Man has always been fascinated by flying, the ability to take to the skies and defeat the laws of gravity.

Today, flying is taken for granted by millions of people around the world, but for flying enthusiasts nothing beats designing their own aircraft and getting it to fly, well at least getting it off the ground.

Every year, hundreds of flying enthusiasts take part in the Red Bull Flugtag, the perfect occasion for them to beat Leonardo da Vinci and take off from a six metre-high pier with a homemade flying machine.

For the first time ever, a group of Maltese pilots will be flying their own home-made contraption during the competition which will he held over the River Tejo in Lisbon, Portugal on 8 September.

The Maltese team, going by the name Catch the Pigeon, comprises Major Alex Dalli, Captain Mark Said, Larry Scerri and David Polidano.

Speaking to The Malta Independent, the team said they were inspired by the famous cartoon featuring Muttley the dog.

The Maltese team will compete against another 49 teams from around the world, each having extravagant names such as Barca Solar, Bikeass – Danger on the Sky, Flying Egyptians and Sardines on Caravan. Naturally, they will be competing with even more extravagant contraptions that look more like boxes than flying machines.

However, more than competition for the big prize, the participants aim to entertain and come up with the most colourful and bizarrely shaped flying object.

This atmosphere is inspired by Red Bull’s slogan, “Red Bull Gives you Wings!”

The first flugtag (German for flying day) was organised in Austria in 1992 and since then has “flown” over Berlin, Barcelona, Johannesburg, London, San Francisco, Dubrovnik, Prague, Dubai and other cities.

The prizes include flights on aerobatic planes to a free fall parachuting jump with a qualified instructor.