August 9, 2003 - An estimated 70,000 spectators descended upon the Chicago lakefront today to witness the first Red Bull Flugtag Chicago. In a human-powered attempt at flying, 35 amateur pilots of handmade flying machines launched their theme-designed crafts off a 25-foot high flight ramp, only to ceremoniously drop into Lake Michigan at Monroe Harbor.

The day saw a flying lobster, a flying Chicago-style hot dog, and a giant papier-mache Harry Caray; but it was Sync, Swim or Fly, a flying craft themed after Grant Park’s Buckingham Fountain, that took home the grand prize.

"It was a good combination - know how to build a plane, know how to build a skit," said winning pilot Matt Gibbs, who performs variety show skits for charity with his Sync, Swim or Fly teammates, who live in Chicago, Wilmette and Winnetka, Ill.

The five-man team - donned in pink-dyed boxer briefs, tank tops, tennis shoes, and feather boa caps - performed a water ballet-type routine to a Frank and Nancy Sinatra tune atop the 30-foot by 100-foot flight deck.

Then with the crowd’s approval, they flipped the gray, polystyrene-constructed craft into a flying machine with wings and launched it into the swirling lakefront breeze. Sync, Swim or Fly flew 51 feet with Gibbs at the helm.

As the winning team, Gibbs and his teammates must choose between one pilot’s training course or $7,500 to split as a group. Despite their winnings, team captain and craft engineer James Bychowski says money wasn’t the lure to participate in Red Bull Flugtag.

"It’s just a pile of fun," said Bychowski.

Jake & Elwood (Chicago, Ill.), a craft themed after the Chicago-based Blues Brothers movie placed second and Kicken’ Chicken (Glenview, Ill.) finished third. Candy Flyer (Chicago, Ill.), which dispensed human PEZ® candy prior to flight, won the most creative prize.