Dozens of home-made flying machines of all shapes and sizes will be plunging into Dubai Creek later this year when the Middle East's first ever Red Bull Flugtag contest wows the crowds.
Teams will be competing to see how far they can fly before their craft comes to grief although for most the emphasis is on fun rather than aeronautical expertise.
A total of 36 teams, each with their own aeroplane, are set to take part in the November 25 event with aircraft propelled by nothing more than human power.
The first Flugtag, which means flying day in German, was held in Austria in 1992. Since then similar contests have held audiences spellbound across Europe and North America.
There were 373 applications from teams for the Dubai event, with the 36 selected on the basis of how clever and original their designs were.
The daredevil pilot in each team, assisted by four ground crew, will be in charge of a machine that weighs a maximum of 200kg and has no auxiliary lifting device or power source. They will run off a six-metre high runway with the aim of gliding as far as possible.
The teams taking part have a range of offbeat names such as Drag & Fly, The Pumpa-Plane and Howzzat.
Indian hotel engineer Vikas Jatana, who is part of the Flying Chef team, said his entry started off "as a bit of fun" but gradually become more serious, and the team of five are now set on winning the first prize of a set of flying lessons.
"The record distance is slightly above 60 metres and we definitely want to beat it, we have a very simple design which took us nearly one month to create, including making a couple of models, first with cardboard then with wood.
"It's a wonderful competition and I think the attraction of it is so great because flying gives you an amazing feeling," he said.
Of the teams, 34 are made up of UAE residents of various nationalities, there is one team from Kuwait and one from Saudi Arabia.
Following last night's official launch of the contest, the event has entered its construction phase which means the teams have three-and-a-half months to build the flying machines themselves.
