Five Local Guys Picked for Redbull’s Philly Flugtag

TOWN BANK — Five buddies from Lower Township were selected to compete in a zany contest sponsored by an energy drink company to build a flying machine that will likely not fly.
Russell Ryan, Brady Lybarger, Adam Kutepow, Frank Holland and Paul Dietterich have constructed a 12-foot high, eight-foot wide cuckoo clock that they plan to push off a 30-foot high “flight deck” into the Delaware River between Camden and Philadelphia as part of Redbull’s Flugtag event over the Labor Day weekend.
“With the wings on, it is 16 feet wide,” Lybarger told the Herald. “But we really don’t expect to fly. Instead, we’re going for a more comedic performance.”
Lybarger said they’ve been creating quite a stir at Ryan’s brother’s house where the cuckoo clock was constructed.
“People have been driving by asking ‘what is that thing? Is it a float or something?’” Lybarger said.
“No, it’s Flugtag,” he tells them. Flugtag means “flying day” in German.
The five friends who range in age from 26-30 are all graduates of Lower Cape May Regional High School.
“We’re big Redbull fans,” Lybarger said. “We’ve got cases of it all the time.”
The guys were one of about 30 teams to be chosen out of 350 applications.
Teams are judged on three criteria: flight distance, creativity of the craft, and showmanship. The winners of the event will take part in a reality show with the winners from other Redbull Flugtag events held in Miami, St. Paul and Long Beach. Lybarger said there’s been a crew from Los Angeles filming them in the days leading up to the Flugtag.
The buddies have their sights set on the People’s Choice award and are asking everyone to vote for them by texting “Team5” to RBULL (72855). “You can vote for us for the peoples choice award as early as 11 a.m. on Fri., Sept. 3, Lybarger said.