AOPA Pilot Magazine - January 2024 - 26

BRIEFING
A IRCRAFT /
'You can't rebuild a 206 better than this'
Look who owns the 1999 AOPA Sweepstakes Cessna 206
BY NIKI BRITTON
Edward Norton and Michael Langston (co-pilot); Angel Flight West passengers Maria Pérez and Luis Peña inspect their ride to the hospital.
WHEN AOPA GIVES AWAY one of its sweepstakes aircraft, we don't often get the
opportunity to follow up with the winner or find out where the aircraft is today. AOPA's
1999 airplane, a beefed-up 1976 Cessna U206F " Aero SUV, " is currently living its best
life with actor, pilot, and philanthropist Edward Norton.
Norton, who has been flying for nearly two decades, was fascinated by aviation as a
child and fell in love with the idea of flying in college during a stint with the National Park
Service in the Grand Canyon. " We were going in and out of backcountry strips in 206s just
like this one and I thought that was the kind of flying I wanted to do, " he said. The actor,
54, is known for his roles in Fight Club, Moonrise Kingdom, and most recently Glass Onion.
While visiting family in Kenya, Norton enjoyed sitting right seat with local bush
pilots in their Cessna 206s and 180 taildraggers and decided to get his private pilot
certificate in 2004.
He came to own the coveted Aero SUV Sweepstakes 206 in 2006 after a lengthy search.
" I really wanted to get a 206 specifically, " Norton said as he described how every day at 8:59
a.m., he would refresh the Cessna 206 page of the ASO Aircraft Sales webpage and finally
discovered the newly listed AOPA Sweepstakes aircraft for sale. " I saw a new listing and it
said 1976 U206F (1999 AOPA rebuild) and I thought it can't be, it can't be that plane, but as
soon as I saw the pictures I thought, that's it, that's that plane. " Within one minute of the
listing being posted, Norton was on the phone with the owner and arranging to come and
see it. " I asked him is that really the one and I started asking him these questions, because
like this is the fantasy, you can't build a 206 better than this. "
26
AOPA PILOT / January 2024
The winner of the aircraft had ended
up selling it and the next owner flew the
aircraft for less than 200 hours before
choosing to sell it too.
" There's some places in the world
where I've dropped in where the plane
is more famous than I am, " Norton said
of a visit to a strip in Wyoming. " I've seen
some guy getting out of a crop duster and
he looks at me and double-takes and then
I think, oh, he's a fan of this or that movie
or something and then he's come over to
me and said, 'I bet you get this all the time,
but is that the AOPA Sweepstakes 206?' "
The aircraft still features the majority
of AOPA's upgrades including the interior,
paint, and the iconic " AOPA AERO
SUV " tail logo. Designed for backcountry
adventures, the aircraft boasts a 300-horsepower
Continental Platinum-series
IO-550 engine, Flint Aero long-range fuel
NIKI BRITTON

AOPA Pilot Magazine - January 2024

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