Miami · October 31, 2026 · In progress
Red Bull Flugtag
Preparing with The Embry Riddlers for Red Bull Flugtag Miami on October 31, 2026, combining aircraft fabrication with a coordinated team performance.
- My role
- Team fabrication, choreography & music
- Objective
- Prepare The Embry Riddlers for the Miami competition
- Tools & methods
- Hands-on fabrication · Performance planning
- Current result / status
- Preparing for October 31, 2026
The Miami competition
Red Bull Flugtag Miami is scheduled for October 31, 2026, at Bayfront Park on Biscayne Bay. Teams build human-powered flying machines and launch them from an elevated flight deck over the water. Judging combines flight distance, creativity, and showmanship, so the challenge involves both the aircraft and the team’s presentation.
I’m preparing with The Embry Riddlers at Embry-Riddle. Our Batman/Riddler theme connects the craft’s appearance with costumes, music, and a pre-launch routine. The project is currently in preparation for the Miami event.
My contribution
My responsibilities include hands-on fabrication, choreographing the team’s 30-second routine, and coordinating the music. I contribute to the physical build while helping prepare a performance that fits our theme and timing.
The project brings construction and team coordination together under a competition deadline. The fabrication work has to support a lightweight craft, while the performance requires everyone to understand their role and move together.
Designing within the rules
The competition turns an open-ended concept into a constrained engineering problem. Red Bull’s published Miami rules establish requirements for propulsion, mass, construction, and participant safety.
| Published requirement | Design implication |
|---|---|
| Human power only | No motors or stored-energy launch assistance. Launch and flight depend on the team’s push and the craft’s design. |
| 400 lb combined limit | The aircraft and pilot share the weight allowance, making structural mass and material choices important. |
| Team-designed and team-built | Prefabricated aircraft cannot be adapted as the entry. The team develops and constructs its own craft. |
| Water entry and escape | The craft must float, avoid toxic materials, and allow the pilot to exit readily. Designs are subject to the event safety team’s inspection. |
These constraints connect fabrication with requirements-driven design: balancing low weight, structural integrity, material suitability, and practical assembly. The finished craft must also work with the theme and performance.