AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2011 - 50
Pimp my
Plane
The Vegas Viper—An airplane gone wild
BY ALTON K. MARSH
eally, it’s our fault. David Lessnick of Las Vegas was perfectly happy with his 1964 Piper Comanche 250—until he saw AOPA’s 2008 sweepstakes airplane. He paid $80,000 for the Comanche in 2005 and was quite happy with it. It was in perfect condition with a mid-time Lycoming O-540 engine. Then he went to AOPA Expo a few years ago (before the event was renamed AOPA Aviation Summit) and sat in our sweepstakes Piper Archer with its shiny glass cockpit and luxurious interior. “I was blown away. I climbed in it, and sat in those seats, and I was like, ‘Wow, this is what it is supposed to be like,’” Lessnick said. That planted an idea that would ultimately have him chrome-plating his gas caps and custom-painting his towbar, but it would be additional months before that journey would begin. First, there was a flirtation with owning a jet—a second result of his visit to AOPA Expo that year. Cirrus and Piper salesmen he met there revived his interest in jet ownership. Prior to the 2008 Expo, this 800-hour pilot had made a deposit on an Emivest (Swearingen) SJ30, back when deposits were $25,000 instead of $100,000, but he had withdrawn it when the Emivest company hit financial problems. Expo was like a candy store: He liked the PiperJet, was impressed with the Diamond D-Jet, but focused his dreams on the Cirrus Vision SF50. That same year Lehman Brothers filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, the stock market collapsed, and overnight
AOPA PILOT •
R
Plus— Watch a video on the “Vegas Viper.”
50 • MAY 2011
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2011
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2011
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2011
President’s Position
Hangar Talk
AOPA Media
AOPA Action
Letters
Waypoints
Proficient Pilot
License to Learn
Pilot Counsel
Fly Well
Pilot Briefing
Rally GA: Creating Media Moguls
Pimp My Plane
Bellanca CH–300 Pacemaker: Island King
GA Serves America: Tennessee Time Machine
Safety Pilot Landmark Accidents: A Foregone Conclusion
Touching the Future
Avionics: Something In Between
Crossover Classic Sweepstakes: The Inside Job
Dogfight: Running Lean of Peak
Sales Revival
Wx Watch: Checking the Weather
Pilot Products: New Zulu for You
Never Again
Fly Outs
Fly by wire
Pilots
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2011 - AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2011
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2011 - Cover2
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2011 - 1
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2011 - 2
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2011 - 3
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2011 - President’s Position
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2011 - 5
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2011 - Hangar Talk
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2011 - 7
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2011 - 8
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2011 - 9
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2011 - AOPA Media
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2011 - 11
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2011 - AOPA Action
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2011 - 13
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2011 - 14
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2011 - 15
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2011 - 16
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2011 - 18
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2011 - 18
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2011 - 19
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2011 - 20
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2011 - 21
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2011 - Letters
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2011 - 23
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2011 - 24
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2011 - 25
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2011 - Waypoints
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2011 - 27
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2011 - Proficient Pilot
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2011 - 29
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2011 - License to Learn
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2011 - 31
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2011 - Pilot Counsel
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2011 - 33
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2011 - Fly Well
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2011 - 35
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2011 - Pilot Briefing
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2011 - 37
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2011 - 38
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2011 - 39
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2011 - 40
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2011 - 41
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2011 - 42
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2011 - 43
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2011 - 44
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2011 - 45
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2011 - 46
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2011 - Rally GA: Creating Media Moguls
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2011 - 48
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2011 - G1
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2011 - G2
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2011 - G3
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2011 - G4
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2011 - 49
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2011 - Pimp My Plane
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2011 - 51
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2011 - 52
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2011 - 53
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2011 - 54
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2011 - 55
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2011 - 56
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2011 - 57
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2011 - Bellanca CH–300 Pacemaker: Island King
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2011 - 59
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2011 - 60
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2011 - 61
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2011 - 62
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2011 - 63
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2011 - 64
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2011 - 65
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2011 - 66
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2011 - GA Serves America: Tennessee Time Machine
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2011 - 68
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2011 - 69
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2011 - 70
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2011 - 71
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2011 - Safety Pilot Landmark Accidents: A Foregone Conclusion
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2011 - 73
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2011 - 74
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2011 - 75
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2011 - Touching the Future
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2011 - 77
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2011 - 78
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2011 - 79
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2011 - 80
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2011 - Avionics: Something In Between
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2011 - 82
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2011 - Crossover Classic Sweepstakes: The Inside Job
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2011 - 84
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2011 - 85
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2011 - 86
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2011 - 87
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2011 - Dogfight: Running Lean of Peak
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2011 - 89
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2011 - 90
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2011 - Sales Revival
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2011 - 92
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2011 - 93
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2011 - 94
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2011 - Wx Watch: Checking the Weather
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2011 - 96
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2011 - I1
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2011 - I2
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2011 - 97
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2011 - 98
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2011 - Pilot Products: New Zulu for You
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2011 - 100
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2011 - 101
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2011 - Never Again
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2011 - 103
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2011 - 104
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2011 - 105
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2011 - Fly Outs
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2011 - Fly by wire
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2011 - 108
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2011 - 109
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2011 - 110
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2011 - 111
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2011 - Pilots
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2011 - Cover3
AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2011 - Cover4
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