Wisconsin Flying Team @ 2015 NIFA National Competition (SAFECON) @ OSU - Badger Aviators

* For older pictures of the flying team and Badger Aviators, please click on the gallery tab rather than the hovered tabs.

Day 1 - Practice

The Wisconsin flag is flown for the first time in the NIFA national competition's 66-year history.

Before tower briefing. We arrived at the competition hangar bright and early after only three hours of sleep.

Team briefing before practice run.

Nakul during preflight. Ten minutes later he took off with team captain Wen for their first round of landing practices.

The nose of one of our rides: 91HL

Team captain Wen.

A Cessna 152 from the Maverick Flight Team (Minnesota State University-Mankato)

Run up formation. Picture taken from our plane of a US Air Force Academy Cessna 152.

Approach to land at KOSU.

Another round of airplanes waiting for departure as we approached for landing

Zuf spotted durinng preflight run. He is responsible for all of these enriching pictures.

Kelly wanted to check out the top of the preflight aircraft.

Incomprehensible facial expression.

This is our coach, Paul. A signature big kid.

Nakul churning out some SCAN practice.

Presenting our safety officer, Tyler.

Aaron:"This is how I feel about doing IFR." IFR: Instrument Flight Rule. It is one rating higher than the basic VFR (visual flight rule).

Kelly is just a tad bit tired.

Pre flight check before Wen and Nakul departs for another round of landing practice.

Mr. Stank with the tow bar ready for action.

How Wen reacted to a camera in his face.

Some of the planes from other competing schools.

It's a busy day at KOSU. Recorded traffic up to 1300.

Towing 91HL to the start up area.

Engine start up area (hot box) is to the right.

Day 2 - More Preparation

Aaron on a beautiful Sunday morning.

Wen is missing his girl.

Sunset over KOSU.

2/3 of the squad

Don't remember what Paul was doing.

Studying hard or hardly studying?

We are never short of fun conversations.

Day 3 - Knowledge Tests

@ the General Contestant Briefing. Sporting the cheese head.

This is Kendra and Qi. We occupied a small corner of the hotel's lobby where the paper exams are going on.

Paul socializing.

Our amazing and almighty Tyler made our own chock! If I were him I would make an extra pair and keep it in an exhibition box!

Our stallion, the 200k mile chevy that shimmies at 75mph.

Luxurious accommodation.

Day 4 - Navigation

Bright and early for another beautiful day!

The women of aviation.

Oklahoma State ready to roll.

Can't get better than this!

Aaron preflighting for our first nav round. He is the co-pilot (observer) and Tyler is the pilot.

Wen looking over the Detroit sectional map for preparation.

Trying different angles as we waited for launch.

Purdue's Cirrus SR20. Such a beautiful aircraft. It's basically the Ferrari of single engine airplanes. The doors open like a Ferrari too!

Heat four B line for nav launch.

Armed with the newly painted chock.

Tyler was brought out of the planning room via a gold cart. Each pilot was required to plan their route independently and placed in a isolation room after they finished planning.

Schweet Cessna "tat"

Day 5 - Power Off Landing

Day 5 - Short Field Landing

Day 6 - Message Drop
**Our self proclaimed "resident photographer" had to take two final exams that day, therefore, he didn't document much of the happenings.*

Day 7 - Coaches' Landing Competition & Award Banquet

KOSU seen from the other end of the airfield. Nakul and Tyler were among the people by the runway.

Fairly sure that float plane is abandoned.

Kendra and Zuf chilling on top of our van watching the coaches' competition.

We joined USAFA in our reconnaissance mission.

Paul ready for take off. He's a veteran of this competition. We've never seen him this excited about anything.

And there he goes.

Trying to photograph Paul in the air.

And of course she would take a selfie.

Approach to land. He will be aiming to put his gears down on the "zero" target line.

Very close! Paul still got it. He took seventh place out of twenty, which is very impressive considering the fact that he hasn't practice NIFA style landing for over two years.

The Mankato crew at the banquet.

Squad. Kelly and Qi had to return to Madison the night before to tend to graduation related business.

Shouldn't have turned the flash on ... But other than that, a good picture. The gigantic propeller was awarded to Kelly as a part of the "Harold S. Wood Award for Excellence".

Day 8 - Going Home
We planned on having two people fly back 91HL in the morning while the rest of the team drive back in the van. The weather situation was less than ideal. Cloud ceiling was low, and there was potential thunderstorm en route back to Madison. Consequently, this weather situation limits our flight to Madison strictly IFR. None of our team members were IFR current. Therefore, all of us either had to wait a few more hours and hope the weather clears up, or fly at lower than usual altitude. We as a team decided to wait a few more hours. By the time noon rolled around, weather en route seemed to be clearing up. Chris decided to take off with Wen to get the trip started. Kendra, Tyler, Aaron, and Nakul manned the van. Paul and Zuf drove back in Chris's car. The following pictures were taken when Paul and Zuf made a quick pit stop at the Air Force National Museum (the nation's largest aeronautical museum) near Dayton, OH.

This is Bockscar, the B-29 that dropped the second and last nuclear weapon "Fat Man" over the Japanese city of Nagasaki during WWII.

Messerschmitt Me 262 Schwalbe. World's first jet fighter.

Tail gun of a bomber.

The Japanese version of E6B.

Paul and Zuf drove by Chicago on the way back to Madison.