“The goal is to fly, not to land” was the motto for the 80 “pilots” who filled the EMU Ballroom on Tuesday night. They strutted their paper airplane skills in an attempt to attend the 2012 National Qualifiers in Salzburg, Austria.@@http://www.visit-salzburg.net/@@
Red Bull Paper Wings@@http://www.redbullpaperwings.com/@@ is a worldwide paper airplane competition that challenges students to create and fly their own paper airplanes, competing in three different categories: distance, hangtime and acrobatics. Out of all contestants, three students — one winner from each category — will represent each business unit on an all-expenses paid trip to the global finals in Austria. And Tuesday night, the Red Bull Paper Wings event paid a visit to campus.
Jeff Fadness, a University student who reached out to help coordinate the event,@@http://www.facebook.com/#!/profile.php?id=1035293157@@ said that the night’s winners would not go straight to the national competition after the night.
“Yes, the students did win these qualifiers,” he said. “But we have to see if it will stand up to the campuses around the country, because they have not all finished their competitions yet.”
The ambiance of the room was unforgettable as videos of last year’s national qualifiers lit up on the screen with elaborate airplanes and competitor’s breakdance moves. Even those who were not involved with the competition designed paper airplanes that seemed to dance around the room to the DJ’s music. One student designed an airplane that was in the shape of a loop and zoomed from one side of the Ballroom to the other.
But it was now time for the competition to begin.
The first competition was distance. The winning plane would fly the longest distance between the lift-off and the landing point within the official air space. Each contestant stepped up to the plate, but only one would come out on top. And with a record 70 feet, University student Matthias Lehmann @@http://directory.uoregon.edu/telecom/directory.jsp?p=findpeople%2Ffind_results&m=student&d=person&b=name&s=Matthias+Lehmann@@took home the gold.
Next came the hangtime competition. Again, the competitors stepped out into the middle of the ballroom. One at a time, the competitors tested the aerodynamics of their masterpieces. Oregon State student Tristan Henry put the rest of the airplanes to shame with a 6.8-second hang time@@http://directory.oregonstate.edu/?type=search&cn=Tristan+Henry+&osudepartment=&mail=&anyphone=@@. This was not his first rodeo, however. Henry won the qualifiers three years ago at Oregon State and even attended the competition in Austria.
“Last year my time held up, and I’m definitely trying to get to Austria again this year,” Henry said.
The meticulous tinkering and meditating over the aviation was coming to a close, however, with the third and final category — acrobatics. For the other two categories, all forms of assistance or supplementary devices are forbidden. But for this category, airplane engineers are allowed to use scissors, glue and other materials.
Again, the players stepped into the middle of the Ballroom and each carefully threw their planes one at a time. You could see the nerves in each competitors eyes as images of Austria flashed in their minds. But University student William Thomas Murphy II@@http://directory.uoregon.edu/telecom/directory.jsp?p=findpeople%2Ffind_results&m=student&d=person&b=name&s=William++Murphy@@ reaped the benefits of his hard work when his intricate aviator earned a perfect score of 100 for perfect construction, creativity and flight.
“I had a pretty cool-looking plane, and I must say I definitely added some flavor when I threw it,” he said. “My friend was the chief engineer, though.”
So, do you think you know the best way to fold a paper airplane? Do you have the arm strength for the longest distance or longest airtime flights? If so, it’s not too late. Red Bull will host another competition this Thursday, March 15, at 7 p.m. in the Old P.E. gym at Western Oregon University.@@http://www.wou.edu/student/hwc/@@
For more information, visit www.redbullpaperwings.com.
Red Bull gives University ‘wings’ with paper airplane competition
Emerald
March 12, 2012
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