Published in Midwest Flyer – June/July 2018 issue
TERRE HAUTE, IND. – The Embry-Riddle Prescott Flight Team took home top honors at the 12th Annual National Intercollegiate Flying Association (NIFA) Safety and Flight Evaluation Conference (SAFECON) Championships, April 30 thru May 5, 2018 at Terre Haute International Airport – Hulman Field (KHUF). The event was hosted by Indiana State University.
In a history-making show of aviation skills, Embry-Riddle’s Golden Eagles Flight Team was the first team to win three times in a row and its 12th national championship title since 1993. The Golden Eagles finished with 544 points, the highest not only in the team’s history, but the most points earned by any team since the competition established its modern scoring system. They also won all team-based honors including the coveted Judges Championship Trophy, Flight Events Championship Trophy, and the Ground Events Championship Trophy.
The University of North Dakota placed second overall, earning 423 points, followed by Southern Illinois University’s “Flying Salukis,” which placed third overall with 273 points.
The event brings together more than 350 students from nearly 30 of the nation’s top collegiate aviation teams to compete in flight and ground events such as navigation, computer accuracy, preflight inspection and more. Among the other competing schools were the United States Air Force Academy, Purdue University, Florida Institute of Technology, Auburn University, Kent State University, Ohio State University, and Western Michigan University.
For a complete list of the 2018 NIFA SAFECON national competition results, go to nifa.aero/wp-content/uploads/SAFECON-2018-Overall-Results.pdf.