
SLUG REPORT > Flight machines fueled solely by human power are hard to come by these days. But last Saturday, Nov. 10, San Francisco’s McCovey Cove welcomed a carefully selected 35 teams that tried their hand at human-powered flight. This year’s event was the 10th anniversary of Red Bull’s Flugtag, which in German, translates to “Flying Day.”
Since 2002, teams have jumped at the opportunity to launch their homemade human-powered flying machines off a 30-foot high flight deck in San Francisco. This year, however, was a noteworthy one for Santa Cruzans because a team of UC Santa Cruz classmates and friends competed. Their team, When Slugs Fly, represented our Surf City and the university by dressing up in banana suits and performing a skit prior to pushing their giant banana craft (with the pilot onboard) into hopeful flight.
“It’s such a challenging and fun concept—creating a theme, building a craft and executing it [skit and all],” says Greg Gerschenson, pilot of the When Slugs Fly team.











