Kansas State University Salina
Kansas State University Salina student pilots recently took to the skies in St. Louis, MO, to demonstrate their aviation skills, and thanks to a valiant team effort, they'll soon be competing for a national title.
The K-State Salina Flight Team's success at the National Intercollegiate Flying Association, or NIFA, Region 6/7 competition has qualified them for the NIFA SAFECON national competition in May 2026 — the K-State team's 12th national qualification in the last 15 years.
For the regional competition, the team flew against eight other colleges. With outstanding individual and team performances in the flying events that tested the preparation and skills of the collegiate pilots, K-State's team finished in third place.
"We had an internal goal as a team to improve from our fourth-place finish in regionals from last year, so to finish third and be so close to the top two teams was very exciting," said Michael Einwich, senior in professional pilot, Bel Aire, and team captain. "There is a lot of studying and preparation that goes into being able to perform well in these events, and the team really put in a lot of work to compete well. We also appreciated the support from the K-State Salina campus; the aviation administration really helped get us the resources we needed to be successful in competition."
On top of the excellent team performance, many K-State Salina student pilots had fantastic individual performances.
Isaac Smith, senior in professional pilot, Salina, took home the Top Pilot award — the competition's top individual award — and won the Short Field award; Einwich finished in third place for the Top Pilot award, fifth in the Short Field competition and second in the SCAN event; Daniel Novovesky, sophomore in professional pilot, Overland Park, placed fifth for the Top Pilot award; and Mary Barbour, junior in aviation maintenance management, Quakertown, Pennsylvania, won the AMT Test award.Other notable performances included strong finishes in the Unlimited NAV event: Novovesky and Gavin Bowman, senior in professional pilot, Wichita, teamed up to place third; and a team of Einwich and Claire Trapp, junior in professional pilot, Green Lake, Wisconsin, finished in fourth place.
"I am proud of the efforts of our student pilots at the Region VI event," said Tysen Pina, K-State Salina aviation department head. "These students showcased the whole range of skills that go into being an excellent pilot, including the flight, planning and safety skills that we teach every day at K-State. Like with any challenge or competition, there comes adversity, but as is an emphasis in our program, the students were able to overcome it like the professionals they are."
Competitions like NIFA SAFECON allow K-State Salina pilot students to showcase their skills, experience instruction outside of a traditional classroom or daily flight instruction, and pilot and experience different flying conditions from what is typical in Kansas. Students also have the opportunity to network with fellow aviation students from around the country.
Fourteen K-State Salina students competed on Flight Team at the regional competition:
Michael Einwich, senior in professional pilot, Bel Aire; Daniel Novovesky, senior in professional pilot, Overland Park; Alex Mercy, sophomore in professional pilot, and Isaac Smith, senior in professional pilot, both from Salina; Luke Dufort, senior in professional pilot, Shawnee; and Gavin Bowman, senior in professional pilot, Wichita.From out of state: Logan Dobransky, freshman in professional pilot, Goodyear, Arizona; Timothy Mallari, freshman in professional pilot, Denver, Colorado; Mac Doser, sophomore in professional pilot, Highlands Ranch, Colorado; Matthew Tirella, senior in professional pilot, Littleton, Colorado; Nathan Wallace, junior in professional pilot, Omaha, Nebraska; Mary Barbour, junior in aviation maintenance management, Quakertown, Pennsylvania; Claire Trapp, junior in professional pilot, Green Lake, Wisconsin; and Lauren LaFountain, freshman dual majoring in aviation management and professional pilot, New Berlin, Wisconsin.