At the Red Bull Flugtag, on a sparklingly sunny Sydney Sunday, the blue-ribbon dreams of the plane built using Starleaton’s 3A Gatorfoam, Enviroboard MR and Morane encapsulation film came crashing down when the aircraft failed to detach from the launching trolley.
The weight of the trolley that refused to let the aerodynamically-perfect plane go, proved too much and it, pilot James Vesper and 3 pushers including Ben Eaton, were sent directly down to Davey Jones’ locker!
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| Into the drink she goes!!!! |
One of 40 contestants, the team known as TVP, featured on Channel 7’s Sunrise programme before the event, interviewed by Mike Whitney who hosted the whole day.
The good news was that, for entertainment value, the team scored 10-10-10-10 from the judges as they strutted their stuff dressed as Bavarian….girls. Ben Eaton look particularly stunning with blonde pigtails and a green Drindl dress!
“We gave it our best shot,” says Eaton, “but the Gremlins got to us at a crucial moment and the launch trolley dragged us down. It was a day of tremendous fun an entertainment though.”
Another wide-format industry entrant – Hybrid Signs – was spotted with their Batplane entry, which like most of the entries, also nose-dived into the harbour.
The winner was Team SAAA from Victoria with their Thunderbird entry which also broke the Australian distance record at 22 metres flown. Their having as Captain, the Director of Aircraft Structural Integrity from RAAF Laverton might have helped!
Second went to a Ned Kelly-themed plane and third was a Flying Dunny. Would Eaton do Red Bull Flugtag again? With Terminator-resolve, he says “We’ll be back- that’s a promise.”
Starleaton Digital Solutions
www.starleaton.com.au
