AOPA Pilot Magazine - July 2024 - 67

That year also brought about AOPA's
first AOPA Pilot magazine and with it,
$30,000 in prizes ($324,220 in today's
dollars). The grand prize for the best
new advertising slogan in 15 words or
fewer was a Mooney M20A valued at
$14,290 ($154,400 today). The winning
slogan wasn't publicized at the time and
remains a mystery today. The Mooney,
however, is currently registered in
Bakersfield, California.
The early years /
The first giveaway, in 1956, was
broadcast live on CBS from a hangar
at Washington National Airport with
host and AOPA charter member
Arthur Godfrey acting as emcee. Two
aircraft were given away: an Aeronca
Champion " Sky-Trac, " tricycle-gear
Champ and a Piper Tri-Pacer.
The aircraft were given away as prizes
in a contest to create the best reason
for joining AOPA, a 70,000-member
organization at the time. With no
standalone membership magazine,
contestants got their entry forms from
AOPA Pilot inserts in Flying magazine.
In 1957, AOPA repeated the contest
with a Champion " Tri-Traveler " as the
grand prize and a 25-horsepower
Spartan Sprite boat as the second
prize.
AOPA gave away two Forney Aircoupes
in 1958 in a promotion for rental car
agency Hertz, who was planning to use
Aircoupes for its short-lived " Rent-aPlane "
division.
In 1989 for AOPA's fiftieth anniversary,
member Margaret Puckette won a
brand-new Piper Archer that she used
to fly ecological research missions in
Oregon.
By the early 1990s many U.S.
manufacturers had stopped producing
single-engine airplanes because of
product liability and insurance issues,
so AOPA revamped its aircraft giveaway
model by finding and refurbishing
existing aircraft to bring an aging GA
fleet back to life. -NB
1997 Ultimate Arrow
(N97UA)-Illinois
N97UA had a bit of a rough go through
the years but is now living its best life in
Illinois. Paul Perrone of Massachusetts
won the aircraft, and it eventually ended
up sold to a new owner in Illinois. When
the aircraft needed an engine overhaul
and payments on the loan came due, the
Arrow was left parked on the ramp, all but
destroying the paint and interior; the logbooks
also went missing. It was eventually
purchased by Robert Niemiec on eBay for
$75,000. Niemiec spent $50,000 recreating
the logbooks, overhauling the engine,
repainting the aircraft, restoring the interior,
and upgrading the avionics. Then the
aircraft was eventually purchased by Russ
Valin of Lake Villa, Illinois, in 2014. " When
I saw her in the hangar, I was like wow this
plane checks all the boxes and then some, " Valin said. " I felt a connection to her immediately.
The plane had been maintained by a mechanic I trusted with my life and was
owned by a guy who didn't cut corners. The plane was more than my target price but
worth every penny. " Valin currently uses the airplane for pleasure flights around the
country to vacation and visit friends and family. " There really isn't any mission it can't
do, " Valin said. " It's a celebrity. There are a lot of people who remember this plane,
and I always get compliments. "
AOPA PILOT / July 2024
67

AOPA Pilot Magazine - July 2024

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