October 5, 2003 - More than 40,000 spectators flocked to the Hudson River Park to watch 35 teams of amateur pilots spread their wings at Red Bull Flugtag NYC.
Passionate teacher, Kirk Marshall, who teaches Industrial Technology and Robotics Design at Pennsylvania's Bloomsburg Area High School, has a lot to be proud of today. Kirk's students, who have also successfully participated in BattleBots IQ (the educational version of the BattleBots TV show), took home the gold today as team Pedal Power at Red Bull Flugtag NYC. A resourceful bunch, their glider-shaped plane powered by a bicycle-type assembly was fashioned completely from found or donated materials and flew 39 feet! "This is what teaching and having fun with education is all about," said Marshall.

Albany, NY-based team Mighty Whirl landed 2nd place with their Mighty Mouse melodrama in which the superhero's girlfriend, Pearl Pureheart, was tied to the tracks by dastardly villain, Oil Can Harry. Mighty Mouse arrived in the nick of time and, after rescuing the damsel in distress, flew off the deck (and continued on 36 feet) on a pedal-powered "gyro-copter" and landed into the Hudson River. "On the sea or on the land, he's got the situation well in hand!"

A team of five mechanical engineering students from the Rochester Institute of Technology, third place winners BAMMR's Ballistic Bedrock flew 22 feet in their Flintstones-themed family car. Powered by Dino's (a.k.a. Matthew Rose) own two feet to accelerate and break the wooden chassis, the team added push at take-off by his fur-clad, bone-accessorized pals. Grabbing hold of the car's canopy (which was painted to look like a prehistoric bird), "Dino" hang-glided across the water while the rest of the vehicle detached.

With a squirrel craft (whose wings expanded upon take off) and a stunning choreographed dance, the team Urban Rodeo won "Most Creative," a coveted prize. The five-person team, who share a house in the Columbia Heights area of Washington, DC, included characters such as a cockroach, pigeon, rat, and parking meter. Captain Chris Magnuson donned a cowboy ensemble and rode the squirrel off into the wild blue yonder. Chris, a middle school teacher at Paul Public Charter School in Washington, DC, was very confident about his team's ability to create a flight worthy craft…after all, he said, "My sister's dog hangs out with the dog of a man who read a book about airplanes."