ABU DHABI, 11 December 2007 — Abu Dhabi Higher College of Technology (HCT) flew home with the 2007 Red Bull Flugtag UAE title on Friday after 30 teams slugged it out at Dubai Creek Park. About 53,000 spectators watched the event.
With pilot Mike Davidson in the cockpit, the HCT team of teachers — flying the aptly named Snoopy vs. the Red Bull — triumphed after seeing their homemade, engine-less aircraft fly some 21m over Dubai Creek after being launched from a custom-built runway 6m above the water.
It may not have been the furthest distance of the day — that went to runners-up Fantastic 5 with 24m — but combined with scores for creativity and presentation it was enough to give the Snoopy vs. the Red Bull team a combined total of 168.5 points, the coveted title and the prize of a Private Pilot Training Course.
In an event held with the support of Sheikh Hamdan ibn Mohammed ibn Rashid Al Maktoum, second place went to the Fantastic 5 on 166.5, while the flying pterodactyl of Team Jurassic claimed third place on 163. It was a fitting end to months of toil that saw 160 teams enter before the final 30 made it from the drawing board to the runway.
Snoopy vs. the Red Bull was one of two entries from the Abu Dhabi Higher
College of Technology and winning pilot Davidson was quick to praise the efforts of his students Ahmed Al Mosabi, Mohammed Al Marzouqi, Abdullah Mohammed Al Belushi, Abdullah Mohammed Al Jabri and Jasim Ismael Al Hossani who scored 151 in their aircraft UAE Aviators.
“This was a big team effort and I’m delighted for everyone involved,” he said. “Our chief designer Hamid Sabeti-Mehr did a great job, while we have to say a big thank you to Abu Dhabi Aircraft Technologies and Abu Dhabi Police who sponsored the two teams. The students’ aircraft went before us and we were able to see little things from their flight that we could adapt to benefit our attempt.”
Despite failing in their bid to upstage their teachers, the Abu Dhabi students were the first to congratulate their teammates.
“These young men have been magnificent,” added Davidson. “They have studied in class all day and then come back in the evening to spend hours working on the models and the actual aircraft. There is no doubt this has been a team effort by everyone involved and we are delighted to win for Abu Dhabi.”
While the aviation engineering expertise of the Abu Dhabi HCT played a key role in their win, the day was as much about fun as it was about flying and physics. Ranging in design from dinosaurs and dhows to camels and penguins, 30 aircraft of all shapes and sizes were rolled along the 25m runway and into the Creek below — much to the delight of the massive crowd that stretched along the banks of Dubai Creek.
Defending champions Cre8tive Too saw their title defense sink into the waters of Dubai Creek with a disappointing flight well short of their 2005 winning distance, despite a brilliant pre-flight performance of Riverdance, while other pre-flight runway highlights included sketches based on hit movies Star Wars, Pirates of the Caribbean and Happy Feet.
As well as being awarded marks out of ten for both creativity and for their pre-take off performance, the teams also received five points for every meter of the Creek covered although on the day the seven year-old record of 57.4m was never threatened.
“We spent around five to six months getting ready for the Red Bull Flugtag so today has made it all worthwhile,” said Snoopy vs. the Red Bull pilot Davidson. “I think we have all learned something — both students and teachers — and had a great day out at the same time.”
