President's Perspective

A lot to look forward to

February can be a tantalizing month in many parts of the country. If you live in the northern climes, winter may still have its grip firmly on your airport--and might be interfering with the progress of your flight training--but you know that spring, and its promise of improved weather, is just around the corner.

And if you live farther south, where you haven't had to dig out an airplane or remove ice from its wings in order to take a lesson--or just go flying--you can look forward to more opportunities to fly, thanks to spring's longer daylight hours.

But as student pilots, pilots, and flight instructors, we have a lot more to look forward to than better weather and longer days.

One of the most exciting things to happen in general aviation for years is the proliferation of "glass cockpits." Originally the exclusive province of airliners and high-end business jets, this modern technology is now charging into the fleet of training aircraft.

Color moving-map displays, made possible by positional data provided by a constellation of global positioning system (GPS) satellites, aren't really new to general aviation cockpits. But the current crop of glass cockpits do a phenomenal job of "bringing it all together" for the pilot, in many cases combining the navigational display with a near-real-time display of weather information, superimposed on the selected route of flight; color-coded terrain warnings that graphically depict obstructions at and above the airplane's altitude; and, in some cases, also adding the position and altitude of other aircraft operating nearby.

Not only are the displays continuing to improve, but they're spreading throughout the fleet. Once available only in high-end aircraft, glass cockpits are now an option for nearly every training aircraft, from the two-seat Symphony 160 to the four-place Diamond DA40, the New Piper Archer III and Warrior III, and the ubiquitous Cessna 172. (It's hard to believe that the design of the venerable Cessna Skyhawk, which has seen more use as a training aircraft than any other airplane, marks its fiftieth anniversary during 2006.)

At this time of year, a lot of our members think about an airplane they might win. After all, February is traditionally the month that I give away to some fortunate individual a fantastic airplane we've been working on for the past year. This year it's the grand prize in AOPA's Commander Countdown Sweepstakes, a fully refurbished and modernized 1974 Rockwell Commander 112A. It features--you guessed it--a glass cockpit.

Why does AOPA refurbish a different airplane each year as part of its membership sweepstakes? Nearly half of pilots will eventually buy an aircraft, but few of them will be brand-new models. So, each year editors from AOPA Flight Training's sister magazine, AOPA Pilot, work with generous sponsors to show what can be done to update an older airplane.

What is done to refurbish these aircraft, beyond installing a glass cockpit or otherwise upgrading the aircraft electronics? Quite a bit, actually.

First, the airframe is carefully inspected; parts are repaired or replaced as necessary to ensure that everyting is in like-new condition. This counts as an annual inspection, which the federal aviation regulations require of every FAA-certificated aircraft. Every aircraft owner must contend with annual inspections; our experiences in this regard might help others save time or money with their own annual inspections.

Next to receive attention is the aircraft's engine. Unlike the one in your automobile, aircraft engines have an established time between overhaul, or TBO, at which the engine must be overhauled or replaced if the aircraft is used commercially (overhaul at TBO is not required if an aircraft is used strictly for the owner's personal use). AOPA sweepstakes airplanes get either a brand-new or freshly overhauled engine regardless of how close the original is to its TBO. Our editors approach the process in the same way that an aircraft owner would, considering all the alternatives and writing about why they chose the ultimate course of action--providing insights that are valuable for other aircraft owners facing that decision.

Next comes an all-new interior, including extra sound-deadening insulation, and a one-of-a-kind paint scheme.

Surprising the lucky winners of these airplanes has become one of my favorite tasks during my 15 years as president of the association. Anybody who paid membership dues to AOPA during 2005--whether joining or renewing a membership--is automatically entered to win. Look for an announcement of the winner at AOPA Online, or in your AOPA ePilot or AOPA ePilot Flight Training Edition e-mail newsletter. Not a subscriber? It's free--sign up online.

Work has already begun on this year's sweepstakes airplane--a Piper Cherokee Six. What could be better for the year 2006?