Document text
52 °F Forecast | Road Cams Wednesday, February 25, 2004 Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map EXTRA Newspaper in Education Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People CLASSIFIEDS Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Find a Rental Place an ad eSouthernOregon Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar CUSTOMER SERVICE Frequent Questions Advertising Information Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Network Affiliate Email Story to a Friend October 21, 2003 Flug Tag competitors, from left, Ryan Stowasser, Devon Lyons and Jason Hutchins and others are building a covered wagon, in background, that they will attempt to fly over San Francisco Bay as part of a unique and entertaining competition. Mail Tribune / Jim Craven Better than a radio flyer Rogue Valley team hopes to win the prize with its covered wagon airship in an offbeat San Francisco event By MARK FREEMAN Mail Tribune When Devon Lyons of Ashland launches his makeshift airship over San Francisco Bay on Saturday, he’ll have no expectations of true muscle-powered flight. But he hopes to fall with enough grace and rustic style to beat the pants off a skiing snowman and a flying pimp hat. Lyons will attempt to "fly" a winged Oregon Trail-like covered wagon off a runway 30-feet above the bay during a human-powered flight competition Saturday that begs the question, are morphing caterpillars and winged wagons really meant to fly? "I guess it’s really about who can fall the slowest," says Lyons, a 25-year-old extreme sportsman. "Hopefully, I can set it in for a nice, soft landing." Advertisement Lyons and four Rogue Valley friends are the only Oregon entrants in the upcoming Red Bull Flug Tag, an eclectic mix of performance art and physics that asks entrants to create the most funky, unique and entertaining winged thing imaginable. Immensely popular in Europe, it invaded America last year, drawing more than 20,000 people to witness the wackiness in San Francisco Bay last year. This year, Lyons’ group is spoofing the Oregon Trail by building a 4-by-7-foot covered wooden wagon with two 15-foot wings of wood and foam. With Lyons at the helm, his four friends will then launch him off the runway on a cascading course to the bay — with style points as important as distance. "If we keep it level and floating, I think we can get out 100 feet and have a shot at winning this," Lyons says. "Last year’s winner in San Francisco went 43 feet." Among the 35 entrants, whoever glides the farthest with the most creativity and showmanship wins an enrollment in flight school, or $7,500. The Flug Tag, which is German for Flying Day, and is the brainchild of the makers of Red Bull, a hopped-up energy drink that sponsors these events as much to promote its "Red Bull Gives You Wings" ad pitch as it is to offer a little levity in this get-you-down world. Austrian-based Red Bull offered its first Flug Tag there 12 years ago, and similar events quickly sprang up across Europe. "Red Bull is known for being involved in extreme and, well, off-the-wall events," says Flug Tag publicist Melissa Cooper. It’s also quite off the runway. First, entrants perform a two-minute skit involving their airship’s theme on the flat 80-foot runway. For the crescendo, up to four people launch the one-person airship to its watery destiny. "They can be pretty crazy," Cooper says. Lyons and friends became interested this summer when a Red Bull salesman in Oregon asked them to sign up for the upcoming Flug Tag. They joined about 200 teams who pitched their themes, skits and designs to Red Bull. Lyons teams with Garret Kovach, Steve Munson, Ivan Piesh, and Ryan Stowasser. Their skit spoofs Oregon’s hillbilly image to the hilt and is accompanied by a two-minute sound track mixed by Piesh, a disc jockey. "We’re going to wear overalls and fake teeth and run around like rednecks," Lyons says. "We’ll make some slapstick." And then comes the splash. "Thirty feet’s not that far to fall, but I weigh 200 pounds and I might be too heavy to float this thing," Lyons says. "Maybe I need to find some other sucker to fly it." Reach reporter Mark Freeman at 776-4470, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2004 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions Website Feedback 3 WEEKS FREE! ADVERTISERS A D V E R T I S E R S RESOURCES Oregon Road Conditions & Cams SPECIAL SECTIONS Auto Finder Job Finder Home Finder Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Tempo Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Since We Asked Food for Thought Wellness Connection Outdoor Journal Moving to Southern Oregon? Volunteer Opportunities Prime Times