Sidebar: Flight team

Simulated Comprehensive Aircraft Navigation exam -- The exam includes all aspects of basic aeronautical skills, similar to current FAA written exams, but with a few extra challenges. The exam concentrates on computational problems involving cross-country navigation.

Landing events -- In the power-off and short-field landings, a line is chalked on the runway. Points are given based on how close the plane gets to the line under given conditions, as well as overall technique. In the power-off landing, pilots reduce power and essentially glide into the landing.

"It's usually easy to land pretty close, but the way the event is set up makes it more challenging," said Troy Brockway, flight team adviser and assistant professor of aviation at K-State at Salina.

Preflight -- This event involves a preflight inspection of a plane that has been "bugged" with a variety of discrepancies. The student is graded on the number of discrepancies discovered in 15 minutes.

"The competitor needs to know the mechanics of the aircraft well," Brockway said. "Some are pretty tricky. Last year at nationals, the propeller was put on backwards."

Navigation -- Students have 30 minutes to plot a three- to five-mile cross-county flight, estimating time between checkpoints, total time en route and expected fuel usage. A check pilot then rides with the student to verify the accuracy of the estimates and ground judges record time over checkpoints.

Message drop -- A pilot and drop master work together to drop messages from 200 feet in the air into two different barrels on the ground. The drop master earns points based on how close the messages are to the barrels.

Computer accuracy -- Using an E6B, a circular slide rule made specifically for aviation, students work a variety of problems. Problems include time, speed, distance, wind correction and fuel requirements.

Simulator -- Students are required to demonstrate instrument flight rules, proficiency and precision in a simulator. Scores are given based on how close students come to the target values in a pre-set flight.

Aircraft recognition -- Slides of parts of a variety of aircraft are flashed on a screen for three to five seconds. The student must identify the aircraft by manufacturer, model number and common name. Worldwide aircraft are used, including Russian airliners and WWII planes.

"This is a challenging event," said team captain Brad Amstutz, senior in aviation at K-State at Salina. "Many of the planes are ones you hardly ever see."

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Winter 2002