The former senior director of digital media, Alyssa J. Cobb was on the AOPA staff from 2004 until 2023. She is a flight instructor, and loves flying her Cessna 170B with her husband and two children. Alyssa also hosts the weekly Fly with AOPA show on the AOPA Pilot Video YouTube channel.
Watching an American bison bring its nose, about the size of our 17-month-old’s head, to the car window for a treat and the look on our 4-year-old’s face as he rode a camel topped off our daytrip to the African Safari Wildlife Park in Port Clinton, Ohio. The park is just one of the many adventures in the area.
After a flight in the Boeing B–17 Flying Fortress Liberty Belle in 2005, businessman and private pilot Jerry Shiffer purchased the remains of four B–17s with a vision to bring youths together near Dayton, Ohio, to restore the heavy bomber to airworthiness.
At first glance, Grimes Field looks like many other Midwest airports: a paved runway and intersecting grass strip in the middle of flat cornfields, ample ramp parking, and a restaurant that lures pilots in droves. But there’s more than meets the eye at the Urbana, Ohio, airport located within the National Aviation Heritage Area of historic sites.
Some of the most overlooked and underrated areas at the airport—the picnic table, a bench, a grassy area, or even the ramp space under your wing—can transform into a gateway for adventure, romance, and merry-making with a simple picnic.
Derek Thompson Jr. has set the bar pretty high for family adventures in their 1976 Cessna Cardinal—flying to experience the 2024 solar eclipse along the path of totality.
Pancake breakfasts, open houses, wings and wheels events, and airshows are popping up across the country and will be in full swing throughout the spring and summer, into early fall. Whether you plan to fly to a major fly-in or a small one, prepare in advance to ensure a safe arrival and departure with hundreds or even thousands of your fellow aviators.
Benny and Lacie were strapped in the third-row seating of the Cirrus Vision Jet, resting comfortably as the single-engine V-tail climbed out of Fairfield County Airport near Columbus, Ohio, on a blue-sky day en route to Grandma’s house for Sunday dinner near Georgetown, Delaware, when the beagles received a special message from air traffic control.
After you landed you landed, you'll need wheels on the ground and it doesn't always have to be a car, especially if you want to careen around the airport. Check out some muscle-driven alternatives.