Dropping Purdue drum into Lake Michigan

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (WLFI) - Members of Purdue University's "All-American"  Marching Band are building a new version of the World's Largest Drum.

This drum won't be on the field, rather it will fly over and into Lake Michigan.

The "Dropping the Bass" glider will be launched off a four-story lakefront platform in Chicago on September 8th.

The goal of the competition is to fly as far over the lake as possible while also entertaining the crowd.

Team captain Chris Yama-moto says they chose the big drum design because of how iconic it is throughout the Big Ten.

Yama-moto said the most fun part was building the drum with his closest friends.

"The biggest thing that we wanted to do was do something with our friends,"
Yama-moto said. "Getting the opportunity to just build something with our friends and just toss it off a 30 foot pier, that's really the coolest thing ever to think of."

The finished craft will be displayed outside the Neon Cactus in West Lafayette at 7:00 Thursday evening. The team will leave for Chicago on Friday.