Red Bull Paper Wings Final – Where Legends Are Born

bassy123: Red Bull Paper Wings: Where Legends are born

Pre Eliminators: Longest Distance, Longest Airtime, Aerobatics

Although the pilots attending the final were of the highest calibre, there was still the small matter of pre- qualifiers in order to find the crème de la crème….of the crème de la crème, with only 10 of the competitors from each discipline going through to the super finals on the Saturday afternoon.  After a day of fierce competition, the 30 winners had proved themselves worthy of a place in the grand finale, with some exquisite displays of aeronautical mastery. The competition was heating up.

Super Finals: Saturday, 5:30pm

As the Saturday afternoon sun glazed the 1754 pieces of individually crafted glass that make up Hangar 7 (defying the meteorologist’s predictions of torrential downpours), the 30 students fortunate enough to advance to the super-finals looked ready for business, as some clustered together stretching their vital plane throwing muscles, whilst others perfected the very last intricate details on their designs.  Amongst the groups were previous winners Jovica Kozlica of Croatia, Brazilian Diniz Nunes, and Israeli born Sagi Volniansky, all determined to retain their Paper Wings crowns.

Kozlica looked determined to stay no.1 in the longest distance discipline, yet it was not going to be easy as top qualifier and team USA member Mike Opland kept him on his toes taking an early lead with a distance of 54.30 metres.  Yet like all true champions Kozlica stepped up to the plate, delivering a Croatian torpedo right into the hull of Team USA with a throw of 54.43 metres.  13cm was all that was needed for victory, a number that truly is unlucky for some, (especially Mike Opland), as it enabled Kozlica to retain his Longest Distance title.

The Aerobatics discipline was up next, a discipline that required the competitors to use their personalities and performance skills, as well as creativity with A4.  So up stepped Dutchmen in clogs, Germans in drag, and a Japanese competitor who specialised in “Origami aviation”.  The competitor in question was Takeshige Kisshii, a student who managed to mesmerize the crowd with a variety of paper creations.  His designs twisted, turned, spiralled, and somersaulted their way around the arena, a display concluded with a rainbow of “mini” planes, which fluttered their way into the paper performance, earning him the title of “The Japanese genius”.

Finally the Longest air time discipline was up, with Diniz Nunes defending his precious crown against a field of strong competition, especially from fellow Brazilian Leonard Ang. Switzerland’s Michael Kummer took an early lead with some impressive skills, although it was short lived as Ang was preparing to deliver the fatal blow.  Ang’s plane floated majestically around the arena, some wondering whether it would ever return from the upper echelons of the Hangar’s roof., yet when it eventually did it earned him 1st place with 11.66 seconds, allowing him to live up to his motto, “Life is short, play hard”.

So after 1000’s of paper planes, hundreds of enthusiastic students, and a whole lot of Red Bull, the competition came to an end with the dreams of 3 paper aviators being fulfilled.  The Hangar, which had been buzzing for hours on end and cleared of all things paper, finally got its lights turned off on a warm Saturday evening.  Having been built 10 years ago with the purpose of combining imagination and enthusiasm, as well as modern technology with the mythical element of flight, it is safe to say that 10 years on, 3 young aviators have also managed to do just that. Thank you Red Bull.

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