Birdman Rally is a competition where members of the public build home-made gliders,

hang glider Hang gliding is an air sport or recreational activity in which a pilot flies a light, non-motorised, fixed-wing heavier-than-air aircraft called a hang glider. Most modern hang gliders are made of an aluminium alloy or composite frame covered ...

s and

human-powered aircraft A human-powered aircraft (HPA) is an aircraft belonging to the class of vehicles known as human-powered transport. As its name suggests, HPAs have the pilot not only steer, but power the aircraft (usually propeller-driven) by means of a system ...

, ranging from very serious aircraft to mere costumes, leap from a river– or sea–side jetty, or from a bridge, and compete for distance and entertainment value. Birdman rallies occur in multiple locations around the world, including

Bognor Regis Bognor Regis (), also known as Bognor, is a town and seaside resort in West Sussex on the south coast of England, south-west of London, west of Brighton, south-east of Chichester and east of Portsmouth. Other nearby towns include Littleham ...

and

Worthing Worthing ( ) is a seaside town and borough in West Sussex, England, at the foot of the South Downs, west of Brighton, and east of Chichester. With a population of 113,094 and an area of , the borough is the second largest component of the Br ...

in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, the

Yarra River The Yarra River or historically, the Yarra Yarra River, (Kulin languages: ''Berrern'', ''Birr-arrung'', ''Bay-ray-rung'', ''Birarang'', ''Birrarung'', and ''Wongete'') is a perennial river in south-central Victoria, Australia. The lower st ...

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

, Australia and

Lake Biwa is the largest freshwater lake in Japan. It is located entirely within Shiga Prefecture (west-central Honshu), northeast of the former capital city of Kyoto. Lake Biwa is an ancient lake, over 4 million years old. It is estimated to be the 13 ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

and in China, which has been created by regular entrants in the Bognor Regis event.

History

The oldest Birdman rally in the world started in

Selsey Selsey () is a seaside town and civil parishes in England, civil parish, about south of Chichester, West Sussex, England. Selsey lies at the southernmost point of the Manhood Peninsula, almost cut off from mainland Sussex by the sea. It is in ...

West Sussex West Sussex is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Surrey to the north, East Sussex to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Hampshire to the west. The largest settlement is Cr ...

in 1971. Moved to Bognor Regis, where it was known as the International Bognor Birdman throughout the 1980s and 1990s, the event moved along the coast to Worthing in 2008 and since 2010 annual rallies have been held in both Bognor Regis and Worthing. The Australian competition first started in 1972 in Glenelg,

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...

but now occurs as a part of Melbourne's Moomba festival in March. Starting in 1973, the Dutch edition (called 'Vlieg er eens uit') led to a series of TV shows called Te land, ter zee en in de lucht (On land, at sea and in the air) which ran until 2011. From 1977 onwards, the Dutch TV series not only featured a Birdman, but among others a bath tub race, walking on water and reverse gear car racing. In New Zealand, the Birdman Rally ran from 1974 to 1979 and beyond including 2013, 2015, 2017, 2019. Festival organiser Martin Wilson ran them as an annual event on the

Wellington Waterfront Wellington Harbour ( ), officially called Wellington Harbour / Port Nicholson, is a large natural harbour on the southern tip of New Zealand's North Island. The harbour entrance is from Cook Strait. Central Wellington is located on parts of the ...

. Started in 1977, the Japanese competition takes place every year in July, and the majority of competitors come from engineering programmes at universities. Known in English as the event takes place at

and since 1986 has had separate glider and human-powered divisions with the tournament record standing at a few hundred metres shorter than 70 km for the human-powered triangle course. Since 1991,

Red Bull Red Bull is a brand of energy drinks created and owned by the Austrian company Red Bull GmbH. With a market share of 43%, it is the most popular energy drink brand as of 2020, and the third most valuable soft drink brand, behind Coca-Cola and ...

has been holding its own Birdman Rallies under the name Red Bull Flugtag.

References

External links

*
Worthing Birdman
*Japan's Quirky Festivals

Japan's 39th International Birdman Rally

Birdman Rally, Melbourne's Moomba Festival 2017Ilfracombe Birdman
Aviation competitions and awards Sport in Australia Sport in Japan Sport in Shiga Prefecture {{air-sports-stub