Organization and Funding of Intercollegiate Flight Teams

Abstract

Fifteen flight teams were surveyed at the 2006 National Intercollegiate Flying Association’s (NIFA) national flight competition at The Ohio State University. The purpose of the survey was to (a) gain insight into how teams are organized, how much they practice, and how they are funded; (b) correlate this information with overall team rankings at nationals to determine the key characteristics of a top performing team; and (c) to gather ideas and share them with other NIFA teams. Key characteristics of surveyed teams that placed in the top quartile included (in order of their correlation with overall ranking): multiple flight practices per week; three or more ground practices per week; the school absorbed all flight costs; and one or more paid coaches. Methods of fundraising were found to include: washing airplanes, washing cars, selling logo-items, selling donuts, walk-a-thons, and penny-a-pound flights.