1947 Sky Broncos
National Championship Team
WMU College of Aviation Hall of Honor Class of 2016
The Sky Broncos flying club was founded by students at Western Michigan College on November 11th, 1946. Less than seven months later several founding members of the organization won their first national championship at the National Intercollegiate Flying Association’s air meet. The contest was host to 14 colleges from across the country on May 31st, 1947 at the Willow Run Airport in Ypsilanti, MI. The members of Western’s team were John Althouse, Reid Arnold, Loyal Bearss, Virginia Jansen, Betty Lange and Gilbert Somers. They competed in a Piper J-3 Cub to earn the 1st Place Bendix Trophy presented by Grover Loening, edging out the University of Detroit and University of Michigan who were 2nd and 3rd respectively. The group also won the General Motors Trophy for the safest team at the competition in addition to numerous individual honors. These pioneering men and women are responsible for starting a proud tradition of excellence in collegiate aviation competition at Western Michigan University, a legacy that continues to this day.