Red Bull Flugtag thrills 100 000 at Cape Town comeback

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After 13 years, Red Bull Flugtag returned to the Mother City and proved once again that aviation belongs to engineers… and absolute optimists.

Crowds of more than 100 000 packed the V&A Waterfront to watch 43 teams launch homemade flying machines off Jetty 1. Designs ranged from smart and slick to “assembled ten minutes before take-off”. Confidence levels remained unmatched throughout.

Teams came from across South Africa, showing up with creativity, flair, and the kind of boldness that says, “We tested this once in our driveway. It’ll fly.”

Judges, stars, and one impressive splash radius

Competitors leapt from a nine-metre ramp and were judged on distance, creativity, and sportsmanship. The panel included B-girl Courtnaé Paul, spinner Sam Sam, Ling Ling, Okay Wasabi, and Red Bull athlete Tati Zulu.

Hosts Mpho Popps and Siv Ngesi kept the crowd laughing, while Red Bull aerobatic champion Patrick Davidson gave the sky its own show. The Safair Red Bull Flugtag aircraft looping over the V&A sealed the spectacle.

Thunderstruck takes the win

Team Thunderstruck won the day, flying an impressive 19 metres before the inevitable splashdown. Pilot Scott Ternant said:

“Two of our team members took part in 2012, and we had such a blast. We knew we had to come back with a bigger team. Winning feels incredible. Red Bull is iconic, and coming out on top is amazing.”

Cape Town waits 13 years. Cape Town gets rewarded.

Flugtag delivered soaring (and sinking) moments that turned the V&A Waterfront into a carnival of pure South African joy. Every team got wet. No one complained. And the crowd cheered for every launch, crash, and wildly confident leap of faith.

Flugtag isn’t about flying. If something flies, great. If not, even better. The event is a celebration of creativity, courage, and the simple pleasure of watching spectacular ideas come to life and meet the Atlantic Ocean.

Forty-three teams learned one truth: building a flying machine is easy. Building one that flies is another story. But they built. They launched. They splashed. And they reminded Cape Town why this chaos was worth the wait.