PROJECT: The Cullinan Bird

LOCATION: The Serpentine, Hyde Park

DATE: 2008

Our task, as participants in the 2008 'Red Bull Flugtag' event in Hyde Park, was to construct a man-powered glider and fly it for the first time in front of 80,000 people.

In partnership with Ramboll and Element Energy engineers we had six weeks to make a glider with a novice team and no money. We drew up a design which was then refined through computational dynamics to a pared-down glider that we proceeded to construct from Cordek expanded polystyrene covered with ripstock nylon.

The 'Cullinan Bird' flew 38.5m, easily the longest and most elegant flight of the Flugtag event.