Eleven entrants in the annual Port FM Local competition were prepared to brave cloudy and cool conditions to try to prove they could fly in weird costumes and creations, including a seagull, pink flamingo. Incredible Hulk and Oamaru's own superhero.
They included two big planes, one flown by Daniel O'Brien, which took him and brother Mitchell about 12 hours to make and a few seconds to crash into the harbour.
The other plane took even longer to make, its pilot Cameron Hill estimating "a couple of weeks".
It took 5000 staples, metres of adhesive tape and cardboard to put together, the design based on the race planes used in international competitions.
Mr Hill was out to win one of the three $300 prizes available to help fund his first foray into the two-day individual section of the Coast-to-Coast race.
The winners of the other two prizes were Sam Brocas as Seagull Sam (biggest splash) and Oliver Walmsley as the flying Rubik's cube (longest splash).
