Author Linda Pendleton's book, Flying Jets, is dedicated to her students because, she says, they really wrote it. "Students, by definition, are full of questions and the process of satisfying their curiosity is the best way to learn. I found that it's not necessary to know all the answers to be an effective instructor — but it is necessary to be willing to do the work to provide the answers you don't have already stored away. Teaching pilots to fly their first jet is probably one of the most fun jobs in aviation. It ranks right up there with guiding new pilots through their first solo, solo cross-country, and private certificate. There is an excitement in pilots experiencing their first takeoff in command of a jet that is hard to find anywhere else." Pendleton shares her knowledge with AOPA Pilot readers in this month's " Turbine Pilot: Jet Engine Basics ," page 101.
AOPA's last sweepstakes airplane — the Millennium Mooney, a jazzed-up M20J — drew a lot of gawkers, but nothing like this year's Beech V35 Bonanza (see " AOPA Sweepstakes Bonanza: Turbo on the Go ," page 85). This year the attention isn't just on the Bonanza's looks, high-tech panel, or 200-knot-plus speeds — it's coming over air traffic control frequencies, says Tom Horne, AOPA Pilot's editor at large. Horne has been flying the V-tail from shop to shop in its refurbishment process, and during each flight it's the same story. "They hear the N-number, then come on the frequency out of the blue with the kind of comments you'd normally hear only in face-to-face encounters," says Horne. "I'm taking off from Houston Southwest Airport — the gear aren't even up yet — and someone pipes up and says, 'Hey, that's my airplane you're flying.' Or over Iowa a controller says, 'Is that a 2001 Bonanza?' and someone else on the frequency says, 'No, it's the AOPA giveaway Bonanza,' then another guy chimes in with, 'I had a '47 Bonanza once.' On and on like that." Horne is amused by the attention, but also views it as a reminder — that some day he won't have the V-tail to fly any more. His last flight in the airplane will be to give it away, sometime in January or February next year. That's when you'll hear him pining over the frequency, "I had a '66 V-tail once!"
Senior Editor Al Marsh's story on the Fascination D4 (see " The Frisky Fascination D4 ," page 68) was, we can safely say, months in preparation. Marsh attempted an evaluation flight of the prototype last fall but the Jacksonville, Florida, weather would allow only two trips around the pattern. Efforts in early 2001 were rewarded by improved weather and a flight in the first production D4 delivered in the United States.
Associate Editor Julie Boatman didn't have to look too far to find an example of a successful business using an AOPA program to finance an airplane (see " Aviation Biz 101 ," page 81). Mike and Maria Myshatyn, of Fort Collins, Colorado, were more than happy to talk with Boatman about their experience and swap airplane stories on the ramp of the Fort Collins-Loveland Municipal Airport. The Myshatyns fly their personal airplane, a Beech V35 Bonanza, cross-country often, "equally spitting the time," according to Maria. The Bonanza is a sharp one, boasting a recently redone interior by Air Mod — the same shop that's installing the interior in the AOPA 2001 Sweepstakes Bonanza. It's a small world, after all.
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