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ÿÈÕ´óÈü¹ÙÍø's "Sting" Precision Flight Team placed 7th overall in the nation for the third time in program history at the 2016 National Intercollegiate Flight Association SAFECON flight competition hosted by The Ohio State University, in Columbus, Ohio. It was the first time in the team's history the team earned more than 200 points. LETU was ranked 6th in Ground Events and 7th in Flight Events.

LETU outranked the U.S. Air Force Academy, Oklahoma State University, Texas State Technical College and Liberty University among the 26 teams competing. Last year, the LETU Sting team placed 8th, up from 15th in 2014. LETU first began competing nationally in 2004.

Last October, the LETU team took first place in regionals to qualify to compete nationally. LETU hosted the regional competition in 2014 at the university's facility at East Texas Regional Airport.

LETU students Cameron Laramee and Jonathan Deak became national champions when they took first place in Crew Resource Management (CRM) competition, with the best score in national competition history with a score of 20.

Laramee also placed first in Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) competition to become the national champion in that event. Laramee was ranked 2nd among top scoring male contestants and was LETU's top scoring contestant in this year's national competition.

Other event results are as follows:

Navigation:
Jacob Weeks, and James Galan (12th)
Jonathan Reigle and Cody Shamblin (5th)

SCAN - Simulated Comprehensive Aircraft Navigation:
Thomas Alley (20th)
Cameron Laramee (2nd)

Message Drop:
Thomas Alley as pilot and Noah Bronner as drop master (20th)

Ground Trainer:
Thomas Alley (13th)
Cameron Laramee (9th)

Aircraft ID:
Er-Jin Jang (19th)
Jacob Weeks (14th)

Preflight Inspection:
James Galan (12th)
Cameron Laramee (8th)

Short Field Landings:
Jonathan Deak (18th)
Cameron Laramee (14th)

Receiving the Outstanding Team Member Award was James Galan.

"Scoring over 200 points overall is a great accomplishment for these students, who work so hard to prepare and compete," said LETU Dean of Aviation Fred Ritchey. "I'm proud of our exceptional students and how they conduct themselves as sportsmen and professionals in all the competitions."

Team members of the 2016 Sting Flight Team competing at nationals included team captains Cameron Laramee and Jacob Weeks, Er-Jin Jang, Thomas Alley, James Galan, Noah Bronner, Jonathan Deak, Jonathan Reigle, Cody Shamblin, and Trevor Taylor.

The team's coach and faculty advisor is Jered Lease.

ÿÈÕ´óÈü¹ÙÍø aviation program is the only comprehensive aviation university in the state of Texas. LETU is a comprehensive institution of Christ-centered higher education where educators engage students to nurture Christian virtue, develop competency and ingenuity in their professional fields, integrate faith and work, and serve the local and global community. LETU offers a wide array of undergraduate and graduate degree programs in aviation, arts & sciences, business, education, engineering and nursing. Around 1,300 students study at LETU's main campus in Longview, Texas. LETU also offers a robust suite of online programs, as well as hybrid programs in Dallas and Houston.