Campus News

Westminster Flight Team Wins Top National Award

Westminster Flight Team Wins Top National Award For Outstanding Collegiate Aviation Program
The Loening Trophy is the Rarest and Oldest of All Collegiate Aviation Awards 

May 17, 2007

 Westminster College’s student flight team traveled to the National Intercollegiate Flying Association (NIFA) national competition in Ohio this week and took home one of the most prestigious awards of the competition—The Loening Trophy.

The Loening Trophy is a perpetual trophy that is presented each year to the outstanding all around collegiate aviation program in the nation. The award has been presented annually since 1929 to the program that displays outstanding competition performance, aviation safety and active participation in aviation in its local community.

The trophy is named after Dr. Grover Loening, who worked with Orville and Wilbur Wright and was the first person to have earned an advanced Aviation Sciences degree. In 1929, when the trophy was first awarded, the judges on the panel included Dr. Loening, Charles Lindbergh, Amelia Earhart and John Towers.

To learn more about the award criteria, go to www.nifa.us/loening.pdf. For more information on NIFA, please visit www.nifa.us .

The NIFA nation competition includes students from flight schools across the country. Students compete in a variety of flying and ground events such as landings, flight planning and aircraft recognition. Participation in NIFA promotes professionalism, exacting standards and friendly competition among student pilots. It also provides scholarship opportunities and recognition for Westminster’s top flight students.

The Westminster College aviation program provides students with the most up-to-date information available to aviation professionals. Westminster offers aviation students new facilities and top-of-the-line equipment. Faculty members are highly qualified and small classes foster a high level of personal attention and access. Flight training is based at Salt Lake City International Airport, which serves all major U.S. airlines and many international carriers.

Westminster College, founded in 1875, is a private, comprehensive, liberal arts college dedicated to students and their learning. Impassioned teaching and active learning are the hallmarks of the Westminster experience. The college prepares its students for success through a strong foundation of liberal education combined with cutting-edge professional programs at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. Located where the magnificent Rocky Mountains meet the vibrant city of Salt Lake, Westminster blends classroom learning with experiences presented by its unique location to help students develop skills and attributes critical for success in a rapidly changing world. “U.S.News & World Report” consistently ranks Westminster in the top tier of regional colleges and universities in the West, and as an excellent educational value. Additionally, the college was named to the Princeton Review’s “The Best 361 Colleges” for 2007. For more information, visit www.westminstercollege.edu .