Homemade aircrafts launched -- and crashed -- over Lake Michigan at "Flugtag" event

Silence fell over the crowd at Veterans Park on Saturday as Ashton Krepelka tightened her grip on the handlebars of her flying machine. 30,000 spectators stood silent, waiting for her next move.

“3, 2, and…” the announcer paused, waiting for the moment to swell.

“Go!”

Her team, MKE Strong, gathered around the base of their aircraft and rushed forward, pushing it at full speed. But the “Leonardo Da MKE” struggled to approach the edge of the 27 feet tall platform, and for a second, appeared as if the wind would scoop it up off the runway. The crowd held its breath, waiting for Krepelka to ascend into the cloudy sky.

Instead, the aircraft crumbled into pieces and toppled into Lake Michigan.

Flugtag — named after the German word for "flying day" — is an annual event hosted by Red Bull that invites participants to design, build and launch their own human-powered airships.

The tradition began in 1992 over the Danube River in Vienna, Austria. Red Bull has since held Flugtag every year since, with this summer’s festivities taking place in Milwaukee. The city joins a long list of national and global Flugtag hosts including Hong Kong, San Francisco, Rome and Dubai.

34 teams — or “gravity deniers” — pushed their crafts to the end of a flight deck. A designated pilot remained on board as their inventions either soared to new heights or crashed directly into the water.

Nearly every team was from Wisconsin, aside from four crews that travelled from Ohio, Minnesota, Utah and Arkansas. To participate, each team submitted an application and was chosen based on how innovative or inventive their design was. All crafts met the criteria set forth by Red Bull. No motors, batteries, rockets or elastic bands are allowed — all aircrafts had to be completely human powered.

However, distance traveled wasn’t the only factor being considered. Judges also scored on the aesthetic design of the craft, and, most importantly, pageantry.

“When you do Dancing with the Stars, when you do football, you feel the physical side,” said Donald Driver, one of Red Bull’s guest judges. “But you know you also need the entertainment. So that’s what I’m looking for. All entertainment.”

The flight crews at Milwaukee’s first Flugtag heard Driver’s message loud and clear. Five cow-inspired crafts, a giant paper airplane and a “Cheddar than the Rest” mobile were present.

All teams prepared either a brief skit or choreography to perform before launching their aircraft, with many donning matching outfits. The “Flying Schmeat” team dressed to impress, arriving to the hangar in hotdog costumes with their bratwurst-shaped flying machine in tow.

“It’s kind of a secret, but our plan involves lots of meat, lots of flips, lots of goofing off,” Anthony Balistreri of the Schmeat team stated ahead of the competition. “We want to win but we also want to make sure all the people here have a good time. That’s what it’s all about.”

“We did some calculations. We’re getting to at least the other side of the lake, maybe all the way to Detroit,” teammate Quinn Brousseau added.

The Flying Schmeat flew 39 feet.

The longest flight at a Flugtag ever recorded was 257.5 feet, which was performed by The Chicken Whisperers at Long Beach in 2013. Milwaukee’s aircrafts were not so lucky. Few cleared 20 feet, with Krepelka and the rest of the MKE Strong team putting up a zero.

“Everyone’s safe and we put on a show. That’s what we came here to do. Of course it's a bit disappointing, but at the end of the day, everyone still had a good time,” teammate Patrick Stockwell said. “We’ll take a ‘W’ on that and an ‘L’ on distance.”

With a perfect score from all judges, including the discerning Driver, “Flight For Your Right to Party” was awarded first place with their Viking-inspired craft after achieving an impressive flight distance of 66 feet. They also received the event’s sustainability award for their use of reused materials, which was presented by Adam Tindall-Schlicht, director of Port Milwaukee.

Flying Schmeat indeed won the hearts of audience members, taking home the 2022 Flugtag People’s Choice Award.

“I don’t have words… I have so much water in my throat right now,” Flight For Your Right’s pilot said. “It felt like I was flying. I don’t know. I’ve been freaked out for weeks about this. But we did it!”

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Homemade, man-powered aircrafts take off at Milwaukee “Flugtag”