AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2017 - 100

DETAILS

Number of AOPA sweepstakes
airplanes given away since
1993.

News & Notes
MEMBERSHIP

Las Vegas produces a winner
Allegiant Airlines instructor is taking home the Sweepstakes 172
B Y J I L L TA L L M A N

WHEN GARY WALTERS ENTERED the FBO at
Henderson Executive Airport in Nevada, he
thought he was meeting a potential real estate
client. Instead, Walters found out he is the winner of the 2017 AOPA 172 Sweepstakes.
"No way! Come on! You gotta be kidding
me!" Walters exclaimed as AOPA President
Mark Baker related the news.
Walters, a line and instructor pilot for
Allegiant Airlines, came to the FBO to meet Greg
and Suzanne Herrick. Longtime friends of AOPA
and Baker, the Herricks arrived at Henderson
pretending to be prospective home buyers.
Walters and his wife, Sandra, operate a parttime real estate business. Instead, the Herricks
led Walters to Baker, who happened to be hanging out in the FBO with AOPA's video crew.
"Have you ever won an airplane before?"
Baker asked.
"No! How'd I do that?" Walters said.
Because the 172 is in Oshkosh awaiting the
start of AirVenture 2017, Baker and AOPA Senior

Vice President of Media,
Communications, and
Outreach Tom Haines
presented Walters with
a set of keys and photos
of the airplane that will
soon be his.
"Wow, thank you so
much! It's absolutely
fantastic," Walter said.
"That is beautiful. I'm
speechless." Walters
put Sandra on the
speaker phone to share the news with her.
Walters estimated it's been about 25 years
since he last flew a Cessna 172. "I think I still
have an old headset up in the attic," he said.
But he won't have to dig out that old headset
because Bose Aviation has provided two sets
of A20s for the winner of the Sweepstakes
172. And a local flight instructor who happened to be in the FBO offered Walters a
business card if he should need some help
getting current in something a little smaller
than an MD-80.
Walters learned to fly in Burbank, California.
He said he's looking forward to taking the
Sweepstakes 172 on a trip to visit family in
Southern California.
"We're going to do some flying," he said.
The AOPA Sweepstakes 172 was launched
in 2016 with the acquisition of a 1978 172N. The
sweepstakes closed May 31, 2017. An independent accounting firm tallied the entries and
chose the winner.

ALL THE BELLS AND WHISTLES: NonTSOed equipment enhances Sweeps 172
Walters' red-and-silver-gray Cessna 172 comes to him updated well beyond a typical restoration.
The airplane features a modernized panel with new avionics, including two Garmin G5 electronic
flight instruments and a Trio Avionics Pro Pilot autopilot. AOPA has been a driving force behind
encouraging the FAA to permit nonTSOed safety equipment into the cockpits of legacy aircraft.
The nonTSOed G5 and Trio autopilot provide a great deal of information, spatial awareness, and
safety innovation for the certified Cessna 172.

100 | AOPA PILOT September 2017

CONTRIBUTORS
Aerospace Logic
www.aerospacelogic.com
Aerospace Welding
http://awi-ami.com
AmSafe
www.amsafe.com
Air Plains Services Corp.
www.airplains.com
Concorde Battery
www.concordebattery.com
ElectroAir
www.electroair.net
Garmin
www.garmin.com/en-US
Guardian Avionics
www.guardianavionics.com
Flight Training Apps
www.flighttrainingapps.com
Hartzell Engine Technologies
http://hartzell.aero
Higher Graphics
www.highergraphics.com
Hutchinson Aerospace
www.hutchinsonai.com
KD Aviation
http://kdaviation.com
Knots 2U Ltd.
www.knots2u.net
LP Aero Plastics Inc.
www.lpaero.com
Lycoming
www.lycoming.com
McFarlane Aviation Products
www.mcfarlaneaviation.com
Micro Aerodynamics Inc.
microaero.com
Moody Aero-Graphics
http://moodyaero.com
Scheme Designers
www.schemedesigners.com
Sherwin-Williams
AerospaceCoatings
www.swaerospace.com/home
VASI Aerospace IPG
http://ipg.aero
Yingling Aviation
www.yinglingaviation.com

http://www.aerospacelogic.com http://www.awi-ami.com http://www.amsafe.com http://www.airplains.com http://www.concordebattery.com http://www.electroair.net http://www.garmin.com/en-US http://www.guardianavionics.com http://www.flighttrainingapps.com http://www.hartzell.aero http://www.highergraphics.com http://www.hutchinsonai.com http://www.kdaviation.com http://www.knots2u.net http://www.lpaero.com http://www.lycoming.com http://www.mcfarlaneaviation.com http://www.microaero.com http://www.moodyaero.com http://www.schemedesigners.com http://www.swaerospace.com/home http://www.ipg.aero http://www.yinglingaviation.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2017