AUBURN, Ala. (EETV) - Nestled between a golf course and I-85, the Auburn University Regional Airport is like a second home to the 41 members of the War Eagle Flying Team.
WEFT competes in several competitions yearly. Their national competition in Indiana hosted by the National Intercollegiate Flying Association is coming up in just a few weeks. The top 18 members are going to represent the team.
Professional Flight senior Hampton McDonald is president of the organization. Though he's still a student, he's also a certified flight instructor and easily flew the plane from the passenger seat as I sat in the pilot's seat.
Nearly 3,000 feet in the air, Auburn looks small. McDonald said, "this never gets old," as he maneuvered the small Cessna plane off the runway.
The team works on competitive landing drills for competition. They also do a "message drop," consisting of throwing a balloon-like object out of the plane aimed at a small target on the ground.
Though WEFT is separate from the flight school, students see the benefit of doing both.
The flight school has been around for 76 years. Recently, a grant from Delta has provided funding for a new education building on site. The school is also transitioning to an all-glass fleet, are adding seven new planes.
Team member and vice president of Auburn's Women in Aviation organization, Megan Brown said, "I love watching this program grow...It's great to get out there and recruit people who had no idea that Auburn had a flight program when it's the second longest flight program running in the country."
