Pentacon 200/4 and an accident at Red Bull Flugtag Romania

praxis · Joined: 06 Apr 2010 Posts: 22 Location: Bucharest, Romania

I must say I'm not impressed by the pentacon, it has a lot of chromatic aberrations at any aperture and it's quite difficult to focus.
The competition took place in Bucharest yesterday. The girl in the first two pictures fell on top of the "piano" and suffered a spinal fracture Sad

More pictures can be found here: http://photographyfactor.blogspot.com/2010/09/red-bull-flugtag.html

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Orio · Expire: 2012-12-04

praxis · Joined: 06 Apr 2010 Posts: 22 Location: Bucharest, Romania

The aim is to get the longest flight with a homemade flying machine. The flying machines are usually launched off a pier about 30 feet (9.1 m) high into the sea/lake or in this case river. Most competitors enter for the entertainment value, and their creations rarely fly at all.
The first Red Bull Flugtag competition was held in 1991 in Vienna, Austria. It was such a success that it has been held every year since and in over 35 cities all over the world.

Orio · Expire: 2012-12-04

Was that piano thing a part of her flying machine?
You were very fast in capturing her accident.

Luckily this contest is not arrived here yet. It looks pretty silly.

mo · Expire: 2016-07-30

This competition was around years before in the 80s as a flying birdman contest same ideas no sponsors such as red bull....and NO pianos Shocked

praxis · Joined: 06 Apr 2010 Posts: 22 Location: Bucharest, Romania

I found the info about the competition on wikipedia... and you're right - it's degenerated and it's now a parade of nutjobs jumping from a platform.
There were two injuries, the second was more "superficial" - the next guy banged his head against the "airplane" a fraction of a second after I took the picture. After this the competitors got scared and started throwing just the "machines" and jumping afterwards in the water.