NASHVILLE, TN – Amateur teams from across the Southeast piloted homemade flying machines into the Cumberland River during Red Bull Flugtag’s return to the Music City. More than 60,000 spectators watched Red Bull Flugtag’s return to Nashville for its 10-year anniversary.

Team Ground Control. Image courtesy of Red Bull.

Team Ground Control beat out 35 other crafty competitors by flying a human-powered machine—appropriately resembling an airplane—through the sky for an impressive 81 feet from the 25-foot-high flight deck. Team Smashville of the Nashville Predators snagged the People’s Choice Award, a coveted prize awarded by fans throughout the event weekend and on site via social media.

Team Smashville of the Nashville Predators snagged the People’s Choice Award. Image courtesy of Red Bull.

“We are a Middle Tennessee-based team so winning Red Bull Flugtag in Nashville was a particularly amazing experience,” said Allen McGhan of Team Ground Control. “The energy of the crowd and bonding with other teams made the whole experience one we’ll never forget.”

Among the unique spectacles spotted soaring in front of the Nashville skyline were a Dolly Parton effigy, grown men in diapers, and the aptly named “Woo Hoo” team, a pedal tavern full of inflatable bachelorettes.

Thirty-six teams from Nashville and surrounding areas put months of thought, planning, design, and muscle into their crafts, costumes, and skits. Distance wasn’t the only measure in which the participants were judged. Creativity and showmanship were also considered, with each team performing a choreographed skit to their choice of song before launching their craft off the flight deck in hopes of flying over the Cumberland.

“It’s amazing seeing the city come together for another great event,” said Smashville’s pilot, Maverick Whited.

“The entire Red Bull Flugtag event was a once in a lifetime experience, and another win for the Preds!”

Red Bull Flugtag (“Flying Day” in German) has been taking place in different cities all over the world since 1992. An over-the-top and often hilarious event, Red Bull Flugtag combines teamwork, creativity, and the love of flight and fun to produce an occasion to be remembered.

Final Team Rankings:
1. Ground Control
2. His Majesties Royal Circus and the Flying Irish Woman
3. YMCA