FitzGerald Flugtag Takes Flight

Despite a ground hold delaying takeoffs for a few hours on Saturday, September 21st at Chicago’s Burnham Park, FitzGerald’s own Flugtag team—Pat’s Angels—were in good spirits while waiting for their shot at human-powered (and gravity-assisted!) flight.
Slated in the middle of the pack of 30 contenders, Pat’s Angels finally taxied out onto the 30’ launch ramp around 4:30 p.m. to the cheers of their adoring fans. Though gravity’s hold was a bit too much to overcome, the team’s craft (and brave pilot David Monhait) managed an impressive 39’ horizontal flight distance. Joining David on the team were Erik Leahy, Hugo Alvarez, Nate Anderson, and Richard Kasemsarn.
We congratulate our brave pilot and flight team on their flight and the fact that their craft, built to fulfill every single code and guideline, survived the flight completely intact—reportedly the only one in the day’s competition to do so. The full video of the team’s flight can be seen on the Pat’s Angels Team Homepage.