AOPA Pilot Magazine - July 2011 - 6

HANGARTALK
Visit us at www.aopa.org/pilot The story behind the story “It’s one of those happy/sad moments when you give away a sweepstakes airplane,” says Tom Horne, AOPA Pilot’s editor at large and project manager for the 2011 Crossover Classic restoration project (“Crossover Classic Sweepstakes: The Ultimate Skylane,” page 50). “I mean, you spend the better part of a year turning a frog into a prince—and then it’s time to let it go!” Yes, it’s true. Work on the Crossover Classic, a fully restored 1974 Cessna 182P is complete save , for a few minor items. Check out its path to like-new status on AOPA’s Sweepstakes webpage (www.aopa.org/sweeps.) But there’s at least one more flight for Horne to log—the one to the winner’s home airport. “It’ll be great to introduce the winner to this speedy super Skylane and its glass cockpit,” Horne adds. “And maybe he or she will let me visit it every once in a while!” “In the nearly 15 years I’ve been with AOPA Pilot, I had never been to Wichita,” says Managing Editor Julie Summers Walker. “At the Wichita Aero Club event, one gentleman wondered how I could possibly have gotten my job without having ever visited the Air Capital of the World! After several days in Wichita, I wondered, too.” (“There’s No Place Like Home,” page 60.) Walker was overwhelmed by the size and magnitude of the facilities that house the manufacturing of general aviation aircraft. Sprawling across the flat landscape, these massive buildings tell the story of how important aviation is to Wichita. “But the story is in the people of Wichita who face the uncertainty of an industry that mirrors the nation’s economic struggles,” she says. “I looked, but couldn’t find the sad faces. In Wichita, you might get down, but you don’t get out.” “I’ve been around a lot of homebuilt airplane projects,” says author Ken Scott. “Many of them never made it to the finish line, so when I heard a rumor about some guys scratch-building a replica of Howard Hughes’ H–1 Racer, I mentally consigned it to the ‘yeah, right’ file (“Fleeting Beauty,” page 72). “But I was so wrong. When the rumors refused to fade, I flew down to Cottage Grove, Oregon, and got my first look at Jim and Betty Wright’s Hughes Racer. It was one of the most beautiful manmade objects I had ever seen.” Later Scott returned to research the story and the entire crew spent an afternoon—on what should have been their day off—explaining the project and answering questions. “The Racer was an incredible airplane, but even more impressive was how it came to be: a group of exceptional craftsmen recreated something they felt deeply about, led by a man who radiated a real joy in simply living and doing good work. Every once in a while—if we’re lucky—we’re privileged to get a glimpse of something special. For me, that was the Racer.” “There are few things pilots fear more than losing their medical. Not only are you facing a major health issue, but you’re contemplating losing your freedom to fly as pilot in command,” says Charles Stites, executive director of Able Flight (“Affair of the Heart,” page 81). After a surprisingly short time from first symptoms to having a stent put in while traveling to EAA AirVenture in 2010, Stites confronted the issue head on by aggressively preparing for success on the first possible day he could get his medical back. “I began by researching the FAA’s recertification and documentation procedures the day after I got out of the hospital, and I followed them in every detail. And I’ve been just as aggressive in doing everything I can to protect my health and my medical certificate,” he says. His plan worked, and now once again he enjoys flying his 1949 Ryan Navion.
AOPA PILOT •

publisher
associate publisher/ editor in chief editor at large managing editor technical editor senior editors associate editors editorial and production assistant administrative assistant contributors

Craig L. Fuller
Thomas B. Haines Thomas A. Horne Julie Summers Walker Mike Collins Dave Hirschman Alton K. Marsh Jill W. Tallman Ian J. Twombly Sylvia Horne Miriam E. Stoner Peter A. Bedell Kathy Dondzila Mark Kimberling Bruce Landsberg Rod Machado Barry Schiff Phil Scott Mark R. Twombly John S. Yodice Michael E. Kline Jill C. Benton Elizabeth Z. Jones Adrienne R. Rosone Chris Delisio Mike Fizer Chris Rose

design director art director art director contributing designer digital media specialist senior photographer photographer

advertising director Carol Dodds advertising production manager Brenda D. Ridgley advertising sales and marketing manager Liz Tarver advertising administrator Donna Stoner advertising representative

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All manuscripts and contributions should be accompanied by stamped, addressed return envelopes. Reasonable care will be taken in handling manuscripts, but the magazine assumes no responsibility for material submitted. Copyright 2011, Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association. All rights reserved. No part of this monthly publication may be reproduced or translated, stored in a database or retrieval system, or transmitted in any form by electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or other means, except as expressly permitted by the publisher; requests should be directed to the editor. To have the latest general aviation and AOPA news delivered to your desktop, subscribe to AOPA ePilot, a free e-mail newsletter. As a subscriber you will receive weekly issues of ePilot as well as special editions when information vital to your flying is available. To learn more about AOPA ePilot, view a sample issue, or subscribe, visit AOPA Online (www.aopa.org/ members/epilot.html).

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6 • JULY 2011

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AOPA Pilot Magazine - July 2011

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of AOPA Pilot Magazine - July 2011