Fowler, head of the Lake Metroparks Recreation Department, is joined on the team by fellow Lake Metroparks employees Brian Davidson and Bill Plessinger, Mentor Pizza Market owner Jon Kelley and Los Angeles-based film student and Screen Actors Guild member Cory Kozan.

The group was chosen from a national pool of hang glider builders who competed on June 23 along with 27 others in the Red Bull Flugtag in Nashville, Tenn. The hang gliders were launched off of a 30-foot-high ramp before coasting over the Cumberland River, seeing who could fly the farthest.
A team from Kentucky, Rocky Top Rocket, won the event by gliding a record 155 feet. Crash Test Dummies placed 18th with a flight of 19 feet.

The Flugtag, or "Flying Day" in German, originated in the early 1990s and they have been held throughout the world. According to Fowler, a record number of 80,000 spectators showed up in Nashville to cheer on the teams. "It's the closest thing to be being a rock star," he said.

Fowler and his teammates also competed in the 2004 Flugtag that took place in Cleveland after he saw an ad on television and downloaded the application off the Internet. Flugtag is about more than just flying the farthest. Contestants must use their creativity to come up with imaginative designs for their hang gliders. For example, Rocky Top Rocket's championship hang glider resembled a giant banjo. Another craft was a takeoff on a Rubik's Cube.

The Crash Test Dummies have a passion for flying and took this as their key inspiration. The group wanted to make an airplane that resembled one of the past. Finding a Styrofoam airplane at Wal-Mart reminded Fowler of his childhood. Adding his own accessories became the mock-up for the real life airplane that was created in Fowler's garage in a little more than two and half months.

Lake County's entry, including Plessinger as pilot, were in full character complete with jump suits and masks resembling crash test dummies. The spectators were captivated by the team, leading to requests for the Crash Test Dummies to pose for pictures.

Rules for the competition required the hang gliders to be humanly powered, allowing no use of external energy sources or stored power. All hang gliders had to be less than 30 feet wide and had a 450-pound weight limit, including the pilot.

Fowler and his crew don't consider themselves extreme, but maintain order while understanding the unnecessary risks that are involved. "Manage your risks," Fowler said.
Adventure and extreme challenges are nothing new for these men.
"We have no blueprints," said Plessinger, who comes from an Air Force family.
"We are taking an idea and turning it into reality. We are making it work."
Viewing the crowd of 80,000 could make even the toughest of competitors turn back.
"There is every single emotion - fear, doubt and sheer exhilaration when looking at the people," Davidson said.

In order to be a participant in any Flugtag, a skit or an act must be performed.
"It's a national stage," Fowler said.
Teammate Jon Kelley, a paraglider (the same as a hang glider but with a higher-priced aircraft to propel it) was not prepared for the adrenaline rush "in the moment everything's happening. The adrenaline is so strong. I was out of breath and exhausted," he said.

The creativity of these men is nothing new for the people who have grown to know them.
"I am confident, whoever attended the Flugtag in Nashville, quickly discovered that these people were the most creative group," said Lake Metroparks Executive Director David Noble. When you ask the Crash Test Dummies what is next for them, they smile. Aiming to stay in the spotlight, the group is currently producing a "mockumentary," as team members declared it.

The film, which chronicles a day in the life of a Crash Test Dummy, will highlight activities that the Dummies do on their days off, ranging from mountain biking to kayaking.
Once the "mockumentary" is completed, it will be entered into the Banff Mountain Film Festival in Alberta, Canada. Beyond that, group members seem to agree that their spirit for adventure will continue to fly high.

"If you can't tell the difference between working and playing, then you're successful," Fowler said.

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