UND places second in national flying competition The UND Flying Team took second place with a score of 351 in the National Collegiate Flying Association’s (NIFA) Safety and Flight Evaluation Conference (SAFECON) which was held on May 7-12 at the Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio. Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (ERAU) – Prescott took first place with a score of 440, and ERAU – Daytona placed third with an overall score of 318. “I am very proud of the accomplishments and hard work put forth by the UND Flying Team,” said Mark (Monty) Johnson, head coach and advisor. “We had an extremely cohesive team that worked well together, and every member of the competition team scored points at the competition. The team has a solid group of returning competitors that will be looked upon to lead the team next year.” Gary Ebel, Jim Higgins, Jered Lease, Nick Peacock, Andrew Pierce, and Shelby Balogh are the assistant coaches, and Brendin Nelson is the team’s manager. The team participates in two competitions annually — a regional qualifying competition and the national competition to determine the national championship. The competition consists of 11 events, four flying events and seven ground events, which test a variety of piloting skills. -- Karen Ryba, Director of Communications, Aerospace, ryba@aero.und.edu, 701-777-4761