‘SALLY’S LEAP OF FAITH’ BREAKS CANADIAN DISTANCE RECORD TO SOAR INTO VICTORY AT RED BULL FLUTAG OTTAWA-GATINEAU
-- Montreal team triumphs against 30 homemade flying machines in the third Canadian edition of Red Bull Flugtag --
OTTAWA, ON – July 27, 2013 – Gliding into Canada’s Red Bull Flugtag history books, Ottawa-Gatineau 2013 first place winners Sally’s Leap of Faith from Montreal, QC soared 129 feet (39.3 metres), defying gravity off the 22-foot flight deck to shatter the Canadian distance record of 86 feet (26.2 metres) originally set in Vancouver in 2006. Putting faith in imagination, ingenuity and a bit of luck earned the Montreal team the ultimate victory which was also judged on creativity and showmanship in front of 30,000 ecstatic, cheering spectators who lined the shore along the Canadian Museum of Civilization in Ottawa-Gatineau. Thirty brave and brainy teams from coast to coast attempted to take flight in their homemade, human-powered flying contraptions with Ottawa’s own This is Bananas taking second place and Bernache da Goose from Gatineau, QC rounding out the top three.
“The flight felt amazing! We were so anxious about our craft even being able to take off that it was a huge weight off our shoulders to see it not only soar, but end up breaking the Canadian Flugtag distance record,” said Hugo Petrin, Pilot of Sally’s Leap of Faith. “We really had no idea just how far we went until after it was all over, but after close to 900 hours building our flying machine for about 10 seconds of flight – it definitely paid off!”
Sally’s Leap of Faith found inspiration for their craft from Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas, and earned the ultimate bragging rights in this soar or sink competition in Ottawa-Gatineau today. While the main objective of all Red Bull Flugtag’s so-called aviators was longest flight distance, celebrity judges Sebastien Toutant, professional slopestyle snowboarder and 2014 Olympic hopeful, and Ottawa Senators defenseman Marc Methot were also looking for the most unusual, head-turning craft, along with the team’s showmanship on stage to crown the overall Flugtag champion.
A special prize was also awarded to Toronto, ON team Das Bull for the People’s Choice based the public’s votes for their favourite team.
"Winning the People’s Choice is a big deal for us because the fans voted just for us, and I think it was our big, bold design that really got the crowd going,” said Brett Molnar, Das Bull Pilot.
FLIGHT RESULTS
First Place: Sally’s Leap of Faith of Montreal, QC
Second Place: This is Bananas of Ottawa, ON
Third Place: Bernache da Goose of Gatineau, QC
People’s Choice: Das Bull of Toronto, ON
Even though the Red Bull Flugtag competitors will likely never fly their craft again, all was not in vain as teams competed for a bevy of amazing prizes. The first place team, Sally’s Leap of Faith (Montreal, QC), walked away with a cash purse of $7,500 while second place This is Bananas (Ottawa, ON) earned a cool $3,000 and Bernache da Goose (Gatineau, QC) at third place won $1,500.
ABOUT RED BULL FLUGTAG
Since its debut in Vienna, Austria in 1992, there have been more than 100 Red Bull Flugtag events held around the globe from Ireland to Israel, and this weekend’s event marked the third time the event has landed in Canada. Vancouver also hosted the event previously in 2006.
FLIGHT PROTOCOL
Rule #1: All flying machines were required to be entirely human-powered! That means no external energy sources or stored power of any kind.
Rule #2: All crafts had to be less than 20 feet in length, 28 feet in wingspan and 10 feet high.
Rule #3: All crafts had to weigh no more than 200 kilos (400 lbs), including the pilot.
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