Flying Team wins top honors at regional event

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

11-1-2011

Abstract

Flying Team wins top honors at regional event

The UND Flying Team won top honors in the Region V National Intercollegiate Flying Association's Safety and Flight Evaluation Conference (SAFECON) recently.

UND's winning score of 752points gave the team first place in flight events and first in ground events. This SAFECON was hosted by St. Cloud State University in St. Cloud, Minn., comprising teams from the University of Dubuque, Minnesota State University – Mankato, St. Cloud State University, University of Minnesota - Crookston and UND.

"The team worked hard and was ready for this air-meet," said Lewis Liang, UND assistant professor of aviation and the team's faculty advisor. "Taking first place in every event and having our two captains obtain the top two "top pilot " spots in the region gives us a solid foundation to build on for Nationals."

The National SAFECON competition will be held in Salina, Kan., on May 14, 2011, and hosted by Kansas State University. Thirty teams from the eleven regions around the country will compete in that National SAFECON event.

The lying Team consists of volunteering aviation student body members who have made a commitment of time and effort to be a part of the team. The team participates in two competitions annually: a regional qualifying competition and the national competition to determine the national championship.

Team members who competed were David Edmonds, captain; Matthew McGrath, captain; and Jack Foley, Paul Hering, Kevin Kelm, Jacob Lange, Jon O'Malley, Scott Meyer, Lauren Peterson, Paul Valenstein, Tyler Van Heel and Chad Wilson.

The UND Flying Team is a member of the National Intercollegiate Flying Association (NIAF), the sanctioning body for the regional and national SAFECON competitions. SAFECON places a special emphasis on safety of flight operations. UND's Flying Team has won 16 of the last 27 national competitions.

About UND Aerospace: UND Aerospace, which includes the Odegard School of Aerospace Sciences at the University of North Dakota and the UND Aerospace Foundation, is an international leader in collegiate and contract aviation education and training services flying over 115,000 hours per year in over 140 aircraft. UNDAF also has facilities in Spokane, Washington, with Spokane Falls Community College; Phoenix, Arizona, in conjunction with Chandler-Gilbert Community College; and Crookston, Minnesota, with the University of Minnesota in addition to its home-base in Grand Forks, North Dakota.

With more than 1,900 students from throughout the world, the John D. Odegard School of Aerospace Sciences is the second largest college at the University of North Dakota. Undergraduate and graduate programs leading to a variety of rewarding careers in aerospace are offered through five different academic departments: aviation, atmospheric sciences, computer science, earth system science and policy, and space studies. The UND Aerospace training complex is the most technologically advanced environment for aerospace education, training and research in the world.

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