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Dressed to impress on the big stage
© Sebastian Marko/Red Bull Content Pool
Paper Planes
Watch winners touch the sky at Paper Wings finale
Catch highlights of an international paper-plane party that raised the roof of Hangar-7 in Salzburg.
By Tim Sturtridge
3 min readPublished on
80 countries were represented at the grand finale
80 countries were represented at the grand finale© Sebastian Marko/Red Bull Content Pool
The super finals day lived up to expectations as the Red Bull Paper Wings World Finals 2015 culminated with the champions winning their titles amid a breathtaking atmosphere in Salzburg. No kerosene, no engine, just a regular A4 sheet of paper and a pilot throwing it was all that was required to win the title.
Watch highlights from the World Finals in the video player below.
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The World Finals did not disappoint, setting the stage for performances that captivated the fans filling the iconic Hangar-7 to capacity for the fourth edition of the event.
The world’s paper-plane elite finally gathered in Austria following a gruelling 535 qualifiers and more than 46,000 contenders worldwide. The 200 athletes who made it to Salzburg certainly delivered a night to remember.
Veselin Ivanov, of Bulgaria, dethroned champion Thomas Back in the longest distance category, even though the Czech edged close to a world record with his second throw. Ivanov kept his cool in an electrifying atmosphere to win with a throw of 53.22m ahead of Jovica Kozlica, from Croatia, and Japan’s Yuki Kajiya, who managed third thanks to his plane’s unique design.
I did not expect this and I cannot believe I won. It is such a dream come true for me
– Veselin Ivanov
The aerobatics category was equally tight with the winner, Lebanese Avedis Tchamitchian, seemingly defying the laws of physics as he landed a maximum 50 points.
I am overwhelmed. The judging was so fair for every participant. Just awesome. I will definitely be back in 2018 to defend my title
– Avedis Tchamitchian
“As judges we're looking for three things: We're looking for the construction, the creativity and the flight performance,” said internet sensation Zach King, one of five judges. Double Olympic champion sailor Hans Peter Steinacher added: “It is amazing what some of the competitors come up with. Sensational ideas. I am fascinated by the creativity on show.”
There was a nail-biting finale for the longest airtime title, the narrowest seen at the Red Bull Paper Wings World Finals, with Armenian Karen Hambardzumyan snatching victory with a 14.36 second flight, ahead of Ma Ieng, from Hong Kong, whose plane lasted 13.76 seconds in the air. Japan’s Yohei Hayashi was third.
Dressed to impress on the big stage
Dressed to impress on the big stage© Sebastian Marko/Red Bull Content Pool
Final Ranking Longest Distance: 1. Veselin IVANOV (BUL) – 53.22 m 2. Jovica KOZLICA (CRO) – 51.22 m 3. Yuki KAJIYA (JPN) – 50.05 m
Final Ranking Aerobatics: 1. Avedis TCHAMITCHIAN (LBN) – 50 points 2. Tomasz CHODYRA (POL) – 47 3. Ryan NACCARATO (USA) – 46
Final Ranking Longest Airtime: 1. Karen HAMBARDZUMYAN (ARM) – 14.36 secs 2. MA IENG (HKG) – 13.76 secs 3. Yohei HAYASHI (JPN) – 12.18 secs
Best Team: Hong Kong – 21 points
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Red Bull Paper Wings World Final

Watch the final of Red Bull Paper Wings as participants combine genius designs with flying skills.

AustriaHangar-7 , Austria
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Paper Planes