Teamwork, leadership and determination secured the Oklahoma State University Flying Aggies a spot at the 2026 national aviation SAFECON competition, and team members are motivated to come back even stronger next season.

Taking place in Moline, Illinois, from May 18-23, the National Intercollegiate Flying Association-hosted event brought together the top-performing aviation programs in the nation, making the Flying Aggies' feat of holding their first-place regional title more difficult.

Tanner Trout — certified flight instructor and adjunct professor of aviation — reflected on his experience going from a first-place ranking to top 25 at nationals in the Unlimited Navigation category.

“My partner Zach Puhala and I placed first at the regional competition in October, and at nationals we placed 24th,” Trout said. “We weren’t too far off in those rankings based on the competitors. It just kind of puts into perspective that there are really qualified teams that perform extremely well.”

In his third year competing with the flight team, Trout acknowledged that this spring semester of preparing for nationals was different from previous years because of various weather complications. The inadequate weather restricted members from practicing for multiple events in the landing and flying categories.

“We were only able to practice, maybe, three times leading up to our competition — which is really unheard of,” Trout said. “In theory, we should have a number of practices, but we didn’t get that luxury this semester.”

At the SAFECON competition, OSU’s flight team secured 10th place in the judges category. Trout said he was impressed with his and his teammates' performance.

His sentiment is shared with the team's newest advisor, Chad Marek, who has previously been involved with the Flying Aggies through his role as the events and alumni coordinator for the College of Education and Human Sciences.

Marek applauded the team's ability to work together and support one another — particularly when members are less than satisfied with their performance. To Marek, this makes students on the flight team among the best to represent both the college and the broader university.

“They’re always there for one another, and I got to see that firsthand,” Marek said. “... The group was so well respected that I even had other advisors tell me, ‘Wow Chad, your players are really coming together,’ — and I think that’s something special.”

Trout said he’d be remiss if he didn’t recognize the strong performance given by teammate Nathan Leech. The judges also took note of Leech, who earned various Top 20 placements and was awarded the Outstanding Team Member award for demonstrating leadership, drive, respect and encouragement of others.

“It was pretty much unanimous from the team’s side that Nathan was going to get that because of all the work that he put in leading up to the competition,” Trout said.

"Over the years and especially in the weeks leading up to the event, he really showed how much he cared about the team, placing well in events, and overall just representing OSU in a good light.”

Competition Categories

SCAN

• Zach Cohen
• Ryan Cottrell
• Kai Davis
• Olivia Lassman*
• Zach Puhala

RECCE (Reconnaissance)

• Jack Bartlett
• Zachary Berger
• Thomas Kinser*
• Nathan Leech
• Dayon Wong

Unlimited Navigation

• Zach Cohen
• Kai Davis
• Cristopher Hutchins*
• Nathan Leech
• Zach Puhala
• Tanner Trout

*Team Lead

2026 NIFA SAFECON COMPETITION

Story By: Annie Ross | annie.ross@okstate.edu