Ohio State Students Fly in for the Win

The Ohio State Flight team captains Mike McConnell and Sam Wolf won first and second place, respectively, in the aircraft preflight competition at the 2010 National Intercollegiate Flying Association Safety and Flight Evaluation Conference (SAFECON) hosted by Indiana State University at Terre Haute, Ind.
Sam Wolf, an Ohio State Flight team captain, sits in one of the aircrafts during the SAFECON competition in Terre Haute, Ind.

The Flight Team, which traveled with 12 members, placed sixth overall besting 24 other teams in the competition. Members from the team each competed in various events and winners include McConnell and Bernie Eddy, both aviation, who placed 11th in Navigation, McConnell and Wolf, aviation, placed third and seventh, respectively, in the Simulator event, and in the Aircraft Recognition event Anthony Pentz, business administration, finished 11th, Eddy placed 24th and McConnell finished 29th.

Other events included landing events where McConnell placed eighth in the Short Field Landing. The team placed fifth overall in the Judges Trophy event, which is a measure of the team’s depth and contribution. The team also finished sixth and seventh in Ground Events.

At the end of the competition, the Flight Team upheld a tradition initiated in 2002 as the team formed a tunnel for the judges, clapped and thanked each judge for their service in the competition.

Next year, SAFECON will come to the Ohio State University Airport, which won the bid to host the 2011 NIFA SAFECON competition. The Airport will also host the regional NIFA competition taking place this October.