OU Flying Sooners Qualify for Nationals

For the first time in more than three decades, the OU Flying Sooners flight team has qualified to compete for a national championship after a stellar showing at the National Intercollegiate Flying Association Region IV SAFECON last week at Max Westheimer Airport.

OU’s third-place overall finish earned the 15-member team a trip to nationals on the strength of seven Top 5 finishes and 19 Top 10 finishes during the three-day competition. The team placed second overall in combined ground event scoring and fifth overall in the flight events. The Flying Sooners team and the student host committee were also awarded the Red Barron Sportsmanship Award for outstanding sportsmanship and hospitality.

Professional Pilot senior and Flying Sooners co-captain Scott Wardrop was named Top Pilot at the event, the top individual honor awarded for all-around excellence throughout the competition.

“These guys worked their tails off,” said Ross Ellis, assistant chief flight instructor for the School of Aviation Studies and faculty adviser for the Flying Sooners. “This is a huge accomplishment, as we get to represent the University of Oklahoma on the national stage!”

Students from the OU Extended Campus School of Aviation Studies competed against teams in NIFA’s Region IV, which includes 14 schools from Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas and Oklahoma, in five ground events and four flying events, including flight planning, navigation, landing and aircraft recognition, in a series of written exams, as well as simulated and real-world flying skills tests.

The Flying Sooners will next compete as part of a 30-team field in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, in May 2020 at NIFA’s 100^th Anniversary SAFECON, alongside fellow Region IV representatives Oklahoma State University and LeTourneau University–Longview (Texas).