On Thursday, Sept 26, Lewis Universitys Department of Aviation and Transportation was presented with the Loening trophy,

the most prestigious aviation award, which the Universitys Flight Team won in May at the SAFECON competition. Each year the Loening trophy is awarded to the most outstanding collegiate aviation program in the nation. The Loening Trophy is the rarest and oldest of all collegiate aviation awards, according to the National Intercollegiate Flying Association. It says a lot about Lewis, said Megan Zahos, Head Coach and Assistant Chief Pilot, Lewis is very supportive of its Flight Team. Over the years the Flight Team has won many awards, dating back to the 1920s, but this is Lewis first time receiving the Loening trophy. The award has been around since 1929 and each year a plaque with the universitys name and year they won is placed on the trophy. We never won it before, so its kind of neat to see our name on it for the first time, said Zahos. To qualify to win this award, each flight team at SAFECON must give a presentation on the activities and events the team participated in over the year. They have to show that they, as Flight Team members, and the aviation program as a whole met or exceeded the criteria required be considered one of the top aviation programs in the nation, Zahos explained. It takes almost all of the initiative of the Flight Team members to win this award. The team spent the year preparing for the SAFECON flight and ground events by practicing the necessary skills almost daily. However, to prepare for the Loening presentation, the team had to organize events, attend seminars and take part in community outreach.

It really does takes so much work and effort to win, its difficult, you cant just show up at competition and throw something together. You have to be working on it all year long, planning events all year long, and then prove that thats what youve been doing as a team, said Zahos. Zahos credits the teams involvement and joint effort in preparing the events over the year and the, almost, hour-long presentation for the departments big win. This was the first year, I think, that the team really came together and all worked on this presentation and all the events they have to do to prove that they are a leading aviation program, said Zahos. It goes without saying that the team members are very happy about their win, but some feel the bigger glory is for the university. Erik Rasmussen, a Flight Team member and past Captain, said, It has been overwhelmingly exciting. It is certainly a great start to a new era in Lewis aviation. In addition to the Loening trophy, Lewis Flight Team took eighth place overall at SAFECON. They landed sixth in ground events, 16th in flight events and individual team member awards as well, including Erik Rasmussen who earned first place in the Certified Flight Instructor event.