HU Expected to Fly High at National Competition

Hampton, VA - Hampton University’s flight team placed second in the National Intercollegiate Flying Association Region 10 Safety and Flight Evaluation Conference (SAFECON) held at the Hickory Regional Airport in Hickory, N.C. on Oct. 24-29. This placement earned HU a spot at the National SAFECON that will be held May 7-12, 2007 at Ohio State University.

“With the national competition on the horizon, the team will be working hard to ensure they are well prepared,” said Captain Darryl A. Stubbs, Ret. U.S. Navy, associate professor of aviation and flight team advisor.

Liberty University and Caldwell Community College and Technical Institute tied for first place at the regional competition. The schools competed in ground and flight events.

Ground events consisted of manual flight computer accuracy, ground trainer simulator and aircraft recognition, just to name a few. The flight events were precision power-on and power-off landings, air navigation and message drop. This will be HU’s fifth time attending the national competition.

“There are not a lot of African Americans on other teams,” said Stubbs. “There are not a lot of females participating at all,” he continued.

HU’s Akilah Hill is an FAA certificated private pilot and is on the team. She would like to see more African American females in her field. Hill says that it is the technology that fascinates her the most.

According to Stubbs, less than one percent of commercial pilots are black and there are less than 400 professional female pilots.

Hill may have company at the national competition this year. HU student Whitney Blackburn is working to complete her pilot training in time to compete. Other students on the team are Andre Watkins-Clark, Stacy France, Chris Thomas, Richard Tabler, Alex DeForest, Donovan Johnson and Arden “Ray” Potter. 2005 graduate James Ide is the team’s coach.

# HU #

Hampton University, a dynamic, progressive institution of higher education, is a privately-endowed, non-profit, non-sectarian, co-education, historically black university. It is located in southeastern Virginia and boasts one of the loveliest campuses in the nation, with a picturesque waterfront and historic buildings and landmarks. Comprised of seven schools, a Graduate College and a College of Continuing Education, Hampton University is among the leaders in higher education.