Red Bull is an energy drink and they have been hosting the Red Bull Flugtag since 1991 in Austria.  Flugtag (pronounced FLOOG-TOG) is a german word that means "flying day."  The Red Bull Flugtag event is FREE and has travelled around the world visiting over 30 countries and attracts crowds of up to 300,000 people.  Tampa has hosted the Red Bull Flugtag in 2008 where it attracted over 110,000 people and will be hosting Red Bull Flugtag 2011 on October 8 as the only United States event this year.

Red Bull Flugtag Tampa had 240 team applications in which it has been narrowed down to 40 teams (made up of up to 5 people) from arround the world with a team from the UK.  The themes vary widely ranging from flying chickens to UFOs to Harry Potter themed aircraft.  The 2008 Tampa Red Bull Flugtag champs, Team Tampa Baywatch, had an amazing flight of 109 ft (world record is currently 207 ft) and will be returning this year as Willy Wonka's Amazing Flying Adventure.  While distance is something the engineers want, it is not what determines the winner.

Red Bull Flugtag contestants are judged on three things: distance flown, creativity of the craft, and the showmanship of the team on the runway.  There is also a people's choice which is decided by the fans through text votes.  With the flying craft, size does matter as it can be no longer than 30 feet and weigh no more than 450 pounds.  As for launching off the runway, the machines have to be completely human powered and cannot involve any external energy sources (teams are incouraged to drink Red Bull for energy boost).

Are you excited yet?  Red Bull Flugtag Tampa 2011 is on October 8 and the hangers open at 11am with first flight at 1pm.  Make sure to check out the tips for parking and viewing areas to help you enjoy this event.  Here is a complete listing of the Tampa Red Bull Flugtag teams:

  • 98Rock’s Flying Zoltans
  • Accrisoft
  • Anchors Away
  • Babes of Brick House
  • Barry Potter and the Curse of the Deathly Shallows
  • College Hunks Hauling Junk
  • Eat Your Veggies
  • Fireflyers
  • FLAQ Attack
  • Flying Elbow Drop
  • Free Range Flyers
  • Gods of Rock
  • If Your Gunna Be Dumb, You Gotta Be Tough
  • Octoberfest
  • Pirates of the Care Free Being
  • Red Eagle Racers
  • Sigma Chi Tellytubys
  • Stay Classy, Tampa Bay
  • Stumble Force – Android Wings
  • Suncoast Quuad Squad Roller Derby
  • Tampa Bay Lightning
  • Team ((Shake)) It Off
  • Team Biggest and Baddest
  • Team BigStuff
  • Team Super Mario Bros
  • Team Turbo Jorts
  • The 2nd Basemen Team
  • The Butterfly Effect
  • The Flying Sombrer-Bros
  • U.S.A Team
  • UFO
  • UMiami Hurricane Engineers
  • Walgreens/American Diabetes Association
  • Where Shopping is a Pleasure
  • Willy Wonka’s Amazing Flying Flugtag Adventure
  • World of Lewis