Photo: Red Bull Photofiles
Thousands of people crowded around the lighthouse
for a prime view of the action.

Photo: Red Bull Photofiles
Team Peepin' It Real soars to victory.

Photo: Red Bull Photofiles
The winners, flanked by Team Green Machine and
Airforce One.

Photo: Red Bull Photofiles
An aerial view of the lighthouse crowd. The hill was
packed.105,000 people showed up to Rainbow Harbor in Long Beach to watch the third stop of the 2010 Red Bull Flugtag. The record-breaking crowd caused tons of traffic jams, but the long hunt for parking was well worth the fun atmosphere and crazy antics of the fans and 34 teams.

The Flugtag is a unique competition that means "flying day" in German. The first event was in Vienna, Austria in 1991. This Summer marks the first time that America hosted Red Bull Flugtag events, with dates in Miami, Twin Cities, and the upcoming Philadelphia on September 2.

Teams create and submit designs for flying machines, which are put to the test as they launch off a 30-foot flight deck in the hopes of soaring across the bay. Every "flying" machine inevitably ends up in the water, but teams score points for distance (measured by where the pilot enters the water) as well as the quality of their theme and pre-flight skit.

In Long Beach, celebrity judges including skateboarder Ryan Sheckler and the legendary Cheech Marin helped to select the winner and provide commentary for the thousands of fans. Sheckler even kicked off the event by launching himself off the flight deck on a skateboard. All-female team "Peepin' It Real" came out on top after their marshmallow Easter Candy-themed aircraft flew 98 feet, the longest distance of the day. The girls, hailing from Newport Beach, are students at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and UCLA.

Second place went to eco-friendly Green Machine, whose airplane was made of recycled materials. Crowd favorite Airforce One took third after performing a funny skit featuring Michelle and Barack breaking it down to a remixed version of Sir Mix-a-Lot's "Baby Got Back." Their flying machine was a replica of Obama's head, complete with oversize ear wings. The Green Army Men were crowned fan favorites after their commitment to full costumes and crowd-pleasing antics scored the most texted votes.

The top teams beat out plenty of innovative and hilarious groups including homages to Chuck Norris, the Jetson, and the Flintstones. The tragedy of the day was when Team Fly Like a Butterfly, but Stings Like a Ray didn't make it off the flight deck after some technical difficulties with their craft (aka their wings blew off in the wind.) Team Coast Guard had the final run of the day, and they really put on a show with a real Coast Guard helicopter flying over the harbor and performing a water rescue. It was a great way to cap off the event and definitely a crowd-pleaser for the thousands of fans.

Check out http://www.redbullflugtagusa.com/LongBeach2010 for team videos, more photos, and information about upcoming events.