“Flugtag” came to Dubai this weekend.

It’s a Red Bull promotional notion, in which people/daredevils are invited to build a flying machine, push it off a 30-foot-high ramp and see how long they can remain airborne.

Generally, less than five seconds.

It’s a silly competition, but something you have to watch, like train wrecks — but a lot less dangerous.

First, let’s go to the video, as compiled by The National’s reporter.

–A team with a bull-shaped entry tried their luck, and went “splash” almost immediately.

–As did this one, a team called Spoon and Egg, but went down like a lead balloon.

The spectacular failures are always the most fun. On those videos, you can hear the big crowds at Dubai Creek laughing/shouting at the failures.

We’ve all seen the ancient footage of people trying to get up in the air without a motor. And here is one batch of it.

Why is Red Bull — the energy drink people — involved in this? Perhaps because of a caffeine-type rush you get when you go off the end of the ramp?

You would never know from the video, or from this photo gallery, (including the picture at the top of this entry, by The National’s Sarah Dea) that someone actually sailed 71 meters — about 200 feet. Which is impressive. And mildly threatened the Flugtag (German for “flying day”) record of 78.6 meters set by a flier in Long Beach in 2013.

It’s all good, clean fun, and, usually, nobody gets hurt.