Is it a bird, is it a plane? No, it’s a toilet bowl: Australia’s Birdman Rally

MELBOURNE, Australia - Thousands of people Sunday lined the banks of an Australian river to watch home-made flying devices take to the air in a quirky competition, with some contestants dressed as a toilet bowl and a space shuttle.

 

A birds-eye view of #Moomba's annual #Birdman Rally at #Melbourne's #Yarra River ???? #LoveMelbourneLoveMoomba @yarrarivermelb

A photo posted by Moomba (@moombafestival) on

Mar 12, 2016 at 7:43pm PST

The charity Birdman Rally held at Melbourne's Yarra River involved participants flying homemade gliders without mechanical assistance.

The contestants jumped off a four-meter-high platform above the river, staying in the air for as long as possible before crashing into the water.

 

High flyer Campbell Bott champions the cause for @beyondblueofficial at #Moomba’s #Birdman Rally #LoveMelbourneLoveMoomba

A photo posted by Moomba (@moombafestival) on

Mar 12, 2016 at 7:37pm PST

 

It was somewhat of a NASA nosedive for 2014 #Moomba #Birdman winner, Daniel Mazzei, who gallantly flew in the name of @braveheartsinc #LoveMelbourneLoveMoomba

A photo posted by Moomba (@moombafestival) on

Mar 12, 2016 at 7:39pm PST

Several of the 12 competitors turned up in colorful and bizarre costumes, including a man flying a bird made from balloons, another dressed as a shooting star and a woman holding a giant paper mache towel bowl.

#moomba #Birdman rally in front of huge crowds on the Yarra River. The 'Flying Dunny' didnt win @7NewsMelbourne pic.twitter.com/HQRPux40ZF

— Will Pristel (@wpristel7) March 13, 2016

But it was Michael Paul—who has taken part in the event every year since 2005 and had before Sunday won it nine times—flying a more conventional-looking glider who covered the longest distance to take out the contest.

"I seem to be the one to beat on the longest-distance flying aspect. I am a pilot, but it's not about that; I just love building a plane that you try to fly—it's a bit of a childhood dream," Paul said, Melbourne's Herald Sun reported.

Paul, who reportedly reached 17 meters before his inevitable crash into the river, had also raised more than Aus$12,000 (US$9,075) in honor of his brother Lucas, who has multiple sclerosis, the newspaper added. — Agence France-Presse