CONTENTS AOPA PILOT June 2013 | Volume 56 | Number 6 | www.aopa.org/pilot 64 The Unlikeliest Astronaut Mike Melvill’s journey into space. ON THIS PAGE: Chad Slattery captured SpaceShipOne landing after its historic first flight—with Mike Melvill at the controls—to accompany Dave Hirschman’s story “The Unlikeliest Astronaut,” which begins on page 64. By Dave Hirschman FEATURES 50 Beaver Checkout Flying an arctic icon in sunny Florida. By Dave Hirschman 60 70 76 Safety Pilot Landmark Accident: Perception is Not Reality Last of the Old vs. First of the New Wind Beneath Their Wings Baron accident shows the way it shouldn’t be. Is a new-production 172 or an old-production 172 the better value? Pilots overcome medical adversity to fly. By Bruce Landsberg By Alton K. Marsh By Julie Summers Walker www.aopa.org/pilot AOPA PILOT | 1http://www.aopa.org/pilot http://www.aopa.org/pilot