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- Subscribe - Contact Us - Rate Card - Place an Ad Valley&State Backpage O&E Sports Archives Classifieds Faith&Beliefs Obituaries Revels August 4, 2004 Flying van goes over like a ... By Chris Honor Tidings Correspondent About a hundred years ago Wilbur Wright, glancing over at the most improbable of all flying machines, and then across the dunes of Kitty Hawk, turned to his brother and said, "It'll never fly, Orville." Well, he would be wrong. And when anyone casts even a cursory look at the flying machines entered in the international contest called the Flugtag (pronounced floo-tog), they are likely to come up with the same reaction as Wilbur. And what is there about gravity that causes some folks such a problem? Even when confronted with the basic principles of wing design, weight, speed and lift, the creators of these camels of the air remain deeply optimistic. This year's northwest contest was held Saturday at the Tom McCall Waterfront Park in Portland. Four local enthusiasts - Seth Rand, 19, Devon Lyons, 26, Steve Munson, 29, and Jason Koland, 19 - teamed up to design and build their version of a Flugtag flying machine. They called it the "A Team Van," a tube frame, covered with cardboard, some 7-feet high, and painted an ominous black. It looked bad ... meaning good. On top of the van they assembled glider wing, 30 feet from tip to tip, made of Styrofoam and aluminum and covered with stretched sheets of plastic. Seth Rand, ensconced in the cockpit, was at the controls wearing protective headgear, ski goggles, and a life jacket. Here's how it worked: Munson, Lyons and Koland pushed the "A Team" van along an 85-foot launching ramp, the van rolling quickly along on four bicycle wheels. The objective was to achieve a liftoff speed of at least 20 mph. Reaching the end of the ramp, the craft would launch into the air, 30 feet above the Willamette River, hopefully to soar with the seagulls. Or drop like a brick, depending on the elusive laws of physics and flight, all of which would conspire against the "A Team" effort. But for one brief moment, countless hours of planning and construction would hang in the balance. It's a given that all of the creations, from the most elaborate to the most stripped down, would end up in the river. Prior to leaving for the event, Munson commented that, "All we need is to get airborne for 100 feet. Then we're in the money. No one can beat us. The record for the Flugtag is 195 feet. We'll do 100 feet easy." Rand, the pilot, said, "Sure, I'll probably get nervous before liftoff. I put bike handle grips on the controls to make me feel more at home." Rand is an avid biker. The foursome drove all Friday night, arriving in time to queue up for the event. Flugtag, a flying contest that began in Austria in 1999, sponsored by Red Bull energy drink, is a catalyst for some of the most wildly outrageous, flamboyant aircraft designs imaginable. The rules are few and they are simple: The craft must be designed by amateurs and built by volunteers. It can't be wider than 30 feet and weigh more than 450 pounds including the pilot. It must have no mechanical means of propulsion. The judging criteria are as follows: First is distance, meaning, of course, will the craft fly and if so how far. The record is, amazingly enough, 195 feet. Each flying machine is also judged on creativity. The more preposterous the better. There are also points given for showmanship. A skit of sorts must be performed prior to the launch, cementing in the minds of the audience the notion that you don't have to look far to find a group of seriously wacky people who will attempt to declare gravity a bad idea and set out to prove it. The record turnout for Flugtag was in Poland where 250,000 folks gathered to witness the brave young men and women and their flying machines. England has drawn crowds of up to 200,000. Internationally, it is no small event. So, like a bobsled at the Olympics, the van was pushed with all possible effort down the long ramp by the intrepid trio and sent out over the Willamette, Rand struggling with the controls, praying for altitude and lift. If wishes could come into play, the van would fly. And, according to Rand, it did ... and it didn't. Leaving the ramp at 25 mile per hour, it had enough momentum to travel some 60 feet forward and down toward the chilly waters below. Did the "A Team" van ever really fly? According to Lyons, "The van did start to level out and if we'd had ten more feet of elevation, it would have actually flown. We did travel the farthest. But they also judge on creativity and your skit. We were hurting for a good skit." While the "A Team" didn't win or even place, the members were all given heavy white robes with the van's embroidered logo on the back when they climbed out of the water. One of the unwritten rules is that not only does the flying machine get launched from the ramp, but all the pushers follow right behind into the river. Other standout entries, according to Lyons included "Elvis on a Flying Donut." "You had to be there," he said. Hair Force One, which was a bunch of guys with mullets, was another fan favorite. "It is awesome to see all these creative people come together. And the party afterward wasn't bad." Lyons said. The turnout for this years Flugtag was more than 50,000, with many more turned away. DailyTidings.com Home Page Valley&State | Backpage | O&E | Sports | Archives | Weather | Classifieds Columnists | Faith&Beliefs | Obituaries | Revels | Subscribe | Contact Us Copyright 2004 Ashland Daily Tidings and Ottaway Newspapers All Rights Reserved Click Here Site Search: .:Advertisements:. RESOURCES - Mail Tribune News - ODOT Road Cams