TSTC hosts National Intercollegiate Flying Association regional flight conference

Texas State Technical College received several awards at the National Intercollegiate Flying Association Region 4 Safety and Flight Evaluation Conference (SAFECON), which was held on campus Oct. 14-18.

Seven college teams competed in a series of ground and flying competitions during the event.

The TSTC Lonestars flight team received the safety award for the third year in a row, as well as the sportsmanship award. Local students also earned top-10 finishes in contests including aircraft preflight inspection, ground trainer, short-field landings, message drop and traditional navigation.

Jonathan Reigle, a LeTourneau University graduate and now a first officer at Southwest Airlines who led the volunteer judges at the event, said in a press release that NIFA competitions help students on their resumes after graduation.

"The industry knows the students are spending the money and time to be better pilots," he said.

The top three teams overall at the event were Oklahoma State University, Southeastern Oklahoma State University and LeTourneau. The region's top teams will advance to NIFA National SAFECON next May in Oshkosh, Wisconsin.

Other schools competing at the Waco event were the University of Oklahoma, Louisiana Tech University and Stephen F. Austin State University, which was participating in its first NIFA contest.

TSTC's Precision Machining Technology created many of the awards presented to students at a Friday banquet which wrapped up the weeklong conference.

"It was challenging," said fourth-semester TSTC pilot training student Joaquinn Lopez of Orange Grove, who competed in the power-off landings and short-field landings contests. "There was a bit of turbulence and headwind. Our training enables us to maneuver the aircrafts like we want."

Diego Valdes of Georgetown, also a fourth-semester pilot training student at TSTC, was the team's safety officer. He said the team prepared by flying on weekends with study groups during the week.

"It's long days, but with the camaraderie, you feel it there," he said.

Valdes competed in aviation maintenance, aircraft identification, short-field landings and message drop competitions.

Midway High School graduate Micah Koen of Woodway came back to Central Texas for the competitions. He is a pilot student at Southeastern Oklahoma State.Elaine Porterfield, an instructor in TSTC's aircraft pilot training technology program, is the advisor for the Lonestars. "I feel privileged to be part of the TSTC flight team as we grow," she said. "I am very satisfied with how we did."