NIFA SAFECON

SAFECON is the year-end national championship of US collegiate aviation, hosted by a rotating partner each year. The 2026 host is Quad Cities International Airport (KMLI) in partnership with Visit Quad Cities — NIFA Executive Director Taylor Newman has flagged it as a first-time host venue, which brings a heightened sense of anticipation to the national competition. 500+ aviators from 30 colleges compete across the SAFECON event slate: power-on landings, power-off landings, message drops, navigation, ground trainer, simulated comprehensive aircraft navigation, aircraft preflight, aircraft recognition, and computer accuracy. Teams qualify for the national competition via results at one of nine regional SAFECONs held the prior fall. Throughout the week, participants network with aviation industry partners at booths, seminars, and sponsored meal events alongside the competition events. Achievement, safety, and scholarship awards are presented in addition to the event titles. For a flight school not actively competing, SAFECON is less a vendor event and more a window into the best-of-class collegiate aviation training population — the students who win SAFECON events are the ones airlines and corporate operators recruit hardest.