Tokyo Tech's Meister club is a perennial contender in the human-powered category of the Japan International Birdman Rally. That event, sponsored annually by the broadcaster Yomiuri Telecasting Corporation, is a competition for human-powered airplanes and for gliders. The pilots take off from a platform 10 meters above Lake Biwa, near Kyoto, and compete to cover the most distance possible before plunging into the water. In favorable conditions, the pilots can keep their craft airborne for several kilometers, sometimes more than 30 kilometers.

The Japan International Birdman Rally captures the imagination of the nation, and Yomiuri airs a television special devoted to the rally in prime time. Meister has won the rally three times in the 32-year history of the event, most recently in 2007, and has placed second once. The club placed fourth in the 2008 competition, which took place on July 26 and 27, with a flight of 1,555.06 meters. Tokyo Tech International talked with the manager of Meister's human-powered flight project, Satoshi Sonota, two weeks before the 2008 rally.

"Meister has more than 70 members, including a few students from other universities," explains Sonota, "and more than 60 of us work on the human-powered airplanes. The other members work on an electric-powered car for an annual eco-vehicle competition. We basically pay for the development work out of our own pockets, though we get some contributions from former members."