Sky Broncos precision flight team again qualifies for national competition

KALAMAZOO, Mich.—Seeing success in the skies, Western Michigan University's precision flight team, the Sky Broncos, placed second overall in the National Intercollegiate Flying Association (NIFA) Region III Safety and Flight Evaluation Conference (SAFECON) held Oct. 15 to 22 in Kent, Ohio.

Capturing first place in ground events and third in flight events at regionals, WMU aviators qualified for the 2022 NIFA national SAFECON set to take place May 9 to 14 at Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio.

The 14-member team is coached by flight instructor and alumnus Jim Ray. He is assisted by flight instructors Austin Barrett, Matthieu Menard and James Rundhaug. Ryan Seiler, aviation master faculty specialist, is their faculty advisor.

Competing against the Sky Broncos were flight teams from Bowling Green State, Kent State, Ohio and Ohio State universities. Teams earn points for members who finish in the top 10 in a series of flight and ground events. WMU's team accrued 207 points during the event, but Ohio State eked out a first-place win with 209 points. The Western team also secured the Judges Trophy for the regional competition.

“I am proud of this team. I am impressed with how much they accomplished given their level of experience in competition,” says Ray. “It will be thrilling to watch them grow as competitors, as a team and as a family.”

The team competed in NIFA's limited remote competitions last year for both regional and national events. For regionals, this consisted of three written tests for computer accuracy, aircraft recognition and simulated comprehensive aerial navigation, and Western placed first. For the national event, these three tests were included plus the ground trainer simulator and virtual aircraft preflight events; the Sky Broncos placed sixth.

“The team comes off a challenging previous year of nonflying, virtual-only competition due to the pandemic,” adds Seiler. “Due to the lack of flying last year and graduation of senior members, it was the first time competing in the flying events for everyone on the team. Despite the lack of experience, they all performed extremely well. And I expect great things from this group at nationals in the spring now that they have some competition experience under their belt. I could not be prouder of how this group represented WMU and battled through the adversities and challenges that they have faced.”

2021-22 Sky Broncos team

Below is information on the 2021-22 Sky Broncos team members and their first- through 10th-place finishes at the 2021 NIFA Region III SAFECON held at Kent State University. All members are aviation flight science majors, and Sheridan Hendrick is a dual major with aviation management and operations.

• Kyle Albrecht, a senior from Hartland, Michigan, was the top scoring contestant. He was named the top pilot and placed first in short field landing, first in simulated comprehensive aircraft navigation (SCAN), sixth in ground trainer, sixth as pilot in message drop, sixth as pilot in unlimited navigation and eighth in power-off landing.
• Umid Avchiyev, a junior from Uzbekistan, placed ninth in SCAN.
• Bazil Azeem, a junior from India, placed second in SCAN and seventh in ground trainer.
• Jessica Bernin, a junior from Wauconda, Illinois, placed first in aircraft preflight inspection and sixth in computer accuracy.
• Morgan Carstensen is a junior from Howell, Michigan.
• Evin Cooper, a junior from Monroe, Michigan, placed first in computer accuracy.
• Brock Fransen, a senior from Lena, Illinois, placed third as safety observer in unlimited navigation, fourth in aircraft preflight inspection, fourth in computer accuracy and eighth as dropmaster in message drop.

• Sheridan Hedrick, a senior from Olivet, Michigan, placed third in aircraft recognition.
• Evan Hoyle, a first-year student from Rockford, Michigan, placed seventh in aircraft recognition.
• Tyler Iverson is a sophomore from Benzonia, Michigan.
• Nicolas Olnhausen, a senior from Toledo, Ohio, is the team captain and placed second in aircraft recognition.
• Carter Peterson, a junior from Carlsbad, California, was the eighth highest-scoring contestant and placed second in aircraft preflight inspection, second in computer accuracy, sixth as dropmaster in message drop and sixth as safety observer in unlimited navigation.
• Antonino Serra, a senior from Macomb, Michigan, placed fifth in SCAN and ninth in ground trainer.
• Jack Skoczen, a senior from St. Charles, Illinois, was the fourth highest-scoring contestant and placed first in aircraft recognition, third as pilot in unlimited navigation, tied for third in power-off landing, sixth for top pilot and eighth as pilot in message drop.

For more WMU news, arts and events, visit WMU News online.