A social cat

AOPA Social Media Marketers Kevin Cortes and Erick Webb started posting about the Tiger prior to Sun ’n Fun 2021. They broke the news that AOPA’s Tiger wouldn’t make it to the airshow and a “stunt double” would act as a stand-in. And they’ve been serving up photos, videos, and updates ever since.

Last year, Cortes made his first flight into AirVenture in the Tiger, and then flew it back to AOPA home-base Frederick Municipal Airport (FDK), sharing some terrific photos along the way.

Asked for his favorite Tiger post, he said, “I enjoyed the air to air flight that led to this Instagram reel post [above left]. It was the first time we’ve shot an AOPA sweeps aircraft with a behind the scenes social media angle in mind. We were able to capture the essence of what it takes to get a few signature shots the audience will see in the magazine. In this clip you can listen to the timing of the break on the intercom, along with getting a first-person point of view of what it looks like to shoot this scene from the photo aircraft. The Tiger is easily one of my favorite aircraft to fly, I’m happy to see the excitement from our audience about this sweepstakes aircraft.” The reel had more than 555,000 views on Instagram and TikTok.

Webb’s favorite is called the “short approach” video (above right). “It’s my favorite because it was my first time flying the Tiger,” he said. “Kevin Cortes and I chose to go to an airport we’d never been to before—Rostraver Airport (FWQ) in Pennsylvania. We had an uneventful, and surprisingly good, lunch. On the downwind at Frederick Municipal Airport, I was asked if I could make a short approach inside of a Cardinal on final. Being familiar with my home airport and having made several short approaches to all the runways over the years, I felt comfortable and safe doing it. The video shows how easy the Tiger is to fly because it was only my third landing in the Tiger. I simply cut power, lowered the flaps, turned toward the runway, and put it on the centerline. I’ve since logged nearly 20 hours of flight time in the Tiger. It’s one of the smoothest airplanes I’ve had the privilege to fly, and it’s no wonder Grumman owners are such a passionate and enthusiastic group. I’ve missed flying the Tiger while it’s been in the paint shop, and I’ll certainly miss it when we give it to a lucky winner later this year.”

Perhaps the most viewed—and commented on—post was the request for members to weigh in on their favorite of three possible paint schemes. The post garnered more than 700 comments, with the results almost evenly split.

Find more Sweeps updates, and to post your comments, visit AOPA on Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, and Facebook.

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