Courtesy of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University
For the second consecutive year and the 14th time in competition history, the Golden Eagles Flight Team from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University-Prescott (ERAU) has won the National Intercollegiate Flying Association national SAFECON championship.
The Golden Eagles beat 27 other university flight teams, which collectively included more than 500 students from across the United States.
Ohio State University in Columbus hosted the national flight competition May 9 to May 14.
ERAU Head Coach Shaun Shepherd, an ERAU 2003 graduate, said: “I get to coach and teach the best of the best.”
In all, ERAU participated in 12 events and finished in first place in eight of them.
Earlier in the spring, the Golden Eagle team won the 37th SAFECON regional competition, marking the 37th time it had won that honor.
Parker Northrup, the ERAU Flight Department chair, praised the Eagles, saying their dedication was among the keenest he had seen in three decades of his personal and military flight education programs.