AOPA Pilot Magazine - February 2018 - 33

hangar was seared into memory of many
pilots when he demonstrated the rugged
single's short takeoff and landing ability.
The family-run company is headed into its
sixth decade with a four- or five-passenger
aircraft lineup that also includes tricycle and
amphibious versions.
-David Tulis

180- and 200-horsepower engines. They
are still in production, but no longer built
in Sanford.
-Jill W. Tallman

KANSAS: CESSNA 172

HAWAII: TOUR HELICOPTERS

Going to Hawaii and not flying on a helicopter air tour is like going to Paris and
avoiding the Eiffel Tower. The helicopter
is a great symbol of the Aloha State. -IJT
IDAHO: QUEST KODIAK

Idaho has some rough terrain, and the
Quest Kodiak is built to handle it. What
better way to celebrate the state than with
a homegrown airplane built for the geography?
-IJT

If there's one machine that quietly works
hard, isn't boastful, but is well-known for
its usefulness and utility, it's the Cessna
172. Much like the industrious people of
the Sunflower State, this tried and true
airplane has stood the test of time. While
many great aircraft have been made in
Kansas, none have contributed to the
aeronautical zeitgeist quite like the trusty
Skyhawk.
-Paul Harrop
KENTUCKY: CESSNA CARDINAL

The Cardinal is Kentucky's state bird, so
why shouldn't the Cessna Cardinal be its
state airplane? The Cessna 177 was conceived in the mid-1960s as a replacement
for the 172 and featured a cantilever
wing and improved visibility, because
the pilot sits ahead of the wing's leading edge-but Skyhawk production was
maintained.
-Mike Collins

ILLINOIS: SBD DAUNTLESS

The Dauntless was a World War II scout
airplane and dive-bomber that was instrumental in the Battle of Midway, for which
Midway Airport in Chicago is named.-DH
INDIANA: REPUBLIC P-47 THUNDERBOLT

Indiana made the P-47 Thunderbolt its
state aircraft in 2015, recognizing the
"Indiana Warbird" produced in Evansville,
Indiana, between 1942 and 1945, as the
most-manufactured fighter airplane
"before or since."
-JSW

LOUISIANA: HUFF-DALAND DUSTER

Monroe, Louisiana-based Delta Air Service
sprung to life with a fleet of 18 Huff-Daland
Duster agricultural aircraft and later
morphed into the passenger service we
know as Delta Air Lines. The 1924 "HufferPuffer" is considered the first agplane and
it was used to eradicate the boll weevil
from Southern cotton fields. The company was headquartered in Monroe from
1925 to 1940 before permanently moving
to Atlanta.
-DT

IOWA: SILVERWING

MAINE: LAKE AMPHIBIOUS AIRCRAFT

Clyde Cessna was born in Hawthorne,
Iowa, and his first aircraft design was the
Silverwing, an American version of the
Blériot XI.
-JSW

With numerous bodies of water large
and small, Maine has a healthy seaplane
population. It's also where Lake Aircraft
manufactured its amphibious aircraft
until 2004, at a factory in Sanford. The
company built and sold thousands of fourplace models, running on Lycoming IO-360

MARYLAND: ERCOUPE

Ercoupes were built in Maryland, on an airstrip near the College Park Airport, which
also happens to be the oldest continuously
operating airport in the United States. Like
the state itself, the two-seat Ercoupe is
small and tough. Its designer, Fred Weick,
created a two-control system that linked
the rudder and aileron controls with the
steerable nosewheel. The company set out
to convince a generation that anybody who
could drive a car could fly an airplane. (Did
you know Ercoupes were sold at department stores?)
-JWT
MASSACHUSETTS: GEEBEE

The five Granville brothers-Zantford,
Thomas, Robert, Mark, and Edward-
designed and built some of the fastest
piston airplanes ever made in Springfield,
Massachusetts. Gen. Jimmy Doolittle set
a speed record of 296 mph in a GeeBee
Super Sportster R-1 in 1932. In 2013 the
Sportster Model Z became a Hallmark
Christmas ornament in its "Sky's the
Limit" series.
-JWT

MICHIGAN: WACO CLASSIC

The Waco Aircraft Co. of Battle Creek harkens back to aviation's golden era with
radial engines, fabric covering, and woodwinged biplanes that are widely recognized
www.aopa.org/pilot AOPA PILOT | 33
http://www.aopa.org/pilot
AOPA Pilot Magazine - February 2018

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of AOPA Pilot Magazine - February 2018
