Collegiate Aviation Competition at Kansas State University Polytechnic Campus Oct. 14-17

SALINA — The Kansas State University Polytechnic Campus is hosting an aviation competition for college students and the media is invited to experience the action.

The National Intercollegiate Flying Association Safety and Flight Evaluation Conference, also known as NIFA SAFECON, regionals will be Oct. 14-17 at Kansas State Polytechnic with students competing in nine events taking place both on the ground and in the air. A total of 11 universities from eight states are participating and represent two different regions: Minnesota State University-Mankato, University of Dubuque, University of North Dakota and University of Wisconsin are from Region V; and Kansas State Polytechnic, Oklahoma State University, Southeastern Oklahoma State University, St. Louis University-Parks College, University of Central Missouri, University of Nebraska Omaha and University of Oklahoma make up Region VI. The top three schools from each region will go on to compete at nationals in May 2019.

Members of the media are welcome to attend certain NIFA SAFECON events scheduled for Monday, Oct. 15, and Tuesday, Oct. 16:

• Power-off Landings, an event in which contestants are scored based on how close they land their airplane to a "zero line" painted on the runway, starts at 9:30 a.m. Oct. 15 and will run for several hours.

• Also Oct. 15, students will compete in Aircraft Recognition at 4 p.m., a ground event in which participants are shown images of various aircraft and the manufacturer, number designation and official name must be determined. Media members are asked not to show the aircraft photos as they will be used for other regionals.

• On Oct. 16, Message Drop launches at 2:30 p.m. and consists of a pilot and drop master releasing two containers from their plane and attempting to get them as close as possible to two targets. If inclement weather occurs, the schedule of events could change.