Most Cowboys ride horses, but some command the skies.
The Flying Aggies, 1818 W. Wright Drive, is every young pilot’s dream. Mostly populated with aviation students and some aerospace engineers, the club meets on the second Tuesday of every month.
Hoyt Walkup founded the Flying Aggies in 1948 when the campus was Oklahoma A&M College.
“Our group is full of aviation enthusiast and on our flight team,” said Ashley Boling, an aviation and space education junior and treasurer of the club.
Boling said students have to be Flying Aggies members to try the several positions on the team.
The past couple of years, the club has had some guest speakers from companies such as Boeing, American Airlines and The Oklahoma Highway Patrol Air Division. The club also takes field trip to places such as the Fed-Ex Hub in Memphis, Tenn.
“We got to tour of a Fed-Ex plane before it went under pre-flight,” Boling said. “It was an amazing experience.”
The flight team is the heart and soul of the club when the team goes to regional and national competitions. The Flying Aggies has won the Grover Leoning trophy, given to the nation’s most active and successful collegiate aviation club, 21 times.
“We are really excited about how well our group has done in the past; we work hard, and it shows,” said Zach Countryman, president of the club.
The club placed second overall in the 2007 Region 6 competition, placing first in three events. Brittany Jones, an aviation and space education senior, cleaned up in several of the events including the top pilot award.
“Being on the flight team is a huge commitment and means a lot when we win,” Countryman said.
Second place gets OSU an invitation to the SAFECON 2008.
The Flying Aggies has a few planes, including the Cessna 150, 152 and 172.
“It is really great to see three to five planes flying in formation when we go on field trips and to competition events,” Boling said.
The club also has flight team competitions at the airport on Saturdays usually at 8 a.m.
Most members log countless hours of flying to receive their pilot certifications and move on to more advanced awards and achievements.
The club also helps the airport as it has adopted a road, which it cleans every other month and has joint meetings with the airport associates.
“It’s great to see these kids get out and fly and be part of something they really enjoy,” said Mike Bungel, an air traffic controller at the Stillwater Airport.
The group’s 60th anniversary is the weekend of April 19, and it has a big event planned, Boling said.
“We encourage anyone and everyone to go and support us and just have a good time,” she said.
The club will feature a silent auction and other fund raisers.
“It is great to see all the alumni come back and see how much the group has changed,” Countryman said.
The club is planning an air show, a barbecue and a gold tournament, he said.
More information for the Flying Aggies’ anniversary will be on campus later this semester; look for chalkings and postings.
Loading ...
All Articles