we had a $500 budget, it just goes to show a little bit of perseverance
16:03and a good team, you can achieve anything, it's great.
16:05One, two, three, woo!
16:07Say hello to the monkey ballers,
16:11four bananas, one monkey called Alex,
16:14how confident are you that this thing can fly?
16:16Oh, we're very confident, we've already taken it flight testing
16:18with an actual test pilot and we got it off the ground,
16:20we know it works.
16:21They are very, very confident,
16:23allegedly these MIT graduating bananas have the highest IQs
16:27of any fruit in the world.
16:29Let's get to know them a little bit better.
16:31Hey, I'm Billy.
16:32And I'm Hayden.
16:33And we're from team MIT Monkey Ballers.
16:35Nailed it.
16:36Woo!
16:37We go to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology,
16:39MIT, best school in the world.
16:42I mean, people vote on that.
16:44Like, that's a fact.
16:45And it also happens to be right...
16:47Aw.
16:48They're right there.
16:49So, we have very specific specialties on this team.
16:53Each person kind of took their own job on the plane
16:55and so everything was designed by literally an expert in that field.
16:58And Alex, he's the pilot and he also did a lot of the aero design.
17:01The dude wrote code to simulate tens of thousands of different airplane shapes
17:05until we finally arrived at this one, which we think is the best.
17:09It's not a question of if it's going to fly.
17:11It's what?
17:12And how far.
17:13We're for sure going to win.
17:14I mean, when you think about MIT, think about aerospace, technology, think about bananas.
17:21And the most aerodynamic fruit is...
17:24Say it with me.
17:25Banana.
17:26If I was a betting man, which I am, I'd bet on us.
17:29You're not a betting man.
17:31But, like, I could.
17:32Yeah, sure.
17:33Well, it's lovely to see such an understated bunch of guys on the ramp here in Boston,
17:39the MIT boys.
17:40It's not a case of if they win, it's a case of when they win.
17:44It's been aerodynamically tested.
17:46It gets off the ground.
17:47It flies well.
17:48And they know it will because they went to MIT and the banana is the most streamlined fruit in the world.
17:53So, apart from that, you need to know nothing more other than these are sure to finish on the top step of the podium here today.
18:01Off they go, then.
18:02Let's have a look at it.
18:03This should go a long way.
18:04Oh!
18:05No, it's not.
18:06No, it's not.
18:07It's nosedived into the Charles River.
18:09And that's what confidence does for you here today.
18:12So much to live up to.
18:14And it was a complete failure.
18:1510.9 metres.
18:17And that has to hurt because he's gone in there, wings first, and landed on top of it.
18:23Now, Alex is the pilot, and all of that flexing in the pre-flight interview led to nothing.
18:29There he goes, over and down, and he's landed on top of the launch.
18:34Vehicle 2.
18:35Look at our scores right there.
18:3746 and a heavy landing for the pilot.
18:40We have Violet.
18:43My name is Sarita.
18:44I am from Possibilities Are Coming.
18:47We have Violet, who is the other co-choreographer besides myself.
18:50And then we have Shoddy and Chase, who are the lead engineers.
18:54And then we have Max, who is another pusher.
18:56Our craft is a giant dragon.
18:57It's red and black.
18:58And the head was done by an industrial engineer.
19:01We spent a great deal of time on the design and structure of it before we actually even got into construction.
19:06So we had a bunch of physicists and engineers working on the numbers.
19:10We have a good chance of winning if there's a headwind.
19:13We're praying for the right direction of wind.
19:15We really, really want to beat MIT.
19:18That's our goal.
19:19I think that's everyone's goal here is to beat the monkey ballers.
19:22That would be the dream.
19:28I've got some bad news.
19:29The wind is not what they wanted today.
19:31It's slightly heavier.
19:32But all they want to do is beat MIT.
19:35Now, bearing in mind, we've just seen what happened to MIT.
19:38That shouldn't be too difficult, should it?
19:41And this is the aircraft.
19:43Very, very smartly designed, I've got to say.
19:46It looks the part.
19:47Oh, it's gone wrong at the start.
19:49It's gone wrong at the start.
19:51They managed to catch her.
19:53It could have been nasty there, couldn't it, for Khaleesi the pilot.
19:57Let's hope it goes better from here on in.
20:01I've got to say, it's not great for your confidence, is it?
20:04On the ramp.
20:06Get a good grip of those handles.
20:10Oh, it's gone already.
20:11It's gone already.
20:12It's gone.
20:13She's hanging on, look.
20:14She's hanging on.
20:15There was no way she was letting go of that.
20:18No way.
20:19That was minus 2.7 metres.
20:22Though she actually finished behind where she started.
20:26Look at that.
20:27How brave was that, though, to hang on?
20:29Look at it from this side.
20:30There's no way she's letting go of that.
20:34Oh, dear.
20:35Look at this.
20:36Watch this.
20:37Look at her arms.
20:39Oh, my word.
20:40Look at that.
20:43Hang on.
20:44Hang on.
20:45Splash.
20:46Splash.
20:47Oh, dear.
20:48I've never seen anything like that.
20:50There she is.
20:51All's good in the world.
20:53And 38 out of 60 for the performance.
20:56That was a disaster.
20:58Sarita, first of all, that was an absolutely epic performance from Possibilities Are Coming.
21:03It started so, so well.
21:05I know.
21:06And then...
21:07We didn't calculate for that sort of wind.
21:08I wasn't in control anymore.
21:10But you know what?
21:11I have to commend you because you hung on and on and on until the last minute.
21:15What bravery?
21:16What were you feeling?
21:17I mean, the safety guys told me, don't let go.
21:20And I refused to let go of those handlebars.
21:23You took that so literally.
21:25You know what?
21:26Star of the show, though.
21:27Well done.
21:28Congratulations.
21:29Go and celebrate.
21:30And Darren, let us know what is coming up next.
21:32I agree.
21:33She was the star of the show and there was no way she was going to let go.
21:36So next we have Watched Sphinx.
21:38Andy, aka Memphis Slim, is the pilot.
21:41There's an Egyptian theme to this one, as you can see.
21:45They're a group of friends.
21:47And they've told Andy that he's got to be the pilot because he's the thinnest of all of them
21:51and the lightest of all of them.
21:52So they think that's going to give this team the best chance for a long flight.
21:57Which is what they need if they're going to win today with the sun shining here in Boston.
22:01Off they go.
22:02Watched Sphinx is in the air.
22:03Watched Sphinx is on the way down and he went in heavy into the Charles River.
22:07I think he might well have got in face first, but it's a good distance.
22:1014.6.
22:11They'll be happy with that.
22:12Oh, look at that.
22:14I think you'd call that a face plant stroke belly flop.
22:17I remember those as a kid, you know, when you landed in the water like that,
22:21really hurt your stomach for about half an hour.
22:23That's one of those, isn't it?
22:24Gets the legs up, holds on tight, and then bang, in you go.
22:28Wings on top.
22:30And 38 for the performance.
22:32And that's the last team of the day here in Boston.
22:34It's been a fantastic day.
22:36Still can't get Khaleesa out of my mind, hanging on for grim death.
22:38Ed, who's the king of the Charles?
22:41Third place goes to the love-themed Something Wonderful.
22:47Flying like Egyptians into the runners-up spot are what Sphinx,
22:51but winging their way into the top spot are the aeronautical enthusiasts, Flight Riot.
22:57Oh, I said it before, you caught them all.
23:05You had great scores from the judges, the crowd loved you, you flew,
23:09and you've still got your craft intact, so it lives to fly another day.
23:12It was so much fun.
23:13You know, 10 days, 500 bucks to see what we could do as a team,
23:16and the team worked so well together.
23:17Congratulations.
23:18The winners of the Red Bull Flug Tag, Boston Flight Riot!
23:22Yeah!
23:23Woo!
23:36Another fantastic Flug Tag enters the history books,
23:39but you've got to say the wind played its part today.
23:41Oh, yes.
23:42Yes, it did.
23:43It was a bit of an obstacle.
23:44Some of the teams that we thought were going to do really well
23:46did come up against it, but dramatic.
23:49What was your favourite team?
23:51Something wonderful.
23:52I love them.
23:53Such finesse, such grace, such elegance.
23:56Not just in their performance, but also their craft in its flight.
23:59It was as graceful as they were.
24:01And they used bamboo, which was innovative.
24:03No other team did this, and it didn't break.
24:05It bent, yes, but it was so lightweight.
24:08It was the perfect, perfect material.
24:10Genius.
24:11I love them.
24:12What about you?
24:13Undoubtedly, possibilities are coming.
24:15The way that dragon wheeled off the flight deck, 180 degrees.
24:19I expected the mother of dragons to let go instantly.
24:22Instead, she clung on courageously, and for me,
24:25that embodied the spirit of Flug Tag today.
24:28Such perseverance.
24:29It's what it's all about.
24:30So all that's left to do is say thank you so much for watching.
24:33We'll see you next time.
24:34See ya.
24:40We'll see you next time.
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