SFA aviation sciences students make strong debut at national flying competition

NACOGDOCHES, Texas –– Thirteen aviation students from Stephen F. Austin State University competed at the National Intercollegiate Flying Association's SAFECON 2024 competition, held in Waco. This prestigious event included ground and flying challenges against top collegiate flight programs from across the nation. 

"We are incredibly proud of our students for stepping up and competing for the first time," said Dr. Chay Runnels, director of SFA's School of Human Sciences. "This is a significant achievement, and I am confident that the team will continue to grow stronger as they gain more experience. We had several top 10 placements in events, which speaks to the talent and potential within our aviation program."

Kai Parker, a junior from League City, led the way for SFA by placing fourth in the short field accuracy landing event, a standout achievement given the intense competition. Teams from Louisiana Tech University, University of Oklahoma, Oklahoma State University, Southeastern Oklahoma University, Baylor University, LeTourneau University and Texas State Technical College also took part in the event.

“It was an absolute honor to be able to represent SFA on the podium at NIFA,” Parker said. “Standing up there surrounded by students from more experienced aviation programs, it brought me a sense of pride to be able to show that the new school on the flightline could keep up with the others and succeed as well.

“Throughout the course of the week, I had an amazing experience competing in the different events I did and gained valuable insights into how the competition operates. I definitely would have never reached this point today without the guidance I received from my professors at SFA.”

SFA’s aviation team is advised by chief pilot and clinical instructor Jack Gainer. The team's participation was made possible through funding provided by Dr. Judy Abbott, dean of SFA’s James I. Perkins College of Education.

“NIFA is the premier collegiate flying competition, so it was always something that the aviation program wanted to participate in,” said Runnels. “Training for this competition is costly because students need to log flight hours to practice. We worked closely with our private flight provider, HCH Aviation, to secure an airplane for competition use and make it possible for our students to attend.”

One of the key aspects of the competition, according to Runnels, is the emphasis on teamwork. 

“We fielded a team of students who were juniors, sophomores and freshmen,” Runnels said. “The juniors on the team are the leadership core, and they model crew behavior for the underclass students. We encouraged freshmen participation because we want them to step into the leadership roles next year.”

Looking ahead, SFA’s aviation program plans to make NIFA’s SAFECON an annual event. 

“I believe that this first competition acted as a ‘reconnaissance mission’ for the SFA flight team,” said Amie Beam, a first-year aviation student. “We went with the intention of learning how to better ourselves for next year, gain knowledge in the areas we didn't understand, and observe how the other teams competed and performed. This first competition acts as the cornerstone for the training that will take place in preparation for next year, building off of the experience we gained in Waco. It was an honor to represent the university and program to the region.”

The SFA aviation program continues to grow, attracting students eager to take their flight skills to new heights through both academic excellence and hands-on experiences like NIFA’s SAFECON.

For more information on SFA’s aviation sciences program, visit sfasu.edu/aviation.