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Source: Tom Karcz,
785-826-2979, tkarcz@k-state.edu
News
release prepared by: Natalie Blair, 785-826-2642, nblair@k-state.edu
Friday,
May 27, 2011
K-STATE
FLIGHT TEAM PLACES EIGHTH AT NATIONAL COMPETITION
SALINA
-- Kansas State University's Flight Team placed eighth at the National
Intercollegiate Flying Association's National Safety And Flight
Evaluation Conference and competition, May 16-21, hosted by The Ohio
State University, Dublin, Ohio.
The
team won an invitation to the national competition by placing second in
the Region VI SAFECON competition in October 2010.
SAFECON
consists of 13 total events. K-State Flight Team members earned nine
individual placements in the Top 20 in six events: Ground Trainer, IFR
Simulated Flight, Message Drop, Navigation, Power-off Landing, and
Short-field landing.
In
the Ground Trainer event contestants fly a complex pattern of climbs,
descents, and turns on a flight simulator. Scores are determined by the
pilot's accuracy.
The
IFR Simulated Flight tests contestants on their ability to perform in a
simulated instrument flight rules flight environment while adhering to
the standard procedures required by the Aeronautical Information Manual
and Air Traffic Control.
In
the Message Drop event, the pilot and drop master must work as a team
to maneuver their airplane to drop a message container to hit a target
on the ground while flying at 200 feet.
During
the Navigation event, contestants have an hour to plan a cross-country
flight over a three-to-five leg course between 70 and 120 nautical
miles. They submit a flight plan, including estimated time en route for
each leg, total elapsed time and fuel consumption, before takeoff.
Points are awarded based on how closely the actual flight follows the
plan.
The
Short-field Landing event tests a pilot's skill at maneuvering and
manipulating the aircraft. After taking off and flying a normal traffic
pattern, the objective is to land as close to, if not on, the target
line as possible. The Power-off Landing event is similar to the
Short-field event, except that the approach is made by gliding to
touchdown.
K-State
Flight Team members who placed in the top 20 were:
Theron
"Craig" Harper, senior in professional pilot, Eudora,
10th in Power-off Landing and 13th in Message
Drop as drop master; Joe Englert, junior in professional pilot, Syracuse,
13th in Message Drop as pilot and 20th in
Power-off landing; and Dash Tsao, senior in professional pilot, Wichita,
16th in Navigation as pilot.
From
out of state:
Zachariah
Powell, senior in professional pilot, Colorado Springs, Colo.,
and team coach, 12th in Short-field Landing and 14th
in Power-off Landing; Michael Potts, junior in professional pilot, Highlands
Ranch, Colo., 16th in Navigation as observer and voted
Outstanding Team Member; Colton Daum, junior in professional pilot, Dix,
Neb., third in IFR Simulated Flight and 13th in Ground
Trainer; and Ryan Enebo, junior in professional pilot, Sanger, Texas,
and team captain, 12th in Short-field Landing.
Kyle
Simpson, senior in professional pilot, Mulvane, also competed.
"I'm
proud of our team," said Tom Karcz, assistant professor of
aviation and the team's advisor. "We took eight members and they
competed in multiple events and did well. They were up against teams
with 30 competitors who had spent the last year focused on one only
event."
"The
experience our students have at SAFECON reinforces what they are
learning in our program," said Kurt Barnhart, K-State's aviation
department head.
"Our
program focuses on turning our students into the best pilots possible
and the fact that they can hold their own in several events at the same
competition speaks to the well-rounded training they receive at
K-State," said Dennis Kuhlman, K-State Salina dean.
Kansas
State University will host the 2012 National SAFECON competition on the
Salina campus, home of the aviation department, May 14-19.
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