Flying pigs and Red Bulls

LOLITA HARPER

Go jump off a bridge.

When pigs fly.

Laughter and pointing.

No, I am not talking about a pitiful Friday night at the local

meat market that some people still archaically refer to as a bar. I

am talking about “When Pigs Fly,” the Newport Beach-based team that

won the Red Bull Flugtag event at Santa Monica pier on Saturday.

Brave pilot Eric Gaffoglio flew the hog-shaped aircraft off the

Santa Monica pier into the Santa Monica Bay.

Yeah, a pink, pig-shaped bomber plane equipped with round snout

and menacing teeth sailed 66 feet from its runway, garnering first

place in the Red Bull contest.

Their “flying porker” incorporated wood, foam, fiberglass and

“whatever else [the team] could find in the garage,” Eric said.

The scraps came together nicely, as the team -- Eric, Lou Cabello

of Long Beach, Andres Pascuzzi of Balboa, Patrick Hall of Huntington

Beach and Heather Byerly of Laguna Hills -- brought home the bacon in

the off-the-wall, er, pier, competition.

“We are a close-knit group -- one big happy family,” Eric said.

Happier now, I’m sure with $7,500 in their pockets. The team was a

shoe-in though, as four of them work for companies that build

prototypes for the auto industry. Eric, Andres and Lou have worked on

prototypes for such shabby machines as the Dodge Viper and the

Mercedes M-Class. And Patrick, he was a member of TV’s Monster Garage

crew, which turned a school bus into a pontoon boat in a short time

on a limited budget.

Not to mention they are from the Newport-Mesa area, so of course,

they are winners, right?

So these Newport-Mesa kids took this monster pig to Santa Monica,

drove it off the pier and into a body of water and walked away with

seven and a half large. Not too shabby.

All of this is too promote the all-too-popular Red Bull drink that

is marketed to “give you wings.” The popular energy drink has been a

hit not only for those who need an extra boost but also for area

alcoholics who like to mix it with alcohol, vodka being the spirit of

choice. Nothing like a heart-pumping, speech-slurring cocktail to get

the party started, huh?

The Flugtag event started in Austria in 1991, Red Bull

representative Kim Cooper said. Since then, the dream of flying

handmade machines into unsuspecting bodies of water has spread like

wildfire, she said.

Also worth mentioning is another Newport Beach-based team named

Fo’ Shizzle Dizzle. Yes, that is spelled correctly. For those of you

who are not hip to the lingo, that is a slang term that, loosely

translated, means, “for sure, dude.”

Dizzle captain A.J. Mastroianni said his team is also known as the

Funkdafied Brothas of the Caucasian Persuasion. The Boston-born team

was formed from a “never ending search for funk, love, good music and

a great party,” he said.

The Brothas’ goal is to meet rapper Snoop Doggy Dogg one day. In

honor of the Long Beach rap artist, their craft was designed as a

1970s-style hat -- complete with a feather. The kind that were worn

by the OGs, back in the day.

Although they did not walk away with the “chedda” (more slang for

loot, dough, cash, dollar bills) they managed to “spread love.”

Much dap to the local teams. Keep up the wacky inventions and fun

intentions and let your spirits soar.