What is it?
It's a simple premise- Land on the line. Closest wins. A very challenging task and also extremely fun. There is a box 300 ft in length. To make it in the box you must land less than 100 ft short, or not more than 200 ft long of the target line. For every foot off the line, the score increases by one point. Lowest score wins. There are also other rules about when and how much power you can add and cut and similar rules about flaps. There are two landing events: short-field (power on) and power off. In short field you get nearly full control of the power, but flaps must be fully extended prior to touch down. For power-off approaches you can add flaps as necessary, but the power must remain at idle for the entire approach.
When is it?
The team meets at Willard Airport from 6-8 am during the week for practice.
Competitions
Fridays are competitions within the team to determine who is on the final competition team. Everyone will perform three landings - one practice and two counters. The coaches will judge from the aircraft and from the ground. The Flying Team selects 8 top pilots to practice this event in the beginning of each semester. Throughout the semester practice competitions determine the top five competitors who are then eligible to compete at the Regional or National NIFA competition. This event requires at least a private pilot certificate.