I can't afford a turbine, but I like reading about them.

A Waco isn't a bad choice for the 100th anniversary.

Lots of Twins are owned by partnerships of experienced spam can pilots,
especially pilots that enjoy working in the hangar on weekends (the twin has
twice as much to fix, oh boy!). One local partnership has a car mechanic
that easily works on the plan 5 times as much as he flies it.

If you want to win a 172, buy something from Sporty's. People who can't
afford the taxes on the Waco are not much better off with a 172 costing
3/4ths the amount. Since it will be sold by these types of winners, the
more valuable the better.

I really like that they give away renovated planes, because most members fly
older planes. Most of us dream about spending a planes value in mods, but
aren't rich enough to through that kind of money around.

A completely renovated Twin will not likely be valued nearly as much as it
is worth to the winner (twin prices are depressed due to the cost of
operations). I hope the winner sells half to a partner, and uses the money
to pay the taxes, and get the training to fly it!

AOPA is doing a great job in trying times, I am surprised they have time to
put out such a great mag.








"James Blakely" wrote in
message ...
Is it just me, or is it that AOPA is starting to ignore the Spam-can
pilot?
I've been a member for about 5 years now and each year, the airplane they
give away becomes more impractical. They claim the Waco is worth $200k
but
it is a day VFR only aircraft. How useful is that? Now, next year, they
are giving away a twin. What percentage of pilots have a ME ticket? How
many could get insurance?

It is not just the airplanes either. I used to think that the AOPApilot
magazine was one of the best. Now, almost half of it is dedicated to
turbine operations. I do not see a turbine in my future at all.

It really seems to me like AOPA is moving away from the weekend pilot and
moving toward the semi-professional pilot. It seems to me that they are
just supporting part 91 operations just because that is where most
professional pilots get their start.

So, what do you think?