Man took to the skies in his own flying machine at Dubai Creek Park in front of 25,000 spectators on Friday as the Red Bull Flugtag returned to Dubai after a nine year absence.

The Millennial Falcon took the trophy from the 30 teams that were shortlisted to enter the birdman event, following them were Premier Falcons in second, The Wicked Witch Rides Again in third.

The first ever “Flugtag” which means “Flying Day” in German, took place in Austria in 1992, and since then more than 100 events have taken place around the globe, attracting over 300,000 spectators along the way.

A 6 metre high flight deck, water, no shortage of bravery and a touch of craziness was all what was needed as the event hoped to push the envelope of human-powered flight.

The key to a winning Red Bull Flugtag aircraft is that it must fly for as long as possible after being launched from the flight deck using no more than five people with nothing but human power and without the aid of lifting devices or any kind of stored energy such as giant rubber bands or springs.

The maximum weight was capped at 180kg.

In the end, the victorious Millenial Falcon team did not end up with the longest jump, their 27 metre effort way short of Premier Falcons’ 71 metres which was just 7 metres short of the world record. 

It was the second longest flight in Flugtag history but still not enough to secure the win.

Judged on landing, creativity and distance, the Millenial team were said to have provided the most all-round performance according to the seven-man panel of judges.