A
brief history of Birdman flight...
 After
its inception in 1971 at the nearby resort of Selsey, the
Birdman Rally as it was then known continued successfully
until 1977 with initially a £1000 and later a £3000
prize on offer for anyone who could fly 50 yards, (about 46
metres). David Cook came closest to the prize in 1974 with
a 44 metre flight in the face of fierce competition from Mary
Poppins, Peter Pan and a naked man called John.
In 1978 the organisers were told that they could no longer use the lifeboat pier, and at Selsey there was no other available so the Birdman flight moved to Bognor Regis. With the move came an increase in the height of the take off
platform and therefore the likelihood of someone achieving
the prize. Also the event began to grow at this stage into
something akin to the huge spectacle it is today with media
interest from all around the world.
Through
the late 70s and early 80s the plucky British contingent represented
by Wonder Woman, The Red Baron and the Apollo Space Programme
repeatedly attempted to flout the laws of physics whilst over
the Channel a storm was gathering: The German and Swiss teams
arrived in 1981.
1983
saw the Swiss take first prize, the arrival of TV crews from
the BBC, Canada and the USA, along with the first pantomime
link when two brothers jumped as a racehorse!
 1984
was a historic year, when jubilant German Harold Zimmer flew
57.8 metres and walked away with £10,000 narrowly ahead
of the pope, a flying squirrel and Donald Duck!
With
almost ruthless efficiency and attention to detail, the Germans
continued to dominate the serious entries during the eighties,
while in the comic section there were sugar plum fairies,
Sinclair C5's and in 1989 an Australian film crew witnessed
ski jumper Eddie the Eagle eclipse all his Olympic performances
by managing 11 metres before splashdown!
By
1990 the record stood at 71 metres with the Germans taking
1st, 2nd and 3rd places, beating a 10 metre Concorde, 4 penguins,
4 Ninja Turtles and an inmate from Ford Open Prison - minus
his passport! The jackpot distance was now 100 metres, the
prize a cool £25,000.
In
1992 the record was smashed again by local lad: Dave Bradshaw
whose flight of 89.2 metres is still unbeaten, and a Japanese
documentary crew witnessed the lunacy of flying donuts, ice
cream and vampires.
The
highlight of the 2001 event was Dick Chitolie's surreal giant
bug, complete with four training shoes to absorb its impact
with the English Channel, the £1000 distance prize going
to Ron Freeman, a hangliding instructor from Northumberland,
for the third year running.
Ron
continued his dominance in 2002 with a flight of 52.6 metres
despite the strong headwinds, which were the undoing of several
competitors, and returned in 2003 with an impressive winning
distance of 81.2 metres. Other winners from 2003 included
Paul Harland the Black Pegasus and Henry Morris with his Carbon
Condor.
30,000
people watched the event in 2003 and many more followed
the trials and tribulations of the birdmen through press and
media reports around the globe. With the support of
Virgin Atlantic the 2003 event raised in excess of £70,000
for worthwhile causes.
In
2004, despite the rain, a skateboarding cow, Dr Who and his
Tardis and many more took to the skies. Anva Luc made
history by being the first blind competitor and Ron's 6 year
reign came to end, when he was beaten by Tony Hughes who flew
an impressive 82.5 metres.
But
the fun didn't stop there....
In
2005 the event saw the return of the sun, Ron Freeman regained
his crown with a flight 77.6 metres, with other diverse enties
such as Zoë Salmon from Blue Peter taking a ducking.
Learn
what made an otherwise sane Selsey gift shop owner concoct
the madness that was the Birdman Rally way back in the summer
of '71.
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