For the past two years, AOPA's membership sweepstakes airplanes have been fantastic successes. AOPA membership has climbed, and staff and members alike shared in the excitement of refurbishing, outfitting, and giving away what must be two of the world's most highly refined examples of Cessna's classic Skyhawk. First was the Good As New 172, a full-blown refurb of a 1974 Cessna 172M; it went to member William E. Teschner, a Florida dentist.
Later this month, fate will smile upon yet another member when AOPA will bid farewell to our latest creation — our Better Than New 172. As anyone who's been reading Pilot should know, this is a higher-powered, longer-legged, extra comfortable, radically upgraded 1978 Cessna 172N, complete with all the latest avionics.
How do you follow up on such a winning program? By offering another lucky new, renewing, or new-member-sponsoring AOPA member still another Skyhawk.
This time, the concept behind the giveaway is a little different. Instead of fixing up an older Skyhawk, we'll be giving away the first brand-new Skyhawk to roll off Cessna's rejuvenated single-engine production line. That's why we're calling our next sweepstakes airplane the First New 172.
The First New 172 sweepstakes will continue through 1995. According to Cessna officials, the airplane's momentous rollout should occur sometime in the last quarter of 1996. The actual giveaway will follow shortly thereafter.
Some may ask, "Why another Skyhawk?" While it's true that there are other new singles being built, we simply couldn't ignore the synergy between AOPA's and Cessna's efforts in revitalizing general aviation.
After all, AOPA and Cessna were among the prime movers in effecting the passage of the General Aviation Revitalization Act — the law that ended product liability claims involving aircraft more than 18 years old. Cessna Chairman Russ Meyer had long said that if this law were passed, Cessna would once again build piston singles, something it hadn't done since 1986. AOPA has already claimed the first new 172 and its N- number — N172FN. We've got dibs on the first new 182s as well, and will be giving that airplane away in the 1996 sweepstakes.
Cessna's commitment to build new airplanes is matched by AOPA's commitment to recruit more pilots. Our Project Pilot program, which has enlisted more than 8,000 new students into the ranks of the actively flying, will have multiple benefits for general aviation. One of these is an increase in AOPA's ranks, which in turn boosts our strength at all levels of government. Another is the creation of a bigger customer base for Cessna's — and other manufacturers' — new airplanes. Together with a revivified and modernized Cessna Pilot Center network, Project Pilot can go a long way to spurring a true general aviation resurgence.
For the first time, AOPA, the largest general aviation advocacy group, is working with one of the strongest manufacturers to bring about the kind of critical, broad-based changes that will be so vital to turning around an ailing lightplane economy. It's an unprecedented union, and a necessary one.
The coming two years promise to be exciting, and Pilot will be there to report on Cessna's rebuilding efforts. In coming months you'll see late-breaking reports on developments within Cessna's boardrooms and single-engine business project teams. We'll follow decision-making processes concerning the 1996 Cessna 172's avionics, interiors, and systems. We'll take you to ground-breaking ceremonies for the new production facility, show you the new assembly lines, and introduce you to all the key players in this historic endeavor.
And when it's all over, N172FN may be yours.
Stay tuned.