Portland's own Greased Lightning screeched into second place with Danny,Sandy and the whole T-Bird gang wowing the judges with their off-off-offBroadway rendition of the seventies classic show tune and flight distanceof 55 feet.

The judges saved some love for third place finishers, returning 2004 team,FreeBallin, whose theme was a throwback to basketball's glory days of shortshorts, high socks and slam dunks. "There were so many people; it had tohave blown 2004 out of the water...No matter what craft you're in and nomatter what place you got, it was awesome!" said teammate Shon Boulden.One of the day's judges, Portland Trailblazer Channing Frye, seemed toshare Boulden's feelings: "Honestly Red Bull Flugtag is one of thegreatest, funniest things I've been associated with since I've been inPortland."

The crowd though sang the praises of People's Choice Award winner TeamSpace Balls with a whopping 6700 text votes!

FLYING HIGH FOUR YEARS LATER

While Portland packed in the crowds in 2004, today's event set a new localrecord as swarms of Oregonians came out to watch the brave, creative andoften slightly crazy launch human-powered flying machines off a 30-footramp at Tom McCall Waterfront Park. Though "Flugtag" means "flying day" inGerman, there weren't any average aviators today: a Chinese takeout box, apot of gold and a giant wiener were just a few of the crafts that took tothe skies.

While there has never been a limit on creativity, there were a few rulesand regulations. First off, all flying machines had to be entirelyhuman-powered (no external energy sources or stored power). Secondly, allcrafts had to be less than 30 feet wide. And finally, no matter what theysay, size does matter -- all crafts had to weigh no more than 450 lbs.(including the pilot).

WE HAVE NOW REACHED CRUISING ALTITUDE

The first Red Bull Flugtag took place in Vienna, Austria, in 1991. Sincethen, more than 40 Red Bull Flugtags have been held around the world --from Ireland to San Francisco -- attracting nearly 300,000 spectators. Therecord for the farthest flight to date currently stands at 195 feet set in2000 at Red Bull Flugtag Austria. The U.S. record stands at 155 feet setjust last year at Red Bull Flugtag Nashville.

Portland marked the second stop on this year's Red Bull Flugtag nationaltour. The event visited Tampa Bay on July 19 and will make its finaltouchdown in Chicago on September 6.

For media information including interviews, please contact Ellie Applen at(310) 460-4532 or ellen.applen@us.redbull.com. For hi resolution photosvisit www.redbull-photofiles.com.

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