UND Flying Team takes second place in national contest

The UND Flying Team  placed second overall at the 2018 National Intercollegiate Flying Association (NIFA)  Safety and Flight Evaluation Conference  (SAFECON)  held at Indiana State University in Terre Haute, Indiana this past week.

UND earned 423 points while  ERAU-Prescott placed first  with 544  points and Southern Illinois University placed third  with 273 points.  Thirty universities  from across the country qualified through regional competitions to earn the privilege  to compete at the national level, including universities such as  Purdue, Ohio State, Kansas State and the Air Force Academy.

Cooper Pallasch, UND Flying Team Co-Captain, was named the Top Pilot in the nation and first in individual scoring at the SAFECON. Teammate and Co-Captain Steve Kinney  placed 2nd in overall  individual scoring and  placed first in Short Field Landings.

Steve Roche placed first in the Preflight competition and third in Aircraft Recognition, Branden Korringa placed second in Aircraft Recognition and Will Cuteria took fourth in the Ground Trainer event.

The team is coached by Lewis Liang.

The UND Flying Team has captured 16 NIFA SAFECON National Championships and has finished first or second in the nation 29 of the past 35 years.