TERRE HAUTE —
Planes from around the country are dropping into Terre Haute this week, trying to get a little extra practice in before the national finals begin Monday.
“Most of these schools, their budgets for their programs are through the roof, so they come out a week in advance and practice,” Indiana State University junior Blake McCall said Wednesday afternoon, walking about Terre Haute International Airport-Hulman Field with teammates as they prepare to host the 90th annual National Intercollegiate Flying Association’s national competition. The SAFECON 2010 nationals represent the end of a bracket-style competition which pits the best university flight teams in America against one another. Last year’s meet was hosted in St. Louis.
U.S. Air Force Academy planes were among those already on the flight pad Wednesday as their members were getting in extra practice.
“This time next week, this entire space will be covered with planes,” said Corey Hill, an ISU senior and this year’s president of NIFA.
The weeklong competition runs Monday through Saturday, with 30 university flight teams expected to participate. This year, about 450 participants will bring 90 aircraft to the local airport, supported by dozens of support aircraft, judges, faculty advisers and crews.
David Patterson, director of the Terre Haute Convention and Visitors Bureau, said that more than 1,000 people will be coming to town. Along with their national sponsors, each team is expected to spend between $10,000 and $15,000 while here.
“The economic impact of this event will be huge,” he said, noting the length of the event and its relationship to hotel rooms, restaurants and local stores.
Hill, McCall, Christian Reid and Andrew Carboneau helped wheel a red-white-and-blue Cessna 152 out of the hangar Wednesday, one of ISU’s planes used for instruction and competition. Next week’s events will include ground tests such as computer accuracy, aircraft preflight inspection, simulator ground trainers, aircraft recognition and simulated comprehensive area navigation (SCAN). Flight events include short field landings, power-off precision landings, navigation and message drops.
“They used to call that a bomb drop,” Hill explained of the event which requires planes in-flight to drop an object from the sky onto a target. “But people got a little uneasy about that, so they changed the name,” he laughed.
This is Hill’s first year as president of NIFA, and he explained that the school that wins the bid to host the nationals typically gets the presidency for one of its members. Vern Bothwell and Victoria Dunbar serve as faculty advisers, but overall, the NIFA programs are student-run and -organized.
ISU has never before hosted the national tournament, but Patterson said he hopes a successful production will lead to more such events.
“We bid on this a number of years ago,” he said, crediting former airport director Dennis Dunbar with winning the bid for an NIFA regional here. “It was really his brainchild,” he said of those efforts.
Crediting this year’s flock of ISU students and the airport administration, Patterson said next week’s competition will place an underutilized facility in the middle of all the right people.
“There are 1,000 people we hope are going to take away a great feeling about our community,” he said.
Dennis Wiss, executive director of the Terre Haute International Airport-Hulman Field, said Wednesday evening that five teams had come in as of that afternoon: the University of Nebraska, Ohio State University and the U.S. Air Force Academy.
“We’re very excited that they’re here. Schools from all across the country are coming,” he said, noting that the increase in activity can only help the facility’s bottom line. Wiss estimated fuel sales for the coming week to be near 6,000 gallons from the competition alone.
Brian Boyce can be reached at 812-231-4253 or brian.boyce@tribstar.com.
News
Related Photos
-
Check it: Indiana State University Flight Team member Andrew Carboneau checks the oil in one of the aircraft that will be used by the team during the national college meet this week. Bob Poynter
-
Busy space: Flight teams participating in the NCAA meet arrive at Terre Haute International Airport-Hulman Field on Wednesday afternoon. Bob Poynter
-
Push: Indiana State University students push a Cessna 152 back into the hangar after doing a routine inspection of the aircraft Wednesday afternoon. They are preparing for a national college competition. Bob Poynter
-
NCAA meet: Student pilots from several schools talk on the tarmac at Terre Haute International Airport-Hulman Field on Wednesday afternoon as they prepare for the national college event. Bob Poynter
-
Flight team: Indiana State University Flight Team members Blake McCall and Christian Reid sit in the cockpit of an aircraft that will be flown during the national college competition. Bob Poynter
Discussion
ISU hosting annual National Intercollegiate Flying Association’s national competition
Weeklong event begins Monday at Hulman Field
- News
-
-
Rockville correctional facility program teaches life skills
It’s hard to know who benefits the most: the inmates or the dogs.
-
AAA mag recognizes city for arts works
The nonprofit organization that uses outdoor sculpture to draw attention to Terre Haute is getting some notice of its own.
-
State pushing for convenience stores to make safety a higher priority
In 2002, after New Mexico forced convenience store owners to put sweeping security measures into place for clerks working late-night hours, the number of robberies dropped by 92 percent. Assaults, murders and other crimes at convenience stores also dropped dramatically.
Now Indiana officials are hoping voluntary compliance with similar safety standards will bring about similar results.
-
Patriotism & Honor
From his vantage point, Sonner Faught could see almost every volunteer in the cemetery.
-
Graduation turns to mourning in Clinton
Jeana Lunsford’s graduation from South Vermillion High School Saturday should have been a time of celebration.
-
School choice proponents foresee growth of vouchers
Twenty-seven Vigo County students benefited from tax-supported vouchers during the first year of the Choice Scholarship Program, and that number is expected to grow for 2012-13, say Indiana school choice leaders who visited Terre Haute Thursday.
-
Tales of obstruction meet first takeover attempts
A decade after Indiana legislators gave the state the power to take over chronically failing schools, the first implementation of the law is meeting with resistance, skepticism and questions about its costs.
-
MIKE LUNSFORD: Raising a flag for my father, veteran or not
My daughter, Ellen, and I stood at my parents’ graves on Mother’s Day a few weeks back and talked about how it couldn’t possibly have been so long since we lost them. My dad, for instance, has been gone for 16 years, and that is nearly unimaginable
-
3 rescued from burning residence
Quick action on the part of some first-responders is credited with saving the lives of three people in a Vermillion County fire early Saturday morning, according to the Vermillion County Sheriff’s Department.
-
He never forgot a name: Friends remember victim of fire at Garfield Towers
When Freddie Poore met you, he never forgot you.
-
Hometown boy embraces ‘Promise I Made’: Clinton native Ken Kercheval takes role in Dreams Come True production
Thanks to some help from a hometown boy in Hollywood, “This Promise I Made” is still on track to be kept in Clinton.
-
STATE OF THE STATEHOUSE: Many say they don’t vote in primary because of tag that comes with it
A couple of columns ago, I posed a question about why most Indiana polling places on primary election day had so few customers.
-
Police looking for convenience store robber
Police are seeking a robbery suspect following a Saturday morning armed robbery at the Jiffy MiniMart at 25th Street and Eighth Avenue.
-
Graduation ‘responsibility’: Rose-Hulman stages 134th commencement exercises
Inventor Dean Kamen gave a first-hand demonstration Saturday of how to be an innovator.
-
THE OFF SEASON: To the seniors, one last lecture before you go …
It dawned on me one day last week, as I sat at my desk in my teacher clothes and shoes, a stack of ungraded essays calling to me from a rather tall and depressing pile, that I hadn’t missed a high school graduation in 33 years.
-
HOT MEMORIAL DAY weekend ahead for workers, campers, garage salers
The Memorial Day weekend is the unofficial kickoff of summer, and this weekend is expected to be a scorcher with consecutive days of temperatures in the low to mid-90s.
-
Water rescuers
Emergency personnel wheel a man who was removed from a vehicle that had been driven into the water at Crystal Lake on Boston Avenue near 14th Street at about 9 p.m. Friday.
-
For many, camping outdoors is the way to beat the heat, enjoy nature
Stringing up fishing poles in the shade of American flags, households full of Hoosiers are packing into parks across the state this weekend.
-
Towns along National Road readying for next week’s miles-long yard sale
Stretching 824 miles from Baltimore to St. Louis, the National Road — known as U.S. 40 through Indiana — will soon be the host site for perhaps the longest bargain market in the country.
-
Rose grads honoring late president Branam at commencement today
Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology’s Class of 2012 will honor the memory of Matt Branam during today’s commencement ceremony by wearing special pins with the phrase “Make It Happen; Make It Fun,” a favorite saying of the former Rose-Hulman president, who died unexpectedly on April 20.
-
Vigo County Jail Log: May 26, 2012
The following individuals were booked into the Vigo County Jail by area law enforcement on Thursday and Friday, based on jail records. Charges are recommended by arresting officers but are not final until the Vigo County prosecutor reviews the case and files official charges.
-
Quiz King
Matt Aselage doesn’t usually watch TV game shows, but he is certainly up-to-date on current events.
-
A fallen soldier returns home
An Army carry team moves a transfer case containing the remains of Spc. Arronn D. Fields early Thursday morning at Dover Air Force Base, Del.
-
Official touts trade with northern neighbor
A top Canadian diplomat told a Terre Haute audience Thursday his country was “disappointed” when President Obama at least temporarily rejected a proposed transcontinental oil pipeline from Alberta to Texas.
-
Caution urged for summer’s kickoff
Lane restrictions in construction zones on Interstate 70 and other highways around the state will be lifted to accommodate holiday travel for the Memorial Day Weekend.
-
Letters delivered
Several positions will be eliminated this summer at the Terre Haute mail processing facility as the U.S. Postal Service begins moving the operation to Indianapolis, a U.S. Postal Service spokesman has confirmed.
-
Companies seek Vigo tax abatements
Two Vigo County companies are seeking tax abatements for expansion projects, one of which is included as part of a county incentive package.
-
High-speed chase suspect caught in West Virginia
The suspect in a cross-country, high-speed chase originating in Terre Haute last week was reportedly in federal custody Thursday evening.
-
Second victim of deadly I-70 semi-trailer crash identified
The Vigo County Coroner’s Office has identified the passenger of a semi-tractor crash on May 16 in the eastbound lanes of Interstate 70 near the 12-mile marker.
-
Brazil remembers a Fallen Son
A small town seemed sadly quiet Wednesday, waiting to honor a local fallen warrior.
- More News Headlines
-
Man Falls Off Crane, Dies After Police Standoff
Witness Describes Fla. Face-chewing Attack
Raw Video: Cop Shoots Man Eating Another's Face
Man in Crane at Texas College Says He's Armed
Unexpected Smog in Pristine National Parks
Obama Honors Fallen Troops at Arlington Cemetery
Raw Video: Deadly Explosion at Minn. Paper Mill
Dairy Farm Uses Chiropractor to Help Cows
Romney Promises World's Strongest Military
Russia Condemns Ally Syria Over Massacre of 108
Air Canada Plane Makes Emergency Landing
Raw Video: Earthquake Shakes Evacuees in Italy
Obama Pays Tribute to Vietnam Veterans
Beryl Knocks Out Power in Florida
Raw Video: 19 Dead in Qatar Shopping Mall Fire
15 Dead in Northern Italy's 5.8-magnitude Quake
Service Dogs Help Wash. Soldiers Battling PTSD
Raw Video: Memorial Day Aboard Intrepid
New Ticks Spread Across Southeast, Diseases Rise
Beryl Makes Landfall on Florida Coast
Hamster Plays Dead
Beyonce Shows Off 60 Pound Weight Loss at Concert
Drunk Women Breaking Into Houses: A New Trend?
LeAnn Rimes Rocks Short Shorts
Gordon Ramsay Carried Off Field
Man Dies Getting Lap Dance
Kim Kardashian Claims Items Stolen from Her Luggage
Bear cools off in Calif. family's pool
Ep. 3: Chopped Desserts
Air Force dad surprises family at baseball game
Justin Bieber Wanted for Questioning for L.A. Scuffle
J.Lo and Marc's Friendly Reunion
Jet makes emergency landing after debris falls off
Cynthia Nixon Ties the Knot
Woman, 80, Falls Out of Skydive Harness Mid-Jump
Keira Reveals Engagement Ring
Dog runs alonside cyclists for 1,100 miles
