National Intercollegiate Flying Assoc.

[ilinipilot]

Ahhhh
The fun times we had with PURDUE at competition and other times. I have made some really good friends because of my association with NIFA. Some of my favorite NIFA memories, the toilet paper incident at regionals, one of our members peeing in the corner of a PU flight teamers apt, and all the U of I guys singing "you lost that loving feeling" remember that one FLYCHICAGA

D

 

[iaflyer]

Hazmat - sorry, not furloughed from COEX. Maybe you are thinking of Jason or Ryan - they were both on the team during your years, and went to Coex (and were furloughed I believe) But I did work there in the past. Nice group of people. I know some people who are still there, and some who are furloughed. It seemed like lots of FIT grads went there in the late 90s and before the furloughs.

I did many of the events, although my best were SCAN (1st place at '94 regionals) and Power-off landings. (1st place at '95 regionals) Also top pilot at '95 regionals.

It was fun - got to meet lots of neat people and fly airplanes.

iaflyer

 

[skeezer]

Yeah, the skeez meister will be chillin' at UND for Nationals this year. Look for the team without the sticks up their butts and who seems to be having the most fun (ie. goofing off, causing trouble, getting yelled at) and there shall I be.

I was involved with my University's flight team for so many years in a row that I it hurts when I think of it. I have been away from most of it since I got my job and the break has been nice but I still miss hanging with my homies after practice, and messing with the other teams at Regionals/Nationals.

As a side note, anyone who actually takes the Aircraft Recognition event seriously (those who do more than flip through the pages of a Janes book 5 mins before the competition)...... you are a DORK. Not being mean, just tellin' it like it is. All that time looking at aircraft pictures could have been spent perfecting your pimpin' skills.

Life's too short to be memorizing the subtleties of a 1960's Russian cargo aircraft's nacelles.

Peace out!

Skeezer

 

[DGdaPilot]

SIU!

Well, we've got peeps from all the other schools....I better post my $.02. Well to float our own boat, lemme ask: Who's got the national record for consecutive years to nationals? Oh, that's right....I think it's SIU. Anyways, we can't wait to get to UND. See all of ya there.

BTW, I'm in preflight, SCAN, rec., bomb drop, power-on, and CRM.

Oh, and one more thing. skeezer, I love aircraft rec and that might make me a dork, but I guarantee you ain't got **CENSORED****CENSORED****CENSORED****CENSORED** on me. Don't worry about my pimpin skills.....I get my fun.

 

[GuppyPuppy]

Re: SIU!

Oh, and one more thing. skeezer, I love aircraft rec and that might make me a dork, but I guarantee you ain't got **CENSORED****CENSORED****CENSORED****CENSORED** on me. Don't worry about my pimpin skills.....I get my fun.

To spend hours and hours studying the differences between all the different Russian helicopters, etc... is not logical.

It really amazes me that NIFA will weigh the Aircraft ID event the same as the preflight and other ground events. This event has really gotten out of hand. What started many years ago as a fun event has twisted itself into something insane. You get tested on aircraft that you will never see, or that don't exist anymore. So what if you know that the little bump on the plane makes that aircraft a 'C' model, rather than a 'B' model.

Speaking to those of you who actually place in this event at nationals...Do you really think that when you interview for a flying job that the interviewer would be impressed that you wasted part of your college life studying the differences between some obscure Soviet-block aircraft? As skeezer says...dork!

I can poke some fun, because many years ago I was one of those AC/ID dorks! Looking back...what a waste! At regionals it may have gotten the team some points, but the competition at nationals is nuts. I would have had to study day and night to recognize some of those aircraft and place in that event.

Like FlyChicaga says..."It's supposed to be fun". Unfortunately, some of those people running the show at NIFA have that stick so far up their keester!

Anyway, back to AC/ID....thinking of the people in this event reminds me of something I saw on TV several years ago.
Quoting William Shatner from a SNL skit (playing himself speaking to Trekkers at a Star Trek convention)..."Get a life! Move out of your parents' basement. Go try new things. You,... have you ever kissed a girl?".

Listen to some AC/DC and relax!

Cheers!

GP

 

[ilinipilot]

I find it comical that this thread has generated to this bashing session.
Since everyone finds it fun, to bash the team and its members I will give the positives that I have gotten and am getting from my involvement with the flight team.

-internship
-two free airline tickets anywhere in the US on AA
-jobs
-connections
-commraderie
-friends in many different universities
-a much deeper aviation knowledge and understanding than I ever had before
-leadership skills
-trophies, plaques, medals
-flight time and experience

Most importantly i got from the team a nice refuge from the rigors of flight training, like chandelles, lazy eights, NDBs etc and got to go out and fly for fun with my nav partner trying to find the darn RLAs that are miles mismarked and towers that are not there.

I put a lot into the flight team, and I got a lot out of it. It was a very imporant part of my college experience and I loved it and the people involved. I would do it all over again in a heart beat.

D

PS right now I have a box of all old tests that I am going through to give to my SCANNERS before they leave for nationals.
Good luck to All especially 67B and 29P

 

[HAZ-MAT]

Yea, why does every post on this site always have to have someone on here that shoots it down, if its not Gulfstreams PFT, or Mesa's TA, its making fun of NIFA competition. Rec was fun, it was 6 hours a week were i went to joke around, and goof off... When it was serious, was the week of selections... and it was the same with Preflight and Scan and Landings... It was FUN, i never went into a job interview and said.. oh you gotta hire me cause i landed 15inches from the line, or i can spin my wheel faster than anyone to find out the GS and time. It took time away from doing stupid Kinematics equations, and writting papers about Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas... But i know ppl at certain Universities took it all too serious, to the point where at competitions they wouldnt talk to anyone... I got to fly to Atlanta and take a tour of the Delta facility just from walking around and bumping into people...
Theres always a tool in the group

 

[Skyliner]

U of I Team, 1995-present (holy #@$! I've been doing this too long...)

As one of our team members says, "Good Times." I did it because its fun, a great chance to meet other pilots and share adventures, all while in school. Why do I still do it? Well, because its now part of my job, but mostly because I enjoy bringing aviation to our new pilots and students, and challenging them. I've made many friends through NIFA that I'll never forget.

As to aircraft rec, I did that for a few years. But hey! Its fun! Those of us who like airplanes enjoy it because that's what it is--looking at airplanes, not studying like FAR's for SCAN. Who doesn't like to look at airplanes? And who knows, gosh forbid you're taxiing out when ATC tells you to, "Give way to the IL-18 and follow the Belfast to 32L." Better know those planes.

Originally posted by FlyChicaga

U of I Flying Team, 2000-2002: Precision landings, precision navigation, and flying team anti-dork.

Hey FlyChicaga, make sure you tell everyone how you quit the team mid-semester to "run" that student advisory board thing that did nothing! Or Rho! LOL

See y'all up in the wilds of North Dakota. Anyone looking for a poker game up there, let me know...

 

[skeezer]

I think some of you might be missing the point here. We are not "bashing" anyone, we are just engaging in a little good natured teasing. After all, those of us calling the Aircraft ID people dorks are well, flight team dorks ourselves!

The number of hours that I spent studying the nuances of the FAR/AIM, calculating fuel burns to the tenth, ETA's to the second is freaking insane! In the long run that type of event (SCAN) is a lot more worthwhile than ACID but hey, it's still a little dorky.

All the hundreds upon hundreds of hours that spent doing that stuff was worth it. I have met some of the best friends of my life through the team, got to fly down to Dallas and play in AA's sims for free, and if I wasn't at SAFECON 2001 in UND I wouldn't have meet the recruiter that got me my job and I would still be flight instructing. NIFA is definitley worth the time not only in terms of the opportunities it opens up, but the friendships you will build.

So please don't accuse me of "bashing" NIFA or any flight team, except ERAU Prescott , I am just poking a little fun at those who take ACID way, WAY to seriously.

Peace Out

Skeezer

PS Someone left a dildo with a suction cup base (for mounting I guess) on one of our aircraft at SAFECON 2001. Who wants to take credit for that one? We have our suspects but no proof. We just need to know who to return it to. Its a little worn out but still stands up.

 

[groundpointsix]

See y'all up in the wilds of North Dakota. Anyone looking for a poker game up there, let me know...

Hey Skyliner, from one Rec dork to another-
I'll get in on that poker game if someone starts it up. I'll be the guy not flipping through his copy of Janes or memorizing FAR 91.

 

[GuppyPuppy]

RE: Dildo

You mean it still works even after $ex Mom and B got done with it???

Get the hollow ones for your pitot tube covers....it's for safety!!! That'll make Wally happy I'm sure!!!

GP

 

[mainah]

We only took ACID seriously at ERAU-Prescott cause it helped us score points. Other than that we goofed around a hell of a lot. Also, the dildo was probably San Jose State. They always have some prank like that.

 

[HAZ-MAT]

Does FIT still have Riddle-daytona's team mascot... the wooden duck? Prolly from 2000-01

 

[GuppyPuppy]

We only took ACID seriously at ERAU-Prescott cause it helped us score points. Other than that we goofed around a hell of a lot. Also, the dildo was probably San Jose State. They always have some prank like that.

About the AC/ID event...my point exactly. Because the event is worth so many points teams study this event. Why should it be worth as much as preflight or simulator? I certainly wouldn't want a national champion "flight team" to be decided by who won the AC/ID event!

And for dildo....Hmmm...just what was the carpet munching cosmonaut doing that morning? I know she loves our team the best!!! Maybe it could be used to check for cracks in the propeller!!!

Also...mainah....be careful who you accuse!

Ni!

GP

Remember Sauk "Soak" Centre

 

[mainah]

I totally agree ACID shouldn't be weighted as much as preflight and I'm glad to see that CRM is finally counting this year as points towards the Championship. As for the accusation, force of habit being from this region. Anytime a prank is pulled we generally assume San Jose did it. My mistake probably. Also, has Wally become an official space cadet yet? I sure hope she doesn't give the same Wally stick b.s. speech this year.

 

[GuppyPuppy]

Anytime a prank is pulled we generally assume San Jose did it.

Do you have anything against San Jose, or is their any kind of rivalry between the two schools? If that was SJ...good one! What do you guys do to get them back?

Sounds like good-natured fun!

GP

 

[mainah]

No, nothing against San Jose. In fact they seem to have the most fun at competition. Just its usually them pulling pranks. If I knew I wouldn't have gotten in trouble with the coaches when I was a competitor, I would have done some myself.

 

[down2mins]

This post looks like it died a while ago... but in case more students/alums have joined...throw your info on.

Ohio State '02-'04

asst. coaching ever since

 

[imacdog]

I made it to four nats while at FIT. Wally was great - while in the pattern during landings you could actually see a bright orange dot walking around near the runway.

Favorite teams to hang out with were Louisiana Tech and Auburn. Good times.

 

[down2mins]

Forgot to mention - if anyone needs info on coming to Nationals this year, let me know.