Managing the restoration work on AOPA's sweepstakes airplanes is a solemn responsibility. For an entire year, the focus is on pushing the airplane at breakneck pace through a series of major work packages. Thomas A. Horne, AOPA Pilot's editor at large, is the project manager of this year's AOPA's Win a Six in '06 Sweepstakes airplane — a fully restored 1967 Piper Cherokee Six 260. "Projects like this are great learning experiences, but the real payoff comes when the airplane is finished," Horne says. "For most of the year — or about 65 hours of flying time, going from shop to shop — I flew a Six that was something much less than an ideal airplane. Now that the airplane is completed, flying it to the winner will be a real joy." For a look at all the features in this unique airplane, see " AOPA's Win a Six in '06 Sweepstakes: A Six to Go," on page 74.
When he suggested launching a membership photography contest, AOPA Pilot Executive Editor David W. Robb had no idea how much fun it would be (see " AOPA Pilot 2006 General Aviation Photography Contest: Kids, Cubs, and Oh-So-Sweet Sunsets," page 82). "This contest has given us a whole new window into what our members are up to when it comes to their number-one passion, flying general aviation airplanes." Aside from sheer numbers-more than 2,000 images were entered-the staff also was impressed with the quality of the photographs and wouldn't be surprised if some of this year's participants might decide to look into aviation photography as a new career.
When you open to the first page of " Sky and Canvas" on page 88, you'll see Gary "Pops" Lust, a longtime barnstormer, aloft over Kalamazoo, Michigan. AOPA Pilot Senior Editor Alton K. Marsh flew with the American Barnstormers in Indiana, before returning to AOPA headquarters in Frederick, Maryland. Lust went on to Illinois and later Wisconsin with the group, where his engine ate a bearing, forcing him to leave his aircraft there for repair while the group continued the tour to Oshkosh. That, weather delays, and 105-degree heat assured that the barnstormers lived a realistic example of what it was like for those who pioneered hopping rides from town to town. Marsh began capturing video scenes with his trusty digital point-and-shoot, and realized after four days that he had the makings of a decent movie, which you can see online.
During his former life as a geologist, AOPA Pilot contributor Jason Paur spent some time flying around Washington state's timber country in helicopters, analyzing rivers and landslides. It was during one of these flights that his pilot told him about the unusual work done in the fall, transporting Christmas trees. Last November, after years of wondering, Paur finally went and had a look at what he calls "some of the most impressive flying" he's ever witnessed (see " Christmas Tree Transport," page 95). Rarely flying more than a few hundred yards at a time, the helicopter pilots who sling bundles of Christmas trees stay in constant motion, moving nearly half a ton of trees to a road every 40 to 50 seconds.
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