St. Louis University Flying Billikens Prepare for National Competition

(NIFA graphic)

By Carmelo Turdo

The St. Louis University Flying Billikens are heading to the National Intercollegiate Flying Association national competition next week in Janesville, WI. The team placed third overall in last fall's Region 6 contest held at the team's home field, St. Louis Downtown Airport, and now they are ready to take on the best teams in the country. 

The Aero Experience visited with the Flying Billikens during a recent early morning training session. Five competitors launched to practice their spot landing skills before the regular flight operations began for the day. The clean aerodynamics of the Diamond DA20 fleet aircraft require highly-developed skills to land within feet of the runway markers. 

(St. Louis University graphic)

During our visit, we interviewed three of the team leaders, Sebastian Valenzuela, Hudson Pettit and Troy Ettenson, for some insight into the events making up the SAFECON national competition. Hear their responses in the video below.

The St. Louis University Flying Billikens can still make the claim, "We are Number One," regardless of the results from next week's SAFECON national competition. The university's flight program is an outgrowth of the original Parks Air College, founded by Oliver L. Parks, in 1927. Parks Air College became the first federally certificated flight training school in 1929, and thereafter added a student-run airline, trained cadets at four airfields during World War II and later was gifted to St. Louis University. Parks College operated on its own campus in Cahokia, IL until being absorbed into St. Louis University in 1997. Currently, Parks College is known as the Oliver L. Parks Department of Aviation Science, and flight operations continue at St. Louis Downtown Airport. 

The Aero Experience thanks The Flying Billikens for hosting our visit, and we wish them great success in the SAFECON national competition!

Parks College of St. Louis University Holds Recruiting Event for Flying Billikens Team

By Carmelo Turdo

The Flying Billikens, the competition flying team sponsored by Parks College of St. Louis University, held a spring recruiting event on Saturday at their flight operations hangar at St. Louis Downtown Airport. About 30 Parks College flight program staff, students and several visiting alumni gathered to discuss the available opportunities to train for, and participate in, the upcoming regional competition. Each year, Parks College and other Midwest universities send their flight teams to the National Intercollegiate Flying Association (NIFA) Region Six SAFECON, a week-long flying competition that tests the flying skills and general aviation knowledge of each participant and team. High-placing teams from each region then compete at the national level.

Students and guests gathered in a training classroom in the Parks College hangar to enjoy some lunch and receive a briefing about the Flying Billikens team and the upcoming SAFECON regional competition. Event coordinator Grace Workman and several Flying Billikens team members introduced the flying competition events, including Navigation, Spot Landing, Message Drop, Simulated Comprehensive Aircraft Navigation, Ground Trainer Instrument Flight, Flight Computer Accuracy, Pre-Flight Inspection and Aircraft Recognition. Flying Billikens team members who participate in the actual flying events must have earned their Private Pilot Certificate, and they participate in team practice sessions over marked sections of the runway at St. Louis Downtown Airport.

Following the presentation, the group was escorted to a position to observe a demonstration of the Message Drop performed by several two-person crews flying their Diamond DA-20 fleet aircraft. The streamer-equipped message box is dropped by a second crew member in the aircraft on a marked target, with the score for the drop based on the distance measured from where the message box lands to the target. The approach and moment of the drop are based on the altitude and airspeed/groundspeed of the approach and the wind conditions. In a competition, judges and observers would be on hand to score the drop and retrieve the message boxes.  

 

Parks College uses the Diamond DA-20 pictured above for their primary flight training. Other aircraft are used for instrument flight, complex commercial and twin-engine flight training - Piper Arrow, Piper Seminole and Cirrus SR20. These aircraft can be seen flying daily out of St. Louis Downtown Airport. 

  

The Aero Experience thanks Parks College of St. Louis University for their hospitality during our visit with the Flying Billikens. For an in-depth look into a SAFECON competition, see our series from the 2015 Region 6 SAFECON hosted by Parks College. 

SAFECON Region VI Competition in St. Louis: Reflections on a Great Aero Experience

By Carmelo Turdo

The National Intercollegiate Flying Association (NIFA) SAFECON Region VI competition recently held in St. Louis is now part of Midwest Aviation history, and the students have settled into their fall semester academic and aviation activities at their home campuses.  The event, hosted by St. Louis University's Parks College of Engineering, Aviation and Technology on October 19-23 mainly at St. Louis Downtown Airport, met its objective of providing a forum for college-age aviators to demonstrate their flight skills in a safe, fair and yes, competitive environment.  The Aero Experience was privileged to receive access to document the week's activities for NIFA, the host St. Louis University Flying Billikens, and our growing readership. 

The recent series of feature stories reported the highlights of each day's official activities.  This final installment will include a look at what we saw up close, behind the scenes and around the corner from the hustle and bustle of the competition.  We now share some views of the participants and the surrounding environs that are more candid than the previously published photos.   

Beginning the day with sunrise on the apron and landing at dusk:

The teams prepared for the day's activities in various places inside and outside:

Candid views of participants and staff during the week's activities:

St. Louis University Flying Billikens Team Coach Jack Schwarz demonstrates the proper technique for the precision landing:

 

      



The Aero Experience thanks NIFA, the St. Louis University Flying Billikens, Ideal Aviation FBO, the Greater St. Louis Air & Space Museum, the visiting teams and all who contributed to making this a great Midwest Aviation event!