2008 Woodie Awards
Embry-Riddle to be represented in Red Bull's Flugtag Arizona
Michael Hamann
Issue date: 4/21/06 Section: News
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Tempe Town Lake will be the setting as 31 teams from as far away as Alaska launch aircraft of varying styles in a display of amateur aviation engineering.
Flugtag, which means "flying day" in German, has been launching homebuilt aircraft since the event's conception in 1991 in Vienna, Austria. Since then, over 35 Flugtags have taken place across the world from Ireland to San Francisco.
The team representing Embry-Riddle calls their design the Screaming Eagle. Their group is one of more than 200 teams that applied to compete in this year's event. Other designs featured will be a flying toilet, a trailer home, a giant taco and a flying fish.
The Screaming Eagle is constructed of rigid styrofoam insulation, plywood and held together by wire and wood glue. When it is completed, the aircraft's wingspan will measure 22 feet in length with a 17 foot fuselage.
"We've put at least 40 hours of construction into it so far," said Yavapai Community College junior Chad Weller. "By the time we're finished, I'd say we will have put in 80 hours."
The design process begins months before applicants are accepted into the contest. Teams of up to five people design and construct an aircraft with the intent of flying as far as possible. The teams must also come up with an entertaining skit which is presented moments before they launch the aircraft off of a 30 foot high ramp into a body of water. Groups are judged based on distance flown, creativity and showmanship. The winning team is awarded $7500 to be applied towards a pilot training course for a member of the team. Second prize winners receive skydiving lessons and third prize receives paragliding lessons.
The aircraft must be entirely human-powered and less than 30 feet wide. The aircraft must also weigh less than 450 lbs, including the weight of the pilot. "We think our plane will fly just fine," said Weller. "I'm looking for around 50 to 60 feet." The team has appointed Embry-Riddle senior Travis Nelson to pilot the aircraft; Nelson weighing in at 120 lbs.
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