For the 13th time, the Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (ERAU) Golden Eagles Flight Team has won the national flight championship.
The Golden Eagles were the best from among 28 top universities across the nation, winning the National Intercollegiate Flying Association Safety and Flight Evaluation Conference (NIFA SAFECON). Results were posted May 22.
Prominent signs announcing all national championships line each of the two main entry roads into the ERAU campus.
Winning the national championship in intercollegiate aviation is the equivalent of winning the NCAA football, basketball or baseball championships in intercollegiate athletics, said Jason Kadah, director of communications and marketing for the ERAU-Prescott campus.
More than 30 students from multiple academic disciplines comprise the team that competed in a variety of carefully defined virtual events such as aircraft preflight inspection, aircraft navigation, aircraft recognition, computer accuracy, ground trainer, precision landing and the like. Ordinarily, the competition is held in-person across the country.
In addition to the national championship, the Golden Eagles have won 35 consecutive regional championships.
