Florida Tech Falcons Take Home National Safety Award

MELBOURNE, Fla.—Florida Tech’s Precision Flight Team, the Falcons, earned first place for Safety at the National Intercollegiate Flying Association (NIFA) Safety and Flight Evaluation Conference held at Ohio State University in Columbus the week of May 7. This was the second consecutive year the team won the award, which is given to the team that has demonstrated the safest practices and procedures during the past year.
Student Will Rae was the safety officer. Donna Wilt, associate professor of aeronautics, is the team’s adviser.
Others accomplishments included Tim Wing and John Buraceski, seventh in the Message Drop event; Chris Wiersma and Justin Smith, seventh in the Cockpit Resource Management event, coached by Peter Dunn, assistant professor; Tim Wing and Will Rae, 17th in the Navigation event; Will Rae, 18th in the Preflight event; and John Buraceski, 19th in the Power-off Landing event. Tim Wing received the Outstanding Team Member Award.
Thirty-one colleges and universities and nearly 500 competitors participated. The Falcons’ team captain was Wiersma.
The NIFA is an organization of colleges and universities who are either directly involved in one of the many forms of aviation education or who have a student group on campus with aviation interests. Their primary activity is to conduct regional and national safety and flight evaluation conferences called SAFECON.
Aviation-related undergraduate degrees in the Florida Tech College of
Aeronautics currently include seven bachelor of science degrees. Three of the bachelor’s degrees have a flight option. The university also offers three aviation-related master’s degrees and a doctoral degree in science education with a concentration in aeronautics.

PHOTO: Falcons, from left: Donna Wilt, faculty adviser; Tim Wing, Steven Nesbitt, Chris Wiersma, John Palishen, Jessica Schlegel, John Buraceski, Richard Allabaugh, Benjamin Charles, William Rae and Justin Smith.