This Year's Expo To Focus On "Serious Personal Aviators"

Whew! With NBAA 2006 just wrapped up last week, ANN staffers will barely have enough time to regroup before the next big aviation event. Not that we're complaining, mind you... and it helps that the upcoming show looks to be a REALLY fun one! The Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA) Expo 2006 is barely two weeks away... with this year's show focusing on "serious personal aviators."

Some 10,000 general aviation pilots and aviation enthusiasts are expected in Palm Springs, CA to attend the general aviation convention and trade show, which runs November 9-11, 2006. But the fun kicks off the morning before, at 10 am on Wednesday, November 8, with a truly one-of-a-kind event in the aviation world -- the Parade of Planes.

It's an event unique to Palm Springs -- as its the only city in the country capable of hosting the Parade. More than 100 aircraft, from two-seat light sport models to business jets, will taxi approximately two miles from Palm Springs International Airport, through the streets to the Palm Springs Convention Center... where they'll virtually ring the building in the largest aircraft display AOPA Expo has ever hosted.

Leading the parade will be the grand prize in AOPA's Win A Six in '06 Sweepstakes, a newly repainted and completely refurbished 1967 Piper Cherokee Six. Some lucky pilot will be given the keys to the Six early in 2007.

AOPA Expo strikes a nice balance between such aviation free-for-alls as Oshkosh -- where serious aviators rub elbows with the most casual enthusiasts -- and industry-oriented events such as NBAA (which always send ANN staffers scrambling to dust off our sportcoats and collared shirts.) AOPA Expo gives members of the organization a chance to catch up on latest news and products throughout the industry... while having a little fun, too.

Representatives with AOPA say airframe manufacturers and other vendors know that the people who attend AOPA Expo are not just window shopping -- they're serious shoppers willing to spend some serious money to support their aviation interest. And they're also serious about the issues facing their community.

Expo kicks off on November 9th with a general session discussing the threat of user fees as Congress gets ready to reexamine FAA funding. For the first time, pilots will be able to hear directly from Congress, as Rep. Sam Graves (R-MO), a member of the House Aviation subcommittee and an AOPA member, joins AOPA President Phil Boyer, Experimental Aviation Assn. (EAA) President Tom Poberezny, General Aviation Manufacturers Assn. (GAMA) President and CEO Peter Bunce, and National Business Aviation Assn. (NBAA) President Ed Bolen.

On Friday, November 10, FAA Administrator Marion Blakey returns to AOPA Expo to speak to and take questions directly from pilots.

After each day's general session, the exhibit hall -- with more than 500 exhibitor displays -- and the aircraft display area open up. In addition, AOPA Expo will host more than 75 hours of seminars, ranging from ownership issues, through medical certification issues, to seminars designed to make safer, better pilots.

In addition, the AOPA Air Safety Foundation will once again host daily Pinch Hitter® seminars for those who routinely fly the right seat.

With more than 408,000 members, AOPA represents nearly two-thirds of all pilots in the United States.

FMI: www.aopa.org