Red Bull Flugtag, the contest where teams push homemade, human-powered flying machines off a ramp and into the water, is coming back to Miami on Saturday, Oct. 31, at Bayfront Park. It is free to watch. The Greater Miami Convention and Visitors Bureau says it is the city's first Flugtag in more than a decade, and it lands on Halloween, with costumes part of the show.

Thirty teams of everyday people have spent months building their craft. Each one gets a single run off the flight deck, and the landing zone is Biscayne Bay.

How Flugtag works

Flugtag is German for flight day. The event began in Vienna in 1992 and has since been held in more than 100 cities around the world, according to the visitors bureau. The longest flight on record is 258 feet, set in Long Beach, California, in 2013.

Under Red Bull's rules for the Miami event, the ramp stands 22 feet high. Each craft can have a wingspan of no more than 28 feet and can be no longer than 20 feet from nose to tail, and the machine and pilot together cannot weigh more than 400 pounds. Nothing can be motorized: no engines, rockets, batteries or elastic bands, and teams cannot adapt a light aircraft or a hang glider. The craft has to be designed and built entirely by the team, and builders are told to favor materials that float, such as wood and foam, over metal.

Each team has five members, a pilot and four ground crew who push the machine down the ramp. Pilots have to be at least 18 and crew members at least 16. Anyone who jumps wears a helmet and life jacket supplied by the production team, crew members have to be able to swim 100 yards unaided, and every design goes through a safety inspection before it flies.

Distance is only part of the score

A craft does not have to fly far to win. A panel of local and national celebrity judges scores every team on three things: flight distance, creativity and showmanship. Before each launch, teams perform a short skit on the deck, and this year's Halloween date means costumes count toward the show.

Because creativity and showmanship are scored alongside distance, a machine that drops straight into the bay is still in the running for a prize.

The schedule

Red Bull's event page lists the show site opening at 10 a.m., opening ceremonies at 11 a.m. and the final flight at about 3 p.m., followed by the awards ceremony. Red Bull notes that times can change and says it will post updates closer to the date. Bayfront Park is at 301 N. Biscayne Blvd. in downtown Miami.

What to bring, and what to leave home

Viewing is open seating, and Red Bull advises arriving early. Red Bull allows blankets, small handheld umbrellas, strollers, collapsible chairs, regular-size or unframed backpacks, sealed water bottles, empty hydration packs, binoculars, cameras, and ice in a soft-sided cooler. Food is not allowed, and neither are pop-up tents, framed or oversized backpacks or large bags. ADA viewing areas are available, and a guest with an impairment may bring one companion.

Boaters can watch from Biscayne Bay on a first-come, first-served basis, as long as they stay out of the controlled safety zones.

Getting there

Red Bull lists four downtown garages open for spectators that day: the Bayfront Parking Garage at 255 NE 1st St., the Bayside Marketplace garage at 401 Biscayne Blvd., the College Station Garage at 190 NE 3rd St. and the James L. Knight Center garage at 100 SE 2nd St.

Admission is free, and Red Bull takes RSVPs through an Eventbrite link on its Flugtag Miami page. Families who want to stay downtown after the final flight can stick around: Bayfront Park's own calendar lists Boo on the Bay, an evening of trick-or-treating, music, games and a costume contest, in the park that same night from 6:30 to 10:30 p.m.

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