The Wild Sushi: Red Bull Flugtag Vancouver 2006

Presenting a gallery of Team Sushi Gone Wild’s first meeting where physical labour was required!

Adrienne (left) and Elizabeth draw a perfect circle using a
pencil, string and pin. Our geometry teachers would be
so proud!

Up front: Jenny (left) and Elizabeth
In back: Leonard (left) and Adrienne

Break time!

Leonard acts as the creamy filling between the Oreo cookies.

If ‘Flugtag’ is German for ‘flying day’, you’d think that this competition was all about getting the most flight distance, right?  Well…no.  Red Bull wants to put on an entertaining show first and foremost, which means that they want a variety of flying machines in the competition.

When we met the other B.C. Flugtag teams a couple of weeks ago at a Red Bull sponsored meet-and-greet and saw that out of 20 proposals, approximately 15 were plane-like aircraft, while 5 were ‘funny objects’, we were enlighted.  Since a giant piece of sushi probably wouldn’t get much distance, Team Sushi Gone Wild has concluded that we are in the show for the entertainment value.

That didn’t stop our team from heavily debating whether or not we should try hard for distance.  The idea of a giant foam wing was floated but defeated because it would’ve been such a departure from the original theme.

So, The Wild Sushi will fly as far as a giant sushi can go – but mostly, it will fly in style.

Flugtag is a contest where teams compete to build human-powered flying machines.  (‘Flugtag’ means ‘flying day’ in German).  The aircraft launch off a pier into a body of water in front of tens of thousands of spectators.  Teams are scored based on distance, creativity and showmanship.

The Red Bull Flugtag events started in 1991 in Austria.  Since then, over 50 Flugtag events have been held all over the world.  Vancouver hosts Canada’s first Flugtag on August 19, 2006.

For more info about Red Bull Flugtag events, visit some of The Links on the right side of the page or check out the Wikipedia entry.

What type of person possesses the mindset to want to compete in a zany competition like Flugtag?  Try these 5 persons: Adrienne, Elizabeth, Jenny & Leonard.

We are team Sushi Gone Wild, crew of The Wild Sushi.  (The theme of our aircraft is sushi – or was that obvious?).  We’ve got the guts and we’re going for glory.

Here’s a closer look into the lives of the crew…

Adrienne
Bio: Born in Vancouver, a UBC grad, collects stuffies and hearts kittens!
Likes: Really, really big objects that are shaped like food
Claim to fame: Creator of the Red Bull Sake cocktail

Elizabeth
Bio: Born in Vancouver, the youngest of the group, team’s PILOT!
Hobby: Downloading many, many MP3s and sending them to Jenny
Little known fact: Aspires to be a sushi sous-chef

Jenny
Bio: Born in Vancouver, piano-playing extraordinaire
Occupation: Undercover Edamame Bean Counter
Spare Time: Getting into the golf thang, arts & crafts

Leonard
Bio: Born in Vancouver, only male on the team, tallest team member
Weekend Work: Underground Udon Dealer
Shameless self-promotion: Leonard’s company’s website

Katherine
Bio: Goes to university in Ontario, hurdling experience!
Enjoys: Snowboarding
Hobby: Entering Sushi-Eating competitions

There you have it – the five semi-delusional people who are seeking Flugtag fame!  Did the bios say anything particularly revealing about us?  Probably not.  But what did you expect?  We have to maintain a certain mystique before the big event.

We are team Sushi Gone Wild – makers of The Wild Sushi aircraft for the Red Bull Flugtag event in Vancouver!  We’ll be documenting the progress of the planning and construction of The Wild Sushi – although parts will be kept under wraps to keep things a surprise!

This summer will be unforgetable.  Not many people get a chance to participate in the elite Red Bull Flugtag competitions!  Sushi Gone Wild wants to be the winner of the first Canadian Flugtag event right in our hometown, Vancouver!

We’ll have more info about our team and project as the event draws nearer.

Red Bull Flugtag Vancouver event details:
Saturday, August 19, 2006
False Creek (Science World)
Gate opens at 12pm, Event starts at 2pm

Sushi Gone Wild wants to be a fan favourite and we’d definitely appreciate all forms of $upport!