High-Flyers

Flight Teams Repeat National Success

Once again,Embry-Riddle dominated the National Intercollegiate Flying Association’s (NIFA) Safety and Flight Evaluation Conference (SAFECON) hosted May 4-10 by Middle Tennessee State University in Smyrna, Tenn.
The Golden Eagles flight team from the Prescott, Ariz. campus captured first place and the Eagles flight team from the Daytona Beach, Fla. campus placed third in the national competition.
It was the first back-to-back national championship for the Golden Eagles, which took the top spot last year at NIFA SAFECON, as well as in 1993, 1997, 1999, 2003, and 2005. The Eagles took first in 1992.
In this year’s competition, which involved more than 400 pilots from 31 aviation programs around the nation, the Golden Eagles earned 465 points. Following them in the rankings were the University of North Dakota, with 349 points, and Embry-Riddle’s Daytona Beach team, with 332 points.
The Golden Eagles also captured the Judges Trophy and first place in flying events and ground events. The Eagles won the Competition Safety Award and came in second, third, and fourth place respectively in the flying events, Judges Trophy, and ground events.
Several individuals on both teams placed particularly well. From Daytona Beach, Derek Herchko and Alex Kim took first in navigation and Dan Demmery was first in the ground trainer event. On the Prescott team, Peter Grey was first in the simulated comprehensive aircraft navigation event.
“Our performance was a result of endless hours of work and practice by every team member,” said Jared Testa, the Golden Eagles’ head coach. “Thirteen of our 18 national contestants will return next year to work toward a ‘three-peat.’ ”
“Three years after Daytona Beach placed a renewed emphasis on its flight team, we have re-arrived as a contender,” said Les Westbrooks, who coached the Eagles with David Zwegers. “This competition confirms that Embry-Riddle is the premier flight-training venue in the world.”

Business Students Beat Big Rivals for Second Year in a Row

When Matt Arneson entered a business plan he wrote in a statewide leadership competition in Phoenix, Ariz., on April 4 and 5, he just hoped to do well.
His team of fellow business students from Embry-Riddle’s Prescott, Ariz., campus took second place in the annual Phi Beta Lambda State Leadership Conference, which attracts students from Arizona colleges and universities.
What he didn’t expect was for two entrepreneurs to approach him afterward with an offer to buy his plan, a detailed proposal to create a helicopter leasing and training company.
He and 14 other Embry-Riddle business students took home the most awards overall in events where nearly 100 students from eight schools competed in business law, decision-making, economics, financial analysis, management concepts, and statistics. Judges of the competitions came from major companies such as IBM and Southwest Airlines.
For the second year in a row at the conference, the Embry-Riddle students have defied expectations and surpassed better-known business programs from Arizona State University and the University of Arizona.
“The conference is a good way to show how well our students compare against other established business programs,” said Javad Gorjidooz, associate professor of finance and co-advisor of the Prescott chapter of Phi Beta Lambda, the world’s largest student business organization.
Gorjidooz revived the business degree program at the campus in 2004 with a handful of students. Today, 75 students are majoring in aviation business administration, and this spring the first 13 graduated. Most already had management jobs lined up at airlines and airports.

Vasigh publishes aviation economics text

Bijan Vasigh’s new book, Introduction to Air Transport Economics: From Theory to Applications, has been published by Ashgate (www.ashgate.com). Vasigh, a professor of finance and economics at the university’s College of Business, was assisted by Embry-Riddle co-authors Thomas Tacker, who teaches air transportation economics, and Ken Fleming, who recently retired as head of air traffic management research at the university.