Aiya, chasing the Red Bull Flugtag dream!
November 28, 2016 Leave a comment
It has been a dreadful long wait, winter is finally here and so is my family! Felicia and Elkan arrives just in time for the cool season. Today’s weather was fantastic, cool and sunny. Perfect for a nice family outing on a Sunday afternoon.
What’s even better is cheering for our dear friends, Team Aiya Dreamchasers at our very first Red Bull Flugtag event! Thanks to my wonderful ex-colleagues (Kathy, Jasmine and Fay), their participation gave us another compelling reason to drop by. Geared with portable camping chairs, we sat through 3 hours of amazing outdoor entertainment. The participants were so creative with their home-made structures. Their pre-takeoff performance and 3-second plunges were even more spectacular and hilarious!
Despite not winning the competition, Team Aiya Dreamchasers flew with great style. They had the longest “airtime” on the big screen. Armed with Nikon P900 83X Optical Superzoom, I managed to squeeze myself at a very tight vantage point with tens of professional photographers. Yes, they were pretty professional, many came with stools and super long lenses. It was challenging to find a line of sight through the mass of shutterbugs. The space was really tight and uncomfortable. I had a lens above my head and on the right side of my face.
All the photographers were pretty quiet through the performance until Team Aiya took the stage. It was so funny to listen to the photographers’ comments when Aiya pushed their “Dream-Machine” to the edge of the platform. In fact, it was the most talk-about performance.
“Wow… this one must be very special! No running take off! Standby camera!” one photographer said to his friend. Everyone of us lifted the camera to our face and paused. It was like the scene from the Mannequin Challenge. It was the silence before the thundering clicks.
After 3 long minutes of no movement, more photographers started to grumble among themselves. Unlike the rest of the participants, we were able to anticipate the drop with the running take off. For Aiya, it was standing still at the edge of drop. We were all waiting patiently for “that moment”. Something must be wrong as the launch music was replayed 3 times.
“What the hell is going on? My hand aching already! Faster, jump! jump!” an old man holding a heavy long zoom lens complained out loud. “PK! What’s holding up?”
Another photographer encouraged the old man. “Keep holding the position. I am sure it will be a blast off! Maybe with spring mechanism”
Suddenly, Aiya’s structure moved and hundred of shutters firing off continuously. To everyone’s surprise (and shock), it fell 90-degree straight into the sea!
“PK! PK! PK! Now my hands are too tired for the next performance!” yelled the same old man who stood still faithfully with his gigantic long camera lens. Everyone around us broke into laughters. At least, this is one performance they will remember for a long time, I smiled to myself.
I am sure the members of Aiya enjoyed their journey to the big Redbull Flugtag platform. It may have started off as a casual idea but the girls made it happened! Without any financial support from the company, they worked passionately to see it through. I witnessed their love and passion through their Facebook videos and photos. As an outsider, I felt so proud of them!
Aiya, aiya, aiya – Fly high! And thanks for reminding and motivating all of us to chase our own dreams!
12 years away from home - Singapore. Writing my stories here for my lovely mum & dad, friends and most importantly, for my wife & son back home. A self-confessed gadget freak, a spontaneous prankster on the outside and a warm loving heart inside. Enjoying a happy life with loving families, friends plus a dream job. Realising mum’s motto – “Exceed Yourself Every Day”. Always believing that “Simplicity is Beauty”.
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