One of the teams taking a plunge after take-off at the Museum of Islamic Art Park yesterday.Abdul Basit
BY RAYNALD C RIVERA
DOHA: The team ‘Three Pilots and a Hairdresser’ won the first Red Bull Flugtag in Qatar amid cheers from thousands of spectators at the Museum of Islamic Art Park yesterday.
The team’s hand-built flying machine was inspired by the legendary aviator Amelia Earhart who set records in aviation and inspired generations of flyers. For its creativity, showmanship and flight distance, the team won a trip to Austria to the aircraft museum Hangar 7.
Thirty-five teams competed at the event held under the patronage of Qatar Museums Authority Chairperson H E Sheikha Al Mayassa bint Hamad Al Thani.
Red Bull Flugtag, which means “flying day” in German, started in Vienna, Austria, in 1992 and has been held over 100 times around the world. Qatar is the fourth country in the Gulf to host it after Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Kuwait.
The event was a treat to spectators as each team performed a one-minute show before it took off from a specially-built six-metre-high flight deck.
The human-powered flying machines were made out of outrageous concepts, from camels and falcons to Batman and Iron Man to pizza and tennis. Though all were unique, they followed the rules of aerodynamics to ensure good flight and the specifications set up by the committee to guarantee safety from take-off until the spectacular plunge in the water. Though it took months of tedious preparations and a lot of creativity, participants were in one accord — they joined for fun, not merely for the prize.
“We joined to have fun and break the record, which I think we can because we have used our own technology that nobody has ever thought of,” said Shahid, one of the members of the team Iron Oryx.
“We studied the science behind it and added our own,” he said, adding their concept was based on the superhero Iron Man, and oryx, a national icon of Qatar. “Putting them together we have Iron Oryx.”
The team attracted many spectators having photos taken with them because of their Iron Man costume.
Kenneth Kitkat Dimalanta of Kitkat Monster Garage was of the same view on joining for fun.
“We worked very hard for this, not only to win but to have fun,” he said. “This is an international event so we thought the Philippines should have a representative.”
In creating the aircraft, the group drew inspiration from Jollibee, the most popular and recognisable mascot in the Philippines.
“It took us four months to conceptualise and construct this,” said the captain of the group, whose members share the same interest in racing. The event was a collaboration among Ford, Innovations Unlimited ME, QMA and the Museum of Islamic Art.
The Peninsula
