Purdue team places third, advances to nationals in regional flight competition
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The Purdue Flight Team placed third overall and received several individual awards in the 2006 regional Safety and Flight Evaluation Conference, known as SAFECON, held on Oct. 11-13 at the Purdue Airport.
The team will advance to the national competition, which will be held near the Ohio State University campus May 8-13. The results of the regional competition were announced Saturday (Oct. 14) in the Purdue Memorial Union South Ballroom.
Purdue won the regional competition and placed sixth in the national competition last year, and the team has advanced to nationals six out of the last seven years.
"We're very pleased with our results, especially in the ground events where we placed first," said Michael Friedlund, a senior and captain of the Purdue Flight Team. "We practiced hard, and even though we were a young team this year, we did very well overall."
Purdue is a member of Region VIII, along with seven other universities: University of Illinois, Southern Illinois University, Indiana State University, Middle Tennessee State University and Lewis University. Quincy University and Eastern Kentucky University also are members, but do not normally compete.
The top three teams that score the highest from each of the 11 regions advance to the national contest. A maximum of 30 colleges and universities are invited to compete in the nationals. The event, sponsored by the National Intercollegiate Flying Association, involves more than 70 colleges and universities each year.
The other teams to advance were Lewis University, which placed first, and University of Illinois, which placed second.
Purdue placed fourth in the school flight events and placed third in the judges' trophy competition.
Friedlund said the most challenging aspect of the competition was the flight portion. He said there were many factors in this, including windy weather and fewer seniors making up the team than last year when the team placed first in the regionals.
"Our team is composed of six seniors and the rest is split between sophomores and juniors, and a lot of skill in flight comes with experience," he said.
Friendlund said the team will continue to practice in the next several months leading up to the nationals, with a big push after the Christmas break.
"Our goal is to stay confident and competitive in the ground events and to continue to work on our flight skills," he said. "We have a lot of camaraderie this year and a very competitive team, so we have a good feeling about going to nationals."
Purdue received a number of individual awards, including:
* Simulated comprehensive aircraft navigation - Rachel S. Esther (first place), Darren R. Lang (third place), Pascal N. Nguyen (fourth place) and Katie L. Sparrow (seventh place).
* Aircraft preflight inspection - Robert T. Haggard (first place) and Joe E. McArdle (second place).
* Aircraft recognition - David N. Chapman (first place) and Christopher D. Medlock (second place).
* Top pilot award - Darren R. Lang (sixth place).
* Top-scoring male contestant - Darren R. Lang (seventh place).
* Top-scoring female contestant - Rachel S. Esther (second place) and Katie L. Sparrow (sixth place).
* Navigation ranking - Darren R. Lang, pilot, and Ryan K. Nichols, observer, (fourth place).
* Power-off landing - Andrew L. Finley (ninth place).
* Short-field approach and landing - Garrett B. Granacher (seventh place).
* Message drop - Jason J. Ward, drop master, and Matt D. Dickinson, pilot, (fourth place), James A. Korschmann, drop master, and John D. Klotzle, pilot, (seventh place).
* Computer accuracy - Andrew L. Finney (second place), Jason J. Ward (third place), Matt D. Dickinson (fifth place) and Michael E. Friedlund, (sixth place).
* Ground trainer - Joe E. McArdle (second place) and Arthur M. Ruderman (fourth place).
Purdue's Department of Aviation Technology, part of the College of Technology, serves more than 600 students at the West Lafayette campus and 95 undergraduate students at the College of Technology's Indianapolis statewide location. Graduates enter careers with airlines, airport authorities, aerospace manufacturers, corporate aviation and government agencies. Purdue became the first university to offer pilots a four-year bachelor's degree in aviation in 1964.
Writer: Kim Medaris, (765) 494-6998, kmedaris@purdue.edu
Sources: Patti Keen, Purdue Flight Team coach,(765) 494-6330, keenp@purdue.edu
Michael Friedlund, (219) 309-4125, mfriedlu@purdue.edu
Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu
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