AOPA Expo 2008: Explore New Horizons

10 reasons to find
your way to San Jose

• San Jose is one of the top three Safest Big Cities in America.
• The sun shines 300 days of the year in San Jose.
• There are 150 parks and gardens in San Jose.
• The average temperature is 70 degrees F.
• San Jose is called one of the top three “Funnest” cities in America.
• “California Casual” is always in style.
• Santana Row shopping is “Silicon Valley’s answer to Rodeo Drive.”
• San Jose is the oldest town in California—it was settled on November 29, 1777.
• “Japantown” is one of the oldest ethnic neighborhoods in the U.S.
• There are more than 100 restaurants in downtown San Jose.

Find your way to San Jose for AOPA Expo 2008, a three-day event featuring new aircraft and products, informational seminars, and industry officials who set the general aviation agenda for a pivotal year to come.

The annual GA get-together offers special events, exhibits, forums, seminars, and the opportunity for AOPA members to interact on a personal level with the AOPA staff. Non-flying family members will have access to “Pinch-Hitter®” courses as well as convenient restaurants, shopping, recreation, art galleries, and nearby historic attractions.

The GA meetings and exhibits will take place downtown at the San Jose McEnery Convention Center and new aircraft will be on display at Norman Y. Mineta San Jose International Airport. Cessna will provide ground transportation between the two facilities on a continuous basis.

Expo gives members a once-a-year chance to gather for three days to learn, laugh, and listen to lectures and forums on topics ranging from light sport aircraft to very light jets, and almost everything in between. Expo also presents a unique opportunity for members to interact with the association’s staff—from AOPA President Phil Boyer to the key staff members you need to address any issue.

Opening day

The annual AOPA Expo will start at 9 a.m. Thursday, November 6, when Boyer opens the first of the three days of opening general sessions. All the general sessions are free, and members will get the latest information on vital topics such as FAA funding, opposition to user fees, aviation fuel, and efforts to expand the pilot population. Aircraft displays will open at 9 a.m. each day on the ramp at the Norman Y. Mineta San Jose International Airport.

The exhibit hall will feature more than 550 exhibitors and will be open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Thursday and Friday and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday.

Seminars will kick off promptly at 11 a.m. each day and run until 5:30 p.m. on Thursday and Friday and until 4 p.m. on Saturday.

“Explore New Horizons” is the theme of Expo 2008. Industry experts will provide more than 60 hours of seminars on a broad variety of aviation topics including John and Martha King on “Risk Management;” Dan Johnson on the “State of the Light-Sport Aircraft Industry;” Jack McCormick on “Flying South of the Border;” and John Frank on “Managing Your Engine for Peak Performance.” The staff at the AOPA Air Safety Foundation will also be on hand with tips on flying safely. Non-flying spouses are encouraged to attend one of the two-hour Pinch-Hitter courses that will be held every day. There will also be free Let’s Go Flying sessions held on Friday and Saturday.

Center of Silicon Valley

San Jose is the birthplace of the dotcom revolution, which has changed the way we fly. Extremely capable GPS satellite navigation systems, in-cabin datalink NEXrad weather displays, and traffic alert and collision avoidance systems (TCAS) are just a few of the ways GA has benefited from this revolution. San Jose is home to information technology giants such as Apple, Yahoo, eBay, Hewlett-Packard, Intel, Adobe, Sun, and Google. The success of these companies has trickled down to the local community and San Jose has converted its good fortune into a stimulating urban destination.

The convention center sits in the middle of a thriving mix of historic buildings, contemporary museums, grand hotels, performing arts venues, and green space. Within a half-mile radius you’ll find the Children’s Discovery Museum in Guadalupe Park, The Tech Museum of Innovation (The Tech), and historic buildings such as the Hotel Sainte Claire, the De Anza Hotel, and the San Jose Museum of Art. Weaving in and out throughout the valley is the Guadalupe River and a pattern of freeways and expressways. These arteries ease the travel times to other local attractions such as the Lick Observatory, Rosicrucian Park and the Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum, the San Jose Municipal Rose Garden, History Park at Kelley Park, the Portuguese Historical Museum and the Ira F. Brilliant Center for Beethoven Studies.

Arrival procedures for those of you planning to fly in to Expo will be available on our Web site starting in September. There are two host airports for Expo—the Norman Y. Mineta San Jose International (SJC), the location of the aircraft display, and Reid-Hillview of Santa Clara County (RHV). No jet fuel is available at Reid-Hillview.

By now most members have received a flyer providing a brief outline of Expo 2008 events. In addition to the events already mentioned, there will also be an opening awards luncheon, a welcome reception, a Friday night party at The Tech Museum of Innovation, and a closing banquet. These memorable and entertaining events promise to strengthen the GA community and focus its efforts on the key issues ahead. The AOPA Convention and Event staff have reserved hundreds of the closest and best hotel rooms at low rates for AOPA members. To sign up, reserve rooms, and plan for your trip go online.

E-mail the author at [email protected].