On October 9th-14th, the Kent State University Precision Flight Team attended the National Intercollegiate Flying Association (NIFA) Regional Safety and Flight Evaluation Conference (SAFECON). This competition was held at Bowling Green State University, at the Wood County Regional Airport. Kent State competes in Region III, which includes flight schools from Ohio, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia.
NIFA serves as an organization to bring college aviators together competitively and non-competitively. NIFA hosts 10 Regional SAFECONs in the fall annually. Teams competing at SAFECON compete in a variety of different events, including simulated flights, navigation, and flying competitions. SAFECON also includes a variety of individual awards for certified flight instructors, coach of the year, and individual achievement awards. Winners from the top three universities at each regional competition qualify for the National SAFECON competition held in the spring. At the national event, top winners from each region compete against those top performers across the entire nation.
Kent State University has historically been very successful in these events. In 2021, Kent State earned an overall third place finish in the Region III SAFECON competition, with five students earning one or more individual awards. At the 2022 National SAFECON competition, Kent State placed 12th overall, with Victoria Lorenzon earning both the Women’s Achievement and the Certified Flight Instructor Awards, and Samuel Legarth earning a Top 20 placement for Top Scoring Contestant. Kent State’s team was very successful at the 2022 Region III SAFECON competition as well, with awards as follows
Team Awards:
- Overall SAFECON Championship - 3rd Place
- Flight Events - 2nd Place
- Ground Events - 3rd Place
Ground Events:
- Cole Hebbard - 3rd Place, Ground Trainer
- Victoria Lorenzon - 5th Place, Ground Trainer
- Samuel Legarth - 5th Place, Aircraft Recognition
Flight Events:
- Cole Hebbard - 1st Place, Short Field Landing
- Takashi Kunu and Holly Csaszar - 1st Place, Message Drop
- Frederick Stamper and Victoria Lorenzon - 3rd Place, Message Drop
- Andrew McKinley and Takashi Kunu - 4th Place, Unlimited Navigation
- Victoria Lorenzon and Cole Hebbard - 5th Place, Unlimited Navigation
- George Ludwiczak - 5th Place, Power-Off Landing
Individual Awards:
- Nicholas Krentz- Outstanding Team Member
- George Ludwiczak - Outstanding Team Member
- Cole Hebbard - 3rd Place, Top Pilot, 3rd Place, Top Scoring Contestant