- 51 minutes ago
Category
📺
TVTranscript
00:00else on earth. It's a city literally reaching for the stars. Today is no
00:05exception as 40 teams of friends, family and workmates launch incredible homemade
00:10flying machines off this massive runway on the city's waterfront. Piloting an
00:16array of stupendous creations in front of a huge crowd, all are chasing the dream
00:21of human-powered flight. Who will soar over the bay like a Chinese dragon and
00:26who will plummet into the harbour below? It's time to find out. This is Red Bull
00:33Flugtime.
00:35Hello and welcome to magnificent Hong Kong, a city whose name literally translates as
01:00Fragrant Harbour. Which is fitting because today the air will be filled with nothing but the
01:04sweet smell of glory as it plays host to the frankly inspirational festival of flight that
01:09is Red Bull Flugtag.
01:10Very soon, have a go heroes from across Hong Kong will be running along this gigantic flight
01:16deck in their homemade flying machines before leaping into the abyss and their mission to
01:21glide as far as possible across the Victoria Harbour behind us.
01:25Now HK, as it's known locally, has long been a global centre for technology and innovation
01:30and Kaz and I have been down, we've seen some of the aircrafts and I think we can safely say
01:34that that tradition has been well and truly upheld today.
01:37Well no doubt the builds have taken weeks if not months of sacrifice but every second will
01:42have been worth it for the ecstasy of tens of thousands of fans cheering your name before
01:48flying over the South China Sea.
01:51Right, I think the first team is just about ready to take their position on the deck but before
01:55we get into the action, here's a handy guide to everything you need to know about Flugtag,
01:59just in case you're not familiar.
02:02In a day and age when the inventiveness and eccentricity of aviation's earliest pioneers
02:07is a sad distant memory, only one event seeks to turn back the clock and inject the fun back
02:13into the fundamental principles of flight.
02:16Red Bull Flugtag.
02:18German for flying day, Flugtag has been challenging amateur aviators for over 20 years as friends,
02:24family and workmates team up to create non-motorised flying machines from scratch before launching
02:31them off a custom-built runway.
02:33From epic pugs to homemade hot dogs, everyone is here for one reason, fly as far as possible
02:40using only ingenuity and muscle power.
02:43Of course, distance isn't everything and to decide a winner, judges also score teams
02:49on two additional categories, the design of the craft and a 30-second pre-flight performance
02:54on the runway.
02:56The team with the highest combined score walks away as Red Bull Flugtag champion.
03:03Now that's cleared up, it's time to get down to the business of flight, so let's get to
03:07the runway for the first team.
03:09Thanks Vic, thanks Caroline.
03:11Hong Kong looking splendid today.
03:12The fans have come out in their droves for this event, which is located fittingly on the
03:16site of the old Hong Kong airport, the one where they used to fly between the buildings.
03:21They don't do that anymore, but these teams, starting with Hasbro toys, hoping to fly as
03:26far as they possibly can in these impressive-looking planes today.
03:32The first part of it is the performance.
03:34You'll see the scores from the judges a little bit later on.
03:37The plane's been made by a toy company here in Hong Kong.
03:40Lots of time and effort has gone in, and we're about to find out whether it flies or not.
03:46The moment of truth is here for Hasbro toys.
03:49There's the launch off the ramp, and then straight down, and in actual fact it looked a little
03:54bit heavy.
03:55There's the distance, 8.2 metres.
03:57I think we're expecting these planes to go a little bit further than that today, and
04:02as you can see, a bit too much weight at the back.
04:04Didn't really get the launch off.
04:06Straight down into the water, and they would have hoped to have gone further than that.
04:10You can see there, look, it was always off-balance the moment it left the ramp, and the performance
04:15score from earlier is 41.
04:17OK then Caroline, so over to you.
04:19Who have you got with you?
04:20Thanks Darren, I'm at the foot of the flight deck with Team Blank Space.
04:24Guys, do you think you can win this?
04:29I think it's time we get to know the men behind the masks.
04:33Hey, I'm from Team Blank Space, and my name is Tim.
04:37On the team we have Ron, our pilot, and Seamus is our art director.
04:42Jack is our structure builder and designer.
04:45I'm the team captain.
04:47We all used to work together in one company.
04:50We came from a creative background.
04:52The flying machine is a spaceship, and it's inspired by Tim Burton movie, Mars Tech.
04:59The cool feature would be our claws that would actually move.
05:03We have a clear dome that's going to go on top of our spaceship.
05:08And our costume is going to be breathtaking.
05:11I can't even tell you how cool it's going to be.
05:15I'm worried about the weight issue of our plane, and also our costume, because we're going to be bulky.
05:21You know, that's going to be a challenge, running down the runway.
05:24I'm a little skeptical on that one.
05:26Can we fly? Let's just hope so.
05:28Well, that's the idea.
05:31They certainly look impressive, don't they?
05:33Look at those costumes and the creativity that's gone into those.
05:36The plane itself is also very, very impressive.
05:39It's the third time that they're participating this team in a Red Bull event,
05:43and they've always finished in the top three before.
05:45So they're confident, but they've also got some targets here today.
05:50And they're about to launch this plane off the ramp here in Hong Kong.
05:54Let's see how it flies.
05:55It looks the part, and it flies pretty well as well.
05:58The water in the cockpit.
06:00Look at the distance, 15 metres, almost double the first team that we saw.
06:05And the pilot, Ron, really happy with that.
06:07Off the ramp, they got a good release.
06:09And you can see there the plane went away from the launch vehicle underneath it.
06:14Off the ramp, picked up a bit of air underneath the wings, and went 15 metres.
06:19That's really good.
06:20It looked good on the ramp to start with.
06:22The performance was good.
06:23The costumes are good.
06:24And there you can see blank space gets 45.
06:27Tim, what was your aim coming here today?
06:29Did you just want to look incredible, or were you really hoping to get quite far?
06:33We were hoping to get number one, and plus to have fun.
06:37It got air.
06:38It got air, which was impressive.
06:39I think the design was beautiful to look at.
06:42Were you happy with your flight?
06:43Yeah, I'm very happy with it.
06:45I'm very happy with it.
06:46And I'll tell you what, you look incredible.
06:49He sounds different when he's got the mask off.
06:52Now we have Team Burton.
06:53So the last one was on a Tim Burton character.
06:56This is Team Burton.
06:57So there's a theme developing here in Hong Kong today.
07:00There's obviously a bit of a theme for the director.
07:02Now there's the performance, which seemed to go down well with the judges.
07:06We'll find out a little bit later on.
07:07Now this one hasn't got any wings, you will notice.
07:10A plane without wings.
07:11There's a plane without wings.
07:12Fly!
07:13Why not really?
07:14Not really.
07:15Oh dear me.
07:16Face first into the water at 9.5 metres.
07:21Now the judges were laughing.
07:23Now watch the pilot here.
07:25There's Cam the pilot.
07:27Oh, face first into the water.
07:29You'll see it from this angle as well.
07:31Oh, splash.
07:32Straight in.
07:33Wow.
07:34That's got to come keen, hasn't it?
07:35And then the onboard.
07:36It's almost like she knows, look.
07:38And before she knew it, she was in.
07:4033 on the performance for Team Burton.
07:43How did it feel?
07:44It looked like you face planted.
07:46I can't look this.
07:47Just one second.
07:49A bump.
07:50It's so scary.
07:52Did you think it would fly?
07:54No.
07:55Well, at least it wasn't a shock then.
07:58Yeah.
08:00She's got the giggles, hasn't she?
08:01Did you think it would fly?
08:02No.
08:03That's the idea today.
08:04Anyway, FWD passion team.
08:06It's a volcano look which is erupting.
08:08And we hope it's going to erupt off the ramp.
08:10This is the performance.
08:11Lots of work has gone into it.
08:13Again, it's a plane without wings.
08:15But we think there's a little trick to this one today.
08:18They're going to try and use a catapult system
08:20which we've seen in the past
08:21where instead of pushing it off the ramp
08:24they jump off and then catapult it out.
08:26So there they are, look.
08:27They're going to drop off the ramp
08:28and then fire this thing off the ramp if they can.
08:32Down they go.
08:36No.
08:37Oh, it's still up there, look.
08:38Oh, there's Emily, the pilot.
08:39I think what they're supposed to do is catapult Emily off the front.
08:42So she's dived in.
08:44So they won't get a distance because they've not had a distance.
08:47There we go.
08:48That's supposed to catapult Emily, the pilot,
08:50off the front of the plane or the volcano as you can see.
08:53But their hands slip and it doesn't work.
08:56And then she's got no choice but to dive into the water.
08:59That's it.
09:00So no distance.
09:02No point.
09:0433.
09:05I can see why he's shaking his head on the end.
09:07There she is, look.
09:08In one piece.
09:09But that's not what they were hoping to do today.
09:11Just push it off the ramp, lads.
09:13So who's next, Caroline?
09:15I'm backstage here at the Hangar Lane with ETV buddies.
09:18Kevin, what are you making your chances today?
09:20We are going to win!
09:22Yeah!
09:23Full of confidence.
09:24But before we see these guys fly,
09:26let's get to know them a little bit better.
09:28We are from Team ETV Buddies.
09:31On the team we have Kenning, he is the engineer.
09:34Fiona, she is the decorator.
09:36And Thomas is the pilot.
09:37And I'm the designer.
09:39Our team name is called ETV Buddies
09:42because E stands for educational.
09:44Educational TV is quite popular in Hong Kong.
09:48When we are a child, we have to watch it every day.
09:56Actually, this is like the third version of the aircraft design.
10:02So actually we did like a few other versions
10:04and then we test it.
10:05And then it's too heavy.
10:07And then we kind of like going back to the drawing board
10:09and we change it.
10:10Hopefully it should be okay.
10:12I'm quite confident with Thomas as the pilot
10:15because at least he looks a lot lighter than me.
10:23So ETV Buddies.
10:25Interesting that, isn't it?
10:26The children have to watch educational TV every day.
10:29We'll see whether this particular team learned how to build a plane
10:32while they were watching it as impressionable youngsters.
10:36Applause from the judges, which may bode well for the performance.
10:40And there's Thomas strapping himself in.
10:43And we'll see how far this one goes.
10:45It's a more normal way of launching the plane off the ramp.
10:49There are the three guys pushing at the back.
10:51And then off we go.
10:52And it seems to move forward quite well.
10:54And that's a good flight.
10:55That's a decent distance, I think.
10:5716.7, the furthest we've seen today.
11:00Simple basic design.
11:02Simple basic launch procedure.
11:04And a decent flight in terms of distance as well.
11:08That's a good run, that from ETV Buddies.
11:10Thomas the pilot steering it forward, holding his nerve,
11:13keeping it straight and keeping it smooth.
11:16And that led to a decent distance here in Hong Kong.
11:19And there's the performance score of 38 for ETV Buddies.
11:23Michael, that was such a neatly constructed craft.
11:26He had a little bit of side wind to contend with.
11:29But I would say, all in all, good flight.
11:31Are you happy?
11:32Yeah, I'm very happy.
11:33It seems, for me, it seems to be like instantly.
11:36You get to the water instantly.
11:37But then what I heard, like, we went quite fast.
11:39So I'm quite happy with it.
11:41How did it feel when you hit the water?
11:43It's quite a big impact, yeah.
11:45That is really surprising, yeah.
11:47But the weather is nice.
11:49It's good to have a swim, yeah.
11:51Especially, like, in the harbour of Hong Kong, no?
11:54After the break, we'll still be in Hong Kong
11:56for the Red Bull Flug Tag,
11:57where groups of friends, family and colleagues
12:01will be battling it out for supremacy of the sky.
12:04You do not want to miss this.
12:06Yeah!
12:07Welcome back to Red Bull Flug Tag here in Hong Kong,
12:22where Have A Go Heroes are piloting homemade flying machines
12:26off a colossal runway into the city's Victoria Harbour.
12:30The next team are on the flight deck and ready to go.
12:33So, Darren, it's over to you in the commentary box.
12:36Thanks, Caroline.
12:37So we have Eight Legs Rescue Team up next on the ramp here
12:41in the sunshine in Hong Kong.
12:43A team of college buddies.
12:45It's a craft inspired by the movie Over the Hedge.
12:49And we have another female pilot,
12:51which has been pretty common today.
12:52Mandy is the pilot of this latest plane.
12:56And we can see that big single wing above her
12:59as they prepare to launch Eight Legs Rescue Team off the ramp
13:03and into the air.
13:05And off we go.
13:06It's starting to go already.
13:07It's gone off the edge.
13:08Full 360 and straight down.
13:10Well, she was completely off balance.
13:13She's done remarkably well to get 1.5 metres.
13:19She started to lose balance of the plane there, look,
13:22before it even takes off.
13:23And there's no way back at that point.
13:25She comes off the side almost, looking, just catches the netting
13:29and then spins a complete 360 in the air.
13:33So brave just to hang on to it and try and get it moving forward.
13:38Look at this.
13:39From that angle, you can see just how well Mandy did
13:42to actually get down into the water feet first.
13:4533 for the performance.
13:47Mandy, you are so brave.
13:49You are clinging on.
13:51It was one of the most amazing ones that I've seen in Flugtag.
13:55Did you just think, I'm not letting go.
13:56I'm not letting go.
13:57Yeah, because all four of us put a lot of effort on it.
14:02Never mind.
14:03I think we can do better next time, maybe.
14:06So you're going to do it again?
14:07Yeah.
14:08Yes.
14:10So now we have Red Barrow.
14:12Nothing to do with Will Barrows.
14:14It's actually inspired by the Red Arrows.
14:16It's a nicely choreographed performance at the top.
14:19They're all workmates and they're all engineers as well.
14:22So you'd expect something decent from them today.
14:25Anything like the Red Arrows would be remarkable, wouldn't it?
14:30So there is the plane.
14:32It's quite a high launch pad.
14:34So you can add the additional height to the ramp itself.
14:38And if they can get some speed here, this one looks like it might be relatively well designed.
14:45No excuses here for this team.
14:47Let's see how Red Barrow does.
14:49Looking to get some speed towards the end of the ramp.
14:52There we go.
14:54And it's flying and flying and flying.
14:56And it was nice and smooth.
14:58It looked a good one.
15:00Let's have a look at the distance.
15:02Well, it's the furthest we've seen today.
15:0417 metres.
15:060.3 metres further than the previous best.
15:10And that was really nicely done by Red Barrow.
15:13Look the part.
15:14Very smooth.
15:15Very well balanced.
15:16It never started to wobble.
15:18And it did exactly what it was supposed to do.
15:21The pilot there, Kevin, in complete control all the way through the flight.
15:25And 33 for the performance as well.
15:28Caroline, who have you got with you?
15:29Thanks, Darren.
15:30I'm backstage at the Hangar Lane with the Flying Sweetcorn.
15:34And Angie, you're the pilot.
15:36Are you feeling nervous?
15:37Definitely not.
15:38I'm very confident now.
15:40Well, before we see you fly, let's get to know the Flying Sweetcorn a little bit better.
15:46I'm from the team Flying Sweetcorn.
15:48My name is Angie.
15:50On the team, we have Emily who is in charge of performing.
15:54Billy is in charge of aircraft making.
15:57Alex is in charge of our administrative work.
16:00And me is the pilot.
16:02My aircraft is actually a sweetcorn.
16:05Our physiology is made out of many balloons, which is yellow color.
16:10It just represents our corn.
16:12And each balloon represents a dream of our Hong Kong people.
16:17Sweetcorn is a very common food.
16:20It represents Hong Kong, actually.
16:22We are so dynamic.
16:24I like to eat it raw.
16:27The weakness of my aircraft probably is the materials that we use.
16:33Because we did not have any tests beforehand.
16:36So it is really the first time that we fly it.
16:40It may break.
16:42Or it can really fly.
16:44So let's see whether Flying Sweetcorn can really fly.
16:49Alex the pilot is actually an air hostess in a professional life.
16:55So she is used to being in the air.
16:57But she is used to being in the air a lot longer than she is going to be in the air today.
17:01There is the performance with plenty of sweetcorn.
17:04Seems to have gone down well.
17:06Now don't forget that is one of the elements that each team is scored upon.
17:09The performance on the ramp.
17:10The creativity and design of the plane itself.
17:13And then the distance as well.
17:15So you haven't got to fly miles to win the event.
17:18You can factor it all in.
17:20So let's see how Flying Sweetcorn does.
17:22Look at all of those balloons.
17:24Is that going to help them?
17:25Are they filled with helium I wonder?
17:27The judges haven't tested them.
17:29Anyway here we go towards the end of the ramp.
17:31And off we go.
17:32Straight down.
17:33Oh straight down.
17:34There is certainly no helium in those balloons.
17:37Seven metres.
17:39Now she seems okay.
17:43Just look at it here.
17:44She goes face first into the wings.
17:47And then into the water.
17:48And then the back of the plane actually comes down on top of her.
17:51Very brave to hang on again.
17:52But not a lot she could do.
17:54Straight down.
17:55Too heavy.
17:56There is the performance though.
17:5741.
17:58That is a good score.
17:59And that will give Flying Sweetcorn a lift.
18:03Angie.
18:04You hit the water so hard.
18:06How did that feel?
18:08It was a bit painful to me.
18:10But I wasn't afraid.
18:12Just now.
18:13So brave.
18:14Not afraid at all.
18:15Not afraid.
18:16Because I thought I could fly.
18:18Did you feel like your flight attendant background was useful?
18:22Did you have anything you could offer to it that you knew to make for a better flight?
18:26Positive attitude.
18:27Yeah.
18:28Cheerful.
18:29And make our audience laugh.
18:32That's right actually.
18:33It was a spectacle.
18:34The audience enjoyed it.
18:35So thank you.
18:36Well done.
18:38Back to you Darren.
18:39Who's up next?
18:40Thanks Vic.
18:41Next up we have NASA.
18:42Not the NASA.
18:43They're not going to space.
18:45But it's No Abuse Save Animals.
18:48And it's based on kind of a space version of Noah's Ark bizarrely.
18:53An astronaut is going to save the animals.
18:56And let's see whether it flies.
18:58Shall we?
18:59The pilot here is low.
19:00And they want to be high.
19:01And they're a little bit wobbly going towards the end of the ramp.
19:03They're not really in control of that.
19:04But he gets a decent release.
19:06And travels a distance of 10 metres.
19:09Which is not too bad.
19:10He's now battling to get out from underneath the wings.
19:12Hold your breath mate.
19:13There you go.
19:14Pop out the other side.
19:15They did well there.
19:16Because when they were pushing from the back to the front of the ramp.
19:19It was just starting to snake around a bit.
19:21But then they got a decent launch off there.
19:23They got a decent flight forward.
19:25And a relatively okay distance.
19:28Probably about par for the course today.
19:30There's the pilot low.
19:31And there's the performance score of 38.
19:33Which is not bad either.
19:36So straight away we see shoot, whimsy, rot.
19:39The Asian record holders in the Flugtag of 18 metres.
19:42Nobody's ever gone further than that.
19:44They're all engineers and designers.
19:46And the pilot Mokit has actually lost 10 pounds in weight for the event.
19:50He's like a jockey in the Grand National.
19:52You've got to be light enough.
19:53They're not cutting any corners at all.
19:55They are confident, they tell us,
19:57they can fly further than 18 metres today.
20:01There is the plane itself.
20:04Which is basically a set of wings strapped to Mokit, the light pilot.
20:11There they go towards the end of the ramp and off they go.
20:13Can they break the Asian record?
20:15Well, I'm not quite sure they made it.
20:1818 metres was the target.
20:2017 the furthest today.
20:2213.5 metres, which is good.
20:25But it won't be good enough.
20:26And look at him there trying to pump his legs to get that little bit more distance out of the flight.
20:30And it didn't make an awful lot of difference, did it?
20:33Oh, there he is trying to urge a little bit more out.
20:35But the performance, very, very good.
20:3749, that's a good all-round display.
20:39Guys, I've got to talk about those legs.
20:43In the air, when you were floating, it was like you were trying to keep it going.
20:48Like go, go, go.
20:49And if you just run, you might go faster.
20:50I just tried to jump, but I don't have energy to hold my legs like that.
20:55So I just shake my feet like a chicken.
21:00You were shaking your feet like a chicken?
21:03Yeah, yeah, yeah.
21:04Is it?
21:05You were going for that Asian record that you set last time.
21:08Yes.
21:09How are you feeling?
21:10Is it disappointment?
21:11Is it pride?
21:12Yeah.
21:13Even we didn't break our record, I'm happy.
21:15We did a great job, yeah?
21:16Yes.
21:17Yeah, yeah.
21:18High five.
21:19Yeah, yeah, yeah.
21:21Yeah!
21:23So no record for shoot, whimsy rocks.
21:25And the final team of the day, 3-4-5, 3-4 fly.
21:29Noho is the pilot.
21:31And they're all snowboarders, these guys.
21:33They're all friends through sport.
21:35The performance is nice and sedate.
21:37We'll see whether the judges like that.
21:39Might just lack a little bit in terms of the creativity of the design.
21:44Let's see whether it flies well.
21:46Now, the furthest we've seen today is 17 meters.
21:50The final team set off towards the end of the ramp here in Hong Kong,
21:54and off they go.
21:56And it's flying, it's flying, it's really good.
21:59Let's have a look at the distance.
22:0122.5, it's a brand new Asian record.
22:08Shoot, whimsy rock wanted to break it.
22:10Well, the team straight after them, 3-4-5, 3-4 fly, has done just that.
22:16Smooth and far and away.
22:19And just look at the launch and look at the flight.
22:21The performance as well, 47.
22:24The only thing that might have let them down is the creativity.
22:28So over to Caroline to find out who's victorious in Victoria Harbour.
22:32In third place, it's Flying Sweetcorn who wowed the judges
22:37and banked some big points with their amazing creativity.
22:41Corn-gratulations, guys.
22:43Taking second place and sitting pretty in pink,
22:46Shoot, whimsy rock proved they weren't clowning around
22:49with an awesome glider and brilliant performance.
22:52But taking home the trophy, it's alien invaders, Blank Space,
22:56whose incredible creation and Hollywood levels of costume design
23:00gave the judges no choice but to crown them champions.
23:04The winners of Red Bull Float Tag, Hong Kong, Blank Space!
23:07Yeah!
23:10Guys, how are you feeling?
23:11Good.
23:13Breath.
23:14I can't even say anything right now.
23:16I'm breathless.
23:17Did you think you could win?
23:19No.
23:20Totally not what I expected today.
23:22So all that hard work is totally worth it?
23:25Oh yeah, for sure.
23:26Yeah?
23:27We'll do it again, again and again.
23:28Oh, we'll do it again.
23:29We'll see you next year then.
23:30Woo!
23:31One more time though, give it up for the winners of
23:33Red Bull Float Tag, Hong Kong, Blank Space!
23:35Yeah!
23:36Yeah!
23:42It's been an incredible day here in Hong Kong.
23:53Vic, what was your standout moment?
23:55Oh, too many.
23:56I've got to say my favourite team were Team 3 for Fly because they had everything.
24:02They had all the components.
24:03It was a slick construction.
24:04They had the speed, a little bit of agility, the height as well and that lift at the end
24:09which was so beautiful to see.
24:10A great fly.
24:11What about you?
24:12Has to be Blank Space.
24:13I know they're the winners but the creativity was out of this world.
24:17The aliens were so intricate with the details.
24:20Each one was completely different with the eyes.
24:22One even had a moustache.
24:23Who doesn't love an alien?
24:24Exactly.
24:25Well, with that we've only got time to say thanks for watching and see you next time.
24:30See ya.
24:41Bye.
Be the first to comment