Okay! The video of the planes flying, and sort of flying, is up! (Here's Part 1 if you missed it.) We’ve also got some interviews with some of the teams. Which designs did you like? Which plane flight (or crash) did you enjoy the most? Questions questions.


And FYI - I flew out to Chicago this weekend, to a wonderful blogging conference – SOBEvent 2008. Liz Straussand friends put on a first class event. And hey, I also got to have some beers with one of our best commentators, Zappophile. It was great to meet you, put a face with a name and have some laughs.

Of course I flew on Southwest. Everything went off without a hitch, including their new (to me) numbered boarding system. We’re pals with Southwest, they’ve been out to Zappos HQ and we’ve visited their HQ. Someone from Zappos flies with them pretty much every single day. We’re birds of a feather, a pair of comfy
shoes. <hugs!>

And based on how most of the Zappos Styrofoam planes flew in the contest, maybe we better practice more before starting Zappos Airlines for real. But you know, if we did start Zappos Airlines, I bet those lovely people at SouthWest would help us out – just like a barnraising,like in the good old days.

Okay not a real airline… well, not yet! (It seems quite a few people suggest to us that we should start an airline.) Actually, we had our 2nd Annual Team Plane competition where groups decorate and fly a Styrofoam glider . We had 16 teams this year, and there were some pretty cool looking planes. A couple of the many crowd pleasers were "Scooby Do" and "Snakes on a Plane" complete with little action drawings in the windows. A few made major aerodynamic “sacrifices” in the name of esthetics. <cough cough cat whiskers plane cough> The second part of the contest is to fly the planes for maximum distance. Here's a bunch of us around the table of planes awaiting judging.



Still, it did pay off for “Kat” because they placed in the top 5 for design. I’m going to be mum on how they did in the flying part for now. Our Director of Fashion, Eileen, evaluated all the planes and then picked the top 5. The winner was the glittery “Go Vegas Baby” which is just behind the “Kat” whiskers plane in the picture. Here are the top five "Cool Design" winners.

1. Go Vegas Baby - Team George - CLT Phones

2. Scooby Doo - Team Jim C. - CLT Order Verification

3. Rock Star - Team Melissa - CLT Phones

4. Kat - Team Jean - CLT Canada

5. Disaster Plane - Team Bill - CLT Graveyard shift

Special Mention - Fly Brian - Creative Services, Plain Plane - Zappos InfoTech

The distance-flying event was what really got my curiosity going. I was especially wondering how the whisker plane would do. Not to rain on anyone’s parade but the whiskers were made from metal coat hangers and they would create significant weight and drag at the front of the plane.

But, you’ll have to wait for Part 2 (with video!) coming soon – early next week!