They'll be flying, falling into the lake on Saturday

Jessica Wanke The Arizona Republic Apr. 27, 2006 12:00 AM

If you happen to be driving past Tempe Town Lake this weekend and see a 6-foot-long fish flying through the air, you're not hallucinating.

Piloted by Speedo-and-cape-clad staffers from Mill Avenue's RA Sushi, The Flying Fish is one of 30 airborne contraptions that will be competing in the Red Bull Flgtag on Saturday.

Flgtag, pronounced "floog-tog," means "flying day" or "air show" in German. Created to be a promotional event for Red Bull - the carbonated energy drink that has the slogan: "Red Bull gives you wiiiings!" - the Flgtag has transformed into a show of creativity and engineering ability.

The first Red Bull Flgtag, the brainchild of company founder Dietrich Mateschitz, took place in 1991 in Vienna. More than 30 have been produced around the world since.

The Tempe Flgtag has attracted teams from across the Southwest and beyond. These teams have poured time, money and imagination into building everything from a soaring dog-shaped "Shaggin Waggin" to a gliding A-Team van, operated by five Mr. Ts.

"We were trying to decide who would be the respective members of the A Team and we had a big fight, so we all decided to be Mr. T," said Doug Collins, owner and operator of The Tavern bar and restaurant on Mill Avenue. His team chose The A-Team theme, because "We're all super '80s kids."

Flgtag rules dictate that all crafts entered must be homemade and human powered. The creations will be launched, one at a time, off a platform about 30 feet above the lake. The contraptions will be judged based on distance, creativity and showmanship.

The teams, which hail from Arizona, Utah, California, Texas, New Mexico, Colorado, Washington, Oregon, Arkansas and Ohio, were selected from an initial pool of more than 200 applicants.

"No matter where we go, you will always find witty, creative and really gutsy people," said Nyla Wilkins, a Red Bull spokeswoman. "Tempe is shaping up to be an amazing event with a lot of personality behind it."

Having a creative idea was only the first step in the process, teams were selected also on their ability to engineer and build their designs.

The team members from RA Sushi, a manager, bar back, busser and bartenders, pooled their talents to construct their flying fish. Restaurant manager Logan Durfee tapped into his experience building custom cars and motorcycles.

Their project has been far more involved than they had anticipated. The team has invested more than $600 and three months into building their Flgtag entry.

"We actually tested it off of my buddy's roof into his pool and it didn't work out too well," Durfee said. "So we're just giving this one shot, we really don't have a test or trial and error part, because if we mess up (once more) we're going to have to start all over again."

The grand prize is a pilot's training course, valued at $7,500. Runnersup will come away with skydiving lessons and paragliding lessons, for second and third place, respectively.

Spectators can watch for free from Tempe Beach Park. Gates open at 11 a.m. and the first craft flies at 1 p.m.

"Everyone who goes to the event is going to have a great time," Wilkins said, "the teams are going to put on a great show."