Chickens really can fly.
Representing the Bay Area, a team of engineers calling themselves the Chicken Whisperers soared 258 feet in their human-powered aircraft at the National Red Bull Flugtag in Long Beach on Saturday, capturing first place and eclipsing the world record set last year by 29 feet.
“We had high expectations, but I think it exceeded all of our expectations,” said Nate Herse, 31, of San Francisco. “It was amazing to sit up there and watch it keep going and going and going.”
A crowd of 110,000 people witnessed the impressive feat at Rainbow Harbor. Additional competitions were staged the same day in Miami, Dallas-Fort Worth, Chicago and Washington, D.C.
Employed by the same Mountain View-based aerospace startup, the five members of the Chicken Whisperers and a cadre of volunteers spent their free time over the past four months building an 85-pound aircraft out of foam, aluminum tubing and balsawood for the Flugtag, which is German for “flying day.”
According to the rules, their hang glider-like contraption had to be less than 30 feet wide and weigh no more than 400 pounds, including the pilot.
“We didn’t quite know what to expect,” Herse said. “A normal airplane, you would do a lot of staggered testing and do a lot of adjustment to make sure it was flying right. We really didn’t have that ability.”
Herse said conditions at the competition were more challenging than he expected them to be. The launch pad, for instance, was much closer to the water than the one a German team leapt off of last year to set the previous record of approximately 229 feet. A crosswind or tailwind would have forced pilot Laura Shane, 27, of San Francisco, into a dive with no chance of recovery.
“When you take that into account,” Herse said, “the distance and the world record mean a whole lot more.”
While the Chicken Whisperers viewed the world record as the real prize, they will get a chance to skydive with three members of the Red Bull Air Force for taking first place among the 28 teams that competed in Long Beach.
For now, the team is reveling in its success and hasn’t really discussed whether it wants to enter the competition next year.
“To be honest, it was a long, difficult build process. We were all pretty worn out by the end of it,” Herse said. “It was awesome, but it just about destroyed my life for the last four months.”
But the challenge to break their record might be too much to resist.
“We know there’s room for improvement,” said Herse, adding that a pedal-powered aircraft is a logical next step. “We know we could beat our own record if we did all the right things.”
Email Jason Green at jgreen@dailynewsgroup.com; follow him at twitter.com/jgreendailynews.
For more information about the Chicken Whisperers and the National Red Bull Flugtag, visit www.redbullflugtagusa.com.
