Flugtag 2012: It’s A Bird! It’s A Plane! It’s A Flying Sausage!
Marc Vetri is having a New Jersey moment. Hot on the heels of signing a lease to open an outpost of Osteria at the Moorestown Mall, a team of employees from Amis came in second place behind a team called “New Kids on the Dock” at Saturday’s Red Bull Flugtag competition on the Camden waterfront.
Competing against 29 other teams from as far away as Annapolis, the Beast of Amis’ flying sausage propelled pilot Brendan Ireland 24 feet before crashing into the murky Delaware below. Named after the whole pig – affectionately called “The Beast” — chef Brad Spence hacks up nightly for a three-course meal, Amis’ flyer won extra points from judges for successfully breaking apart in a way that displayed the words “eat me” on the tail as it floated on the surface of the water. Perhaps it was a slightly veiled insult to the fact that after spending such an intense, exhilarating day that most teams followed up with an evening of heavy revelry, the whole Amis crew had to work Saturday night..
But at least they had something to celebrate, which is more than the popular Brickhouse Bullies from The Brickhouse in Willow Grove could say. Perched atop a towering and very elaborate flyer that represented an enlarged beer can and a miniature house, pilot Melissa Kessler toppled backwards onto the tarmac as a gust of wind pushed the flying float the wrong way just seconds before her planned launch. Luckily, her helmet kept her from sustaining any serious injuries but it sure was a bummer for the ladies who had to actually write essays in order to qualify for the team.
Shortly after the fall, officials decided wind and current conditions were too volatile to allow for any more piloted flights but that didn’t affect the competition’s three other bar/restaurant/beer teams, Drink Philly, Skydive School Drop Outs and the Philly Bars 215 Flying Mummers, all of which competed before that ruling.
In front of a reported crowd of 65,000, Drink Philly flew 15 feet in their specially made bomber jackets, Philly Bars 215 Flying Mummers from Four Corners Management came in at 21 feet, and the Skydive School Drop Outs from Delilah’s, Zee Bar and Rebel Bar managed to travel a whole 0 feet before collapsing in a watery exercise in shame. Considering the winning team this year flew roughly 40 feet (atop a giant lobster) and the world record is 229 feet, it seems a safe conclusion to say that most of our bar/restaurant crews may want to stick to the hospitality industry instead of considering any second careers in aeronautic engineering.
Red Bull Flugtag [Official website]
