Metro flight team aims to beat Air Force

By Sean Weaver
The Metropolitan

Some professors might complain their studentsâ heads are in the clouds, but aerospace science professor Bruce Christian, the advisor of Metroâs Precision Flight Team, encourages it.

The team, which has been at Metro since the 1970s, competed Oct. 11 in a five state regional competition in Colorado Springs. It placed second overall behind the Air Force Academy and was invited to compete in a national competition next semester Kansas.

The team is adamant about beating the Air Force in the Kansas.

ãIf we beat Air Force, I will buy everyone on the team an expensive dinner,ä Christian said. ãMy wife doesnât know that yet.ä 

Breezy Franson, a Metro aerospace technology major and the teamâs co-captain, said it will have to work hard to take tops in the national competition. Not only will the team have to put in long hours practicing, it also must raise money to go to the competition.

 Franson said the cost for the team will be about $9,000, some of which will  be covered by the Student Travel office and Metro Student Activities.  She said the

club will make up the difference by washing planes at local airports, and selling pizzas and T-shirts on campus.

Franson said in addition to attending a mandatory 3-credit-hour aviation class during the week, the team also spends 5 hours on Saturdays practicing at the Limon airport and in Metro flight simulators.

ãWe try to have a lot of fun,ä Franson said. ãYouâll never have a 3-hour class where you will work as much as here. We have to get up at 5:30 a. m. to go to Limon.ä

Christian said the team practices in Limon because its lack of air traffic.  Christian said when most people think of air competitions, they think of speed competitions or acrobatic competitions.

In the regional and national competition, the pilots compete in nine events that simulate the challenges pilots might encounter on a day-to-day basis. 

The competitions include precision landing and navigation exercises, in addition to ground events like preflight inspections. For those, a mechanic sabotages the aircraft and the contestant has 15 minutes to find the problem. 

Christian said the competitions pay off for the flight team members because they can put it on their resumes. He said most students on the team will eventually take jobs as airline pilots after graduation.