{"id":28820,"date":"2024-05-27T19:20:39","date_gmt":"2024-05-27T19:20:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/saj.pachecostudios.com?p=28820"},"modified":"2024-05-27T19:21:42","modified_gmt":"2024-05-27T19:21:42","slug":"siu-flying-salukis-finish-second-in-nation-recent-siu-grad-earns-top-pilot-honors","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/state-news\/illinois\/siu-flying-salukis-finish-second-in-nation-recent-siu-grad-earns-top-pilot-honors\/%20","title":{"rendered":"SIU Flying Salukis Finish Second in Nation; Recent SIU Grad Earns Top Pilot Honors"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Photo above -\u00c2\u00a0 SIU Carbondale Flying Saluki co-captain Dayne Snodgrass holds the nation\u2019s top pilot award alongside trophies the team earned this past week in the National Intercollegiate Flying Association championships. The second place overall national finish marks the 15th straight year that SIU Aviation\u2019s flight team has finished in the top five. (Photo by Russell Bailey) <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Southern Illinois University Carbondale\u2019s Flying Salukis\nmight be young, but youth didn\u2019t stop the team from continuing its legacy of\nvictory in collegiate aviation last week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Paced by top pilot and recent graduate Dayne Snodgrass, the\nFlying Salukis finished second at the National Intercollegiate Flying\nAssociation (NIFA) championships May 18 at Southern Wisconsin Regional Airport\nin Janesville. The finish marks the 15th straight year that the nine-time\nnational champions have finished in the top five nationally and 12th time in 13\nyears SIU has been in the top three overall.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With five team members scoring among the top 21 competitors,\nCoach Nathan J. Lincoln, a senior lecturer in aviation management and flight in\nthe School of Aviation, was pleased with the team\u2019s performance. In the May\n13-18 competition with 31 teams, the University of North Dakota won the title,\nfollowed by SIU Carbondale just 17 points behind in flight events and\nEmbry-Riddle Aeronautical University-Prescott.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018Awesome performance\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

With just two graduating seniors on the team, Lincoln said\nthe team\u2019s performance was \u201cawesome.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe have a very young team, so having the ability to place\nsecond out of 31 teams was an amazing accomplishment,\u201d he said. \u201cEveryone\nshould hold their head high knowing they represented SIU so well.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Snodgrass, from Byron, Illinois, who graduated with a degree\nin aviation management on May 11, was the top scoring contestant with 155.5\npoints. He won the short-field landing competition along with the traditional\nnavigation event where he was the pilot and Samuel Cogan was the safety\nobserver.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDayne\u2019s performance this year was outstanding,\u201d Lincoln\nsaid. \u201cWinning two events and placing so well in others is extremely difficult\nat the national level. His dedication over the last few years has shown with\nthis amazing accomplishment.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Snodgrass, who has earned a minor in air traffic control and\nassociate degree in aviation flight, also works as a certified flight\ninstructor at SIU. He said he \u201ccouldn\u2019t have asked for a much better\nperformance.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBeing able to keep the mental focus to place in the top\nthree in each flying event is extremely difficult to accomplish,\u201d Snodgrass\nsaid. \u201cIt is not easy to prepare for eight total events and then actually place\nand perform well in most of them.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Results are available on the NIFA website.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Strong team effort<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Flying Salukis placed in all 11 events they competed in,\nwith seven team members scoring points in the competition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Weather issues in the weeks leading up to the competition\nlimited flight practices, but Lincoln noted the team\u2019s ability to quickly\nadapt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe had a lot of difficulty getting practice in before we\nleft for the competition, but we were able to come together in the last couple\nof weeks to perform when it counted,\u201d Lincoln said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The most difficult part in preparing for the competition is\nthe unknown, Snodgrass said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFor any given event there are multiple variables that can\neasily change the outcome,\u201d he said \u201cFor example, in the landing events, the\nwind speed, gusts, turbulence, aircraft performance and even the performance of\nthe aircraft in front of you must be considered. For the navigation event, the\nsame applies except now your route, turn points and secrets may be tougher or\nharder to find than the other routes.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Snodgrass noted that the team also finished second in the\nJudges Trophy competition, which he noted \u201cshows that the team\u2019s overall\nperformance is consistent with our placement.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe relied on some new members for many events,\u201d Snodgrass\nsaid. \u201cI am very excited to see how the team grows in the years to come.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After Snodgrass, Samuel Cogan, an aviation management\ngraduate from Alton, Illinois, was seventh overall with 78 points.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Other Flying Salukis who scored points were:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n