GRAND FORKS - With a slight westerly breeze pushing up against his 1940 Piper Cub Coupe single-engine airplane, Dan Byker of Hawarden, Iowa, made a slow approach onto the runway at Grand Forks International Airport Saturday morning.
His sights were on the white line stretched across the width of the runway, hoping to land on it and win a $10,000 cash prize.
"I was hoping to get a nice angle of glide to make a smooth landing," he said. "But there are a lot of variables that play into it."
Byker was one of more than 40 competitors that participated in the inaugural GFK Flight Support Landing Contest.
Hans Estby of Rochester, Minn., took home the grand prize.
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With just three years of flying experience, Estby was able to land 7 feet from the line.
Brent Seifert, owner and president of GFK Flight Support, organized the competition as a tool to generate more interest in general aviation and allow pilots and aviation enthusiasts to socialize.
"We wanted to create a social event and give back to the general aviation community," Seifert said. "It also allows pilots to see what Grand Forks has to offer."
His company provides services to private aircraft that land at the airport, and also trains private pilots.
Seifert said there are about 40 plane owners around Grand Forks that fly on a regular basis.
Many more fly for UND or are UND student pilots. Those with pilot's licenses but no planes could compete in a GFK plane for a cost of $40. Entry into the competition was free.
Pete Schumacher, a UND aerospace professor and retired lieutenant colonel in the Air Force, estimated about a quarter of the crowd outside the GFK hangar were students from the university.
He took a shot at the prize Saturday morning with his Piper Super Cruiser.
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Schumacher said he enjoyed the competitive part of the event, but was out just to have fun.
"It's fun to talk airplanes with other pilots," he said. "Plus I get to see a lot of students."
Al Vecchio, a retired Air Force master sergeant from Emerado, N.D., was one of them.
Although he has his pilot's license, he did not participate in Saturday's competition.
Vecchio said he enjoyed watching and talking planes with other pilots.
"It's a great gathering of pilots," he said. "Stuff like this doesn't happen around here, so I had to check it out."
Seifert said he plans to hold the event again next year and add some new ideas to make it better.
"We'll definitely add to the event as things go along," he said. "We're just glad to host it and hope more come out next year."
