Spring Break
Flight team lands at nationals
Samie Hartley
Issue date: 3/1/07 Section: News
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San Jose State University's Precision Flight Team is going to the National Safety and Flight Evaluation Conference after placing third at the regional competition last month.
The team, which consists of 12 members, will compete against 30 other universities at the national competition held at Rickenbacker International Airport in Columbus, Ohio in May, said Andrew Wigley, team captain.
"It's the chance of a lifetime," Wigley said. "It will be a great experience for us to go. It's a huge opportunity."
Wigley, a senior majoring in aviation, said unlike most teams that represent universities, the SJSU flight team is a student club and students do not receive course credit for their participation.
"We're just a club, but we do our best to keep up with the other teams," Wigley said.
The flight team qualified for nationals after winning third place at the Pacific Coast Intercollegiate Flying Association Regional Safety and Flight Evaluation Conference during the third week of February. The team will represent Region II along with Embry Riddle Aeronautical University - Prescott and Mt. San Antonio College.
Wigley said all members of the flight team competed at regionals in Pomona.
There are eight ground events in which selected participants compete without taking to the skies. These events include simulated comprehensive aircraft navigation, a test that requires competitors to answer 30 to 40 questions pertaining to a simulated flight by examining elements such as fuel loads, weather patterns and navigation charts, Wigley said.
Regional and national competitions also include four flight events such as short-field landings where participants must land an aircraft on a specific landing line, Wigley said.
Jenny Koenig, a junior majoring in aviation operations, said she competed in four events at regionals.
"I was nervous at first, but our team has such a fun spirit to it that it helps you relax and not take the competition too seriously," Koenig said. "I think we are the only team out there that can take things seriously but still have tons of fun."
The team, which consists of 12 members, will compete against 30 other universities at the national competition held at Rickenbacker International Airport in Columbus, Ohio in May, said Andrew Wigley, team captain.
"It's the chance of a lifetime," Wigley said. "It will be a great experience for us to go. It's a huge opportunity."
Wigley, a senior majoring in aviation, said unlike most teams that represent universities, the SJSU flight team is a student club and students do not receive course credit for their participation.
"We're just a club, but we do our best to keep up with the other teams," Wigley said.
The flight team qualified for nationals after winning third place at the Pacific Coast Intercollegiate Flying Association Regional Safety and Flight Evaluation Conference during the third week of February. The team will represent Region II along with Embry Riddle Aeronautical University - Prescott and Mt. San Antonio College.
Wigley said all members of the flight team competed at regionals in Pomona.
There are eight ground events in which selected participants compete without taking to the skies. These events include simulated comprehensive aircraft navigation, a test that requires competitors to answer 30 to 40 questions pertaining to a simulated flight by examining elements such as fuel loads, weather patterns and navigation charts, Wigley said.
Regional and national competitions also include four flight events such as short-field landings where participants must land an aircraft on a specific landing line, Wigley said.
Jenny Koenig, a junior majoring in aviation operations, said she competed in four events at regionals.
"I was nervous at first, but our team has such a fun spirit to it that it helps you relax and not take the competition too seriously," Koenig said. "I think we are the only team out there that can take things seriously but still have tons of fun."
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