The event was hosted in front of 220 000 spectators at the V & A Waterfront on Sunday, December 9.
It was the 123rd edition of the event internationally since its beginnings in Vienna, Austria, 20 years ago. Red Bull Flugtag challenges teams create human-powered flying machines and to pilot them off a 6m-high ramp in the hopes of achieving flight, which rarely happens.
The Jam Factory team started to build and design their flying machine in October this year. They selected a slingshot device, which essentially shoots the 'pilot' into the air by means of a ramp, rope and pulley system. The idea for this unique flying machine was inspired by the Angry Birds game application that has taken the world by storm.
The Jam Factory team personally loved the idea of building a life-size Angry Birds slingshot, which is what led to the hatching of their flugzeug. A 3m-high slingshot was crafted along with an 8m-long ramp that would act as the sling. Angry Birds banners were hand-drawn and painted to decorate the sides of the ramp to make it look as if the slingshot was standing in the green battlefields of the Angry Birds game world.
"It was quite an honour for our design to be selected from over 500 entries by the competition organisers," says Jam Factory CEO, Etienne Bruwer. "The team put in a lot of effort over weekends and after hours and we are very proud of our ultimate achievement."
The first test flights were conducted at Thesen Island's harbour wall, using a 50kg sandbag 'dummy', before Jam Factory's test pilot, Marten Terblanche, aka Red Bird, got a chance to earn his wings.
He stated, "I was chosen because I am the lightest person in the office, including the girls. I couldn't wait to get shot from the catapult again. It was an awesome experience to fly through the air; the back-flip was not intentional but it was fun. I would do it again anytime.”
The Red Bull Flugtag competition is judged on creativity (based on craft design and theme), showmanship (the show the team puts on before the big jump) and the distance achieved. Although Marten only 'flew' about 17.6m from the 6m high stand at the Waterfront, the team’s creative approach and strong team spirit 'sling-shot' them into second place - which many locals argued should have been first.
Congratulations to the entire team: Marten Terblanche (pilot and Red Bird), Janco Theron (co-pilot and Blue Bird), Etienne Bruwer (co-pilot and Black Bird), Karel Bruwer (co-pilot and Yellow Bird), Chanté Lesch (flight attendant), Chantal de Winter (flight attendant) and Dawid van der Hoven (flight attendant).
Red Bird, fearless Jam Factory pilot Marten Terblanche, being catapulted into a crowd-pleasing back-flip at the V&A Waterfront.
