Red Bull Flugtag
Red Bull Flugtag rules: Official guidelines for Red Bull Flugtag
Get ready for takeoff — learn everything there is to know about the high-flying, unique world of Red Bull Flugtag.
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When it comes to soaring through the sky in a homemade flying machine, few events match — if any events can match — the thrill of Red Bull Flugtag. This competition is as much about ingenuity and teamwork as it is about preparing for a successful flight. To help pilots launch off the platform with confidence, let’s walk through the official Red Bull Flugtag guidelines, ensuring that the dream of flying, however brief, stays within the competition’s boundaries.
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What is Red Bull Flugtag?
Red Bull Flugtag events are unlike any other. It’s a creative flying machine contest in which teams of five take center stage in their homemade aircrafts. These planes are powered solely by human muscle and gravity. The goal? To launch off a platform and fly as far as possible before gracefully (or not-so-gracefully) landing in the water below.
Red Bull’s Flugtag event has been held annually since its inception in 1992. Millions of spectators have eagerly gathered to watch teams launch their homemade flying machines. Flugtag’s charm lies in the blend of imagination and humor, but don’t let the fun obscure the serious level of competition. Each year, 30 to 40 teams bring their best creative and approved crafts to the event. It’s a day of unexpected creativity, where the only limits are gravity and imagination.
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General rules for Red Bull Flugtag competitions
Red Bull Flugtag 2022 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin
© Chris Tedesco / Red Bull Content Pool
Before taking flight, understanding Flugtag rules is essential. Every participant must adhere to a set of standards to ensure a level playing field. Here are the basics:
- Team size and information: Each team contains one pilot and four ground crew members. If needed, teams can change members up until two weeks prior to the event, but that needs to be communicated with the pilot liaison. The five team members can’t receive any outside help. It’s just the team and the wind working for first place.
- Craft size and weight restrictions: Flugtag planes aren’t allowed to exceed 16 feet. The craft body must be a maximum of 10 feet long and eight feet tall. The wingspan must be 22 feet or less. The plane and pilot cannot weigh more than 400 pounds combined and should be made out of environmentally friendly, non-toxic materials.
- Launch platform height: Each pilot will be jumping in their craft off a 22-foot-high ramp into the water. Flugtag launch platform rules state that teams can push the craft from the back — but catapulting is strictly prohibited.
- Individual sponsors: Teams are allowed to get their own sponsor as long as it’s pre-approved by Red Bull at least six weeks before the event.
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Building your Red Bull Flugtag craft
Red Bull Flugtag 2022 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin
© Chris Tedesco / Red Bull Content Pool
The heart of Red Bull Flugtag is in the design and construction of the homemade flying machine. The craft’s design should be original, creative, and abide by the craft design regulations for Flugtag. Here’s what teams need to know:
- Permitted materials: Environmentally friendly and floatable materials are strongly encouraged. This means recycled or biodegradable elements where possible. Teams can use buoyant materials like foam (closed cell) and wood. While chicken wire is discouraged, it’s not prohibited, but it needs to be covered (inside and outside) with fabric or Tyvek material.
- Prohibited materials: Forget about engines, motors, or any powered systems — the Flugtag craft must rely solely on human power. This is one of the fundamental homemade flying machine rules, meant to keep the focus on creativity and skill. Other prohibited materials include: Air horns over 200 psi, heat-producing elements, caster wheels, ropes, heavy-duty battery-operated items, styrofoam
- Creativity and originality: The most memorable Red Bull Flugtag crafts often defy expectations while falling under the “stupid and approved” category. Teams are encouraged to think outside the box and create something that wows the audience and the judges. Memorable past designs have included the Flying African Penguin, Glorias Flying Coconut Tree, a Wingsuit of Death, and a French ger dig vingar.
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Red Bull Flugtag judging criteria
Judges at Red Bull Flugtag 2022 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin
© Mike Tittel / Red Bull Content Pool
Once you’ve built your craft and are ready to fly, it’s important to understand how performance is judged. Flugtag judging standards are based on three main factors:
- Flight distance: This category is electronically scored after the Flugtag craft takes flight. The farther a craft flies, the better the chances of winning.
- Creativity and design: The more unique and well-designed the craft, the more points a team can score. Teams battle to score 50 points — the maximum number available for this judging category.
- Showmanship: Red Bull Flugtag encourages teams to put on a show before takeoff. Teams fight to earn a maximum of 50 points for a 30-second performance.
If two teams reach a tie, creativity and showmanship are used to determine a tie-breaker. The two categories are tallied and the team with the highest score is crowned winner. If, however, those teams are tied in creativity and showmanship, their distance scores are used instead to break the tie.
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Red Bull Flugtag event day rules
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Red Bull Flugtag Boston 2016
Red Bull Flugtag Boston 2016
Event day brings its own set of rules that are designed to keep everything running smoothly. Here’s what teams need to know about Flugtag event day instructions:
- Check-in and inspection: It’s important to arrive early and see the judges before entering competition mode. All Red Bull Flugtag crafts must first be inspected for airworthiness and engineering compliance. The craft must meet the dimension and weight limits, be environmentally friendly, and be manmade and gravity-powered. The judges will prevent any craft with pre-fabricated two-part gliders, a two-part craft that’s over four feet, and any crafts with catapults from participating. And don’t forget — the top of the craft must not exceed 10 feet with pilots aboard in a crouch position. Third-party sponsor logos are also restricted to a rectangular space on each side that’s smaller than 24 inches by 12 inches.
- Launch procedures: Before shooting into the water, team members must wear helmets and life jackets. Teams take turns launching off the platform, and there’s no going back once the craft is rolling. The four crew members can run as far as the end of the flight deck before pushing the craft with the pilot in it. Crew members can jump in the water with permission from the competition director, but craft recovery is the responsibility of the production team. Following the competition, Flugtag crafts are discarded.
- Penalties for rule violations: Although rules are sometimes made to be broken, that’s not the case with Red Bull Flugtag. Most violations of the Red Bull Flugtag rules can result in disqualification.
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How to prepare for Red Bull Flugtag
With proper planning and adherence to the Red Bull Flugtag rules, teams will be ready for the big day. From team dynamics to craft designs we’ll never forget, don’t forget to prepare for every possible outcome.
Some teams build prototypes after learning from the trial and error of their first Red Bull Flugtag competitions. As the saying goes, practice makes perfect. Hitting the drawing board to review previous mistakes, or staying one step ahead of potential errors, can help prevent future losses. Phillip Van Doren’s prep for Red Bull Flugtag offers some great pointers to future Flugtag pilots and crew members.
Memorable Red Bull Flugtag disasters
Even with the best preparation, Red Bull Flugtag disasters can still happen. But learning from past mistakes can prevent any future mishaps.
Zurich
A 2021 event in Zurich offers a prime example of when a team of Swiss engineering students should’ve flown far — if it wasn’t for one major hiccup. One of the wings got caught on a tree near the platform, causing the craft to twist and fall apart mid-launch. Their failure serves as a lesson for future teams to make sure their craft’s wings aren’t too broad.
Louisville
In Louisville, Kentucky, a team of football fanatics couldn’t get their wheels to detach. The craft then tripped on the platform and went straight down into the water — no flying in sight.
The Red Bullterfly team learned the hard way that factoring in the wind is a non-negotiable. When the team’s large flying machine took off at the Port of Varna event in Bulgaria, the wind quickly flipped it over.
Boston
The Possibilities Are Coming team that competed in Boston in 2016 also proved a heavy craft isn’t always the way to go. The craft's weight, combined with the wind, dragged the craft backward onto the platform at takeoff. The dragon design clutched onto the ramp’s side. It immediately did a 180 and went to the bottom of the platform instead of flying.
Take flight for this Red Bull Flugtag competition
Red Bull Flugtag celebrates creativity, teamwork, and a shared sense of adventure. Whether teams are in it to win or just to have fun, following Red Bull Flugtag competition rules will help you make a big splash — the right way. So build, fly, and remember: even if you don’t go far, you’ll be part of an unforgettable experience.
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