Aviation News

Lewis University’s Flight Team has qualified for national competition after placing third in the region at the National Intercollegiate Flying Association’s (NIFA) 2007 Regional Safety and Flight Evaluation Conference (SAFECON). This is the second consecutive year that the Lewis Flight Team has qualified for nationals.

The regional event was held Oct. 30-Nov. 3 at Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU) in Murfreesboro. Lewis was one of six universities from Region VII participating in the contest. Other Region VIII participants included the University of Illinois Champaign-Urbana, Purdue University, Southern Illinois University Carbondale (SIUC), MTSU, and Indiana State University.

Competition events covered both flight and ground categories, including computer accuracy, preflight inspection, aircraft recognition, flight simulator, a simulated comprehensive aircraft navigation (SCAN), message drop, navigation, power-off landings, and short-field landings.

This year’s contest concluded with Lewis taking third overall and finishing second in the region in ground events. SIUC’s team finished first, while the University of Illinois took second. The top three teams receive automatic berths to NIFA's national competition, scheduled for May 5-10 at Smyrna Airport Tennessee. Middle Tennessee State University also will host the national competition, where the top 30 teams in the nation earn invitations.

Lewis senior Shane Lubow of Green Bay, Wis. received the Top Pilot Award for SAFECON. Lubow placed second in short-field landings, fourth in the SCAN event, and seventh in both power-off landings and the ground trainer/simulator event.

Other high scorers for Lewis were freshman Jared Hunt of Morton, Ill., who took third in aircraft recognition and fourth in message drop; and senior Jimmy Nahal of Addison, Ill., who took fourth in message drop and fifth in short-field landings. Sophomore Andy Wolanik of Crystal Lake, Ill. placed fifth in both aircraft recognition and preflight inspection.

Also placing in the top ten for Lewis in contest events were freshman Nicholas Terleckyj of Park Ridge, Ill., who ranked seventh in computer accuracy; and senior Tiffany Bilski of Burbank, Ill., who placed eighth in navigation. Senior John Eannace of Palos Park, Ill. took eighth in both navigation and ground trainer/simulator events and ninth in short-field landings, while junior Allison Hopkins of Naperville, Ill. ranked eighth in preflight inspection.

Senior Elise Brazzale of Lemont, Ill. took ninth place in power-off landings; and senior Tim Pirc, also of Lemont, Ill., placed tenth for computer accuracy, and eleventh for SCAN. Freshman Thomas Fogarty of Ancona, Ill. ranked tenth in message drop and eleventh in aircraft recognition. Other participants in the regional contest included senior Pat Draland of Schaumburg, Ill.; junior Vince Lamm of Freeport, Ill.; and sophomores Santosh Patel of Hanover Park, Ill., Tom Muntzenberger of Naperville, Ill., Jennifer Alicz of Utica, Ill., and Dan Perez of Orland Park, Ill.

The Lewis Flight Team is excited to have earned another invitation to compete at nationals, said Keith McGill, Lewis Chief of Pilot Training. The team earned eighth place in last year’s national contest. “The team’s ranking as second overall in this year’s ground events is a direct reflection of the endless hours of student practice and the great coaches that guide them,” said McGill, noting the improvement in ground events rankings over previous years. McGill also notes the youth of his team this year with nine new members. He said he is proud of their hard work and the invitation to national competition.

Head coach Al Szoldatits of Tinley Park, Ill. praised the team and was pleased “to see the freshman members place well in the competition.” Other coaches for the Lewis Flight Team include Rich Fetzer of Glenview, Ill., Megan Montgomery of LaGrange, Ill., and Lora Stepusin of Romeoville, Ill.

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