MILWAUKEE (NBC 26) — Donald Driver along with Paige Forde (Kwik Trip), Nick Lorenz (Snocross), JMatt (HashtagMKE Host) and Janelle Dumott came together to crown the 2022 Red Bull Flugtag winners.
Flugtag is a competition in which teams build homemade flying machines to send off a ramp in hopes to travel the farthest.
Coming from the German word meaning "flying day" the 2022 competition took place in Milwaukee on July 16.
Flying over Lake Michigan, 36 teams competed in front of 50,000 spectators to see which human-powered aircraft could go the distance.
The teams were inspired by all things that make Wisconsin unique, as flying tractors, giant sausages and seven teams named in reverence to the state's famed dairy industry could be seen flying over the lake.
Famed Wisconsin brands could also be seen as the Milwaukee Bucks' Rim Rockers took flight in a basketball-shaped aircraft named "airball" and Kwik Trip piloted a flying version of the beloved banana truck.
"One of the most amazing experiences I've ever been through," said Donald Driver. "This is a very different atmosphere than I'm typically used to, but the judges loved it, the crowd loved it and Wisconsin loved it."
All teams were judged based on three criteria, the creativity and design of their craft, showmanship of their skit before take-off and the distance traveled after taking off from the 27-foot platform.
The winners of the 2022 competition were a group of suburban dads with their Viking-inspired craft, "Flight For Your Right to Party". They were declared champions after completing a 66-foot jump and scoring a perfect 50 from the judge's panel. They also received the sustainability award.
Entering its 30th year, Flugtag began in 1992 over the scenic Danube River in Vienna, Austria. Since then, the event has spread its human-powered wings to 50 countries, 96 cities, and 174 events around the world, and the world-record holder for longest flight achieved a remarkable record of 257.5 feet in 2013.
