For the past few years it has been my pleasure to work with a model aircraft company in Europe called HERPA, Ltd. Herpa is the worlds leading manufacturer of die cast aircraft and automobile models of all types, and all built with German engineering and detail! If you are a manufacturer or a retailer, contact www.herpa.de for market opportunities. Their models really will fly - they’ll fly off your shelves, and out of your warehouses. If you would like to fly the Real HERPA DC-3 In the 1:1 scale, that one is mine, and I invite you to be my guest! Right now, through a very unique opportunity, I can get a DC-3 type rating stamped on YOUR pilot certificate for $3220 guaranteed. This 3 day course includes everything you need, I did 26 of these alone in 2006! Call or write for more info. These vintage aircraft are going away quickly, let me get you some left seat time, the time of a lifetime, and “DC-3” stamped on YOUR certificate while I still can. I look forward to hearing from you!
Next, we must have been out of our minds, but we decided to take a perfectly good Cessna 177 totally apart - right down to the bare ribs! Our idea here is that we wanted to accomplish the most thorough and extensive makeover a production single has ever been through. The really crazy part is that all the labor and equipment that goes into this airplane, is going to be given away - To You! This entire project is the product and property of AOPA. As the designated Field project manager for this project, the all new 2007 sweepstakes airplane is now deep in suspended animation at my facility in Griffin, Georgia. But don’t worry, this is all part of the plan, and someday, we plan to let her fly! We’re making this airplane a thing of beauty from the inside out. I promise that you have never seen an airplane in this state before, just watch the AOPA web site and PILOT magazine for all the upclose pictures and descriptions so you can follow along on what we did. You really need to win this. Check out the AOPA home page for more information on how you can help your odds (there are ways) and help us get this phenomenal aircraft to you a little more efficiently. But theres more: The winner also gets complete custom “new owner” C-177 specific training package at our facility. After all - we built it, we should be able to show you how it all works, both on the ground and in the air. When you finally leave here with your new plane, you’ll not only have a like new Cessna, you’ll also have a fresh medical certificate of your choice, a fresh BFR, and a thorough checkout signed off in your logbook. To top it all off, we have also thrown in a couple of laps around the patch (left seat) in our 1938 model Douglas DC-3 just to make the win even more enticing. Click on the Catch-a-Cardinal tab on the left to read more about it, and just make sure that you are renewed for another year. You even get a new member card just like mine. But go get your own member number. Its only $39, that’s less than the cost of dinner for two! And you get all the other stuff with it. Follow along close on this one folks, you’re not going to believe what were doing to this Cessna! I look forward to meeting you! Dan Gryder AOPA 01127265, 2007 Sweeps Field Project Manager.
Aircraft Panels
Does your aircraft project need a new all metal instrument panel? We have a brand-new process that will change the way you think about constructing your panel. We can now custom cut aluminum aircraft instrument panels from
stock 2024 T3 to your specifications with a technically advanced process that bypasses the less accurate, traditional cutting methods such as water jet (cut with water), laser (cut with light), or plasma (cut with gas). Our
new process cuts an extremely accurate panel--with repeatable accuracy--to less than 1/1000 of an inch. We can cut metal of any thickness up to 95/1000 inch, and we can work from either a blueprint or CAD file. By using this new process we completely avoid all negative side effects of traditional processes, such as warping because of excess heat, or burred edges. All holes can be computer based pre-drilled for button head screws, or machine counter sunk to exacting standards for the very best, professional flush look. Upon panel completion, we also have the capability to paint and prep the finished product using a state-of-the-art powder-coat process. Finally, our unique graphics package can correctly label all switches and circuit breakers to your specifications using a new process that does not use stick ons, adhesive, cellophane, or engraving. This is the cleanest, most professional, and most durable product that is possible for aircraft panels. Call or write for more information.
AIRCRAFT MANUFACTURERS: We can produce a far superior aircraft panel in any quantity for your production aircraft. We can do it faster, and we can do it for less money. Call to arrange a free prototype for your inspection.
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If you fly airplanes, it is not a matter of IF it is going to happen to you, it's just a matter of WHEN. You are going to lose an engine.
If you have already read the NOVEMBER 2006 AOPA PILOT magazine article (pg. 146) Engine failure after takeoff, you will be interested to read this also. It's free! Just click here. If you fly single engine airplanes, you need to read both of these! Don't be the next general aviation fatality on the NTSB record. If you are not yet an AOPA member, click on this link www.aopa.org to join. Since this article came out, significant progress has been made to correct the clear and obvious FAA omission of this scenario in required ground and flight training, as well as examination via the PTS. You can look for these changes to be incorporated in industry leading manufacturers training curriculum and printed material in the very near future. We have also completed an all new human factors study regarding pilot conditioning. Conditioning (or lack thereof) can directly effect the end results during time critical events in an aircraft. This concept will be unveiled during an unusual interactive presentationentitled PUSH: Do the right thing! February 16 at the WAI convention. See information below for more information.
Women in Aviation
We had the opportunity to work closely with the organization “Women in Aviation” www.wai.org at the 2006 AirVenture fly-in this year in OshKosh Wisconsin. During this time, aircraft model manufacturer HERPA donated all DC-3 flights to WAI. Operating mostly off runway 27, WAI metered out over 40 rides to qualified supporters of WAI. Selected recipients that were not flight qualified rode the jumpseat of the Douglas DC-3, those recipients that sported a personal pilots license flew the DC-3 from the left seat for a once in a lifetime takeoff and landing during the worlds largest fly-in! This phenomenal promotion was featured in numerous aviation publications, including a full feature in the December 2006 issue of FLYING magazine. Read the FLYING feature by clicking here. WAI Recipients included a very impressive list of the CEO’s and owners of the largest and best aviation companies in America. Visit WAI at their annual convention in Orlando, Florida Feb 15 – 17. We’ll be there, stop by and say HI! Visit us at booth number 332, and make sure that you register for our free drawings. Also, plan to attend our special human factors flight seminar entitled PUSH: Do the right thing! Friday the 16th at 3:05 pm
Aviation consulting
Do you have an aviation problem or situation that demands a concrete, effective solution? We can help! With our Extensive experience in Part 61, 91, 135, and 121 operations, we can assist you in finding the answer to your needs. Conservative companies always hire an independent auditor to look at the books. Don’t wait until you have a serious accident to discover what policies and best practices your company flight department should have had in place That would have helpedto avoid the accident. We can help your department with fuel planning policies, regulations, crew coordination, checklist usage, automation, V Nav, L nav, and LPV approaches, abnormal procedures management, and more.
Tailwheel Training
Some of the best airplanes have the third wheel in back - and we can teach you to fly yours right! We offer both initial tailwheel training for students and transition training for certificated pilots. We are the nations premiere tailwheel instructors for both single and multi engine tailwheel operations. Your aircraft or one of ours – we can help you master the taildragger.
PILOTS WANTED: An Incredible Adventure in the Douglas DC-3!
We are now pleased to announce a new product specifically for the pilot that just wants to fly the DC-3 from the left seat, and experience the aircraft first hand. No previous experience is required, and this experience is now available exclusively through Incredible Adventures, Inc. Several exciting packages are available. If you are a foreign pilot, Incredible Adventures, Inc. will book your adventure with the DC-3, and assist you with the TSA obligations required to fly the aircraft. You can contact them directly at 800-644-7382 or visit their web site at www.incredible-adventures.com. Call them direct today and get ready to fly the legendary DC-3!
FREE STUFF:
We have worked very hard to create the worlds best set of DC-3 training materials. We wrote these books. We also have a lot of other General Aviation materials for aviators. All of it is FREE! Please click on DOWNLOADS for access to these documents. We will also in the future be adding some short videos that will also be free. Please be sure to see our other web site as well, TheAviatorNetwork.com
DC-3 TRAINING PRICES:
While we offer any kind of INITIAL or RECURRENT training for the DC-3, we have a very unique situation available right now: If you haven't heard about this, NOW is the time to get your DC-3 type rating for S.I.C. This is a brand new program from the FAA that is very unusual. Our industry leading FAR part 91 program for the new DC-3 type rating has been accepted by the FAA, we have already had numerous graduates in the program.
This is a type rating for the DC-3 that goes on your FAA pilots certificate, and it stays there forever. This is a complete package, a 2 day course where you do all the flying. It includes the ground school, the paperwork, and everything that you need to take home a new pilots license with "DC-3" on it. There will be a day when this is an impossible rating to get. Get it while you can. Best of all, this is now very inexpensive to do.
This is an intensive course, it starts early, it goes late, and it is a lot of flying. You have to get the books ahead (free) of time and get ready for the course on your own. This 3 day type rating course is an absolute bargain for the certificate hunter with limited time, or the pilot that just wants a shot at flying the classic vintage DC-3. If desired, you can always come back later and take an ORAL and FLIGHT TEST to have the limitation removed from your certificate. This is one course that will see a price increase in the near future. Call or write about locking in the $3220 Guaranteed rate.
Listed below are OUR list prices for training. For comparison purposes, we have also included some OTHER industry list prices for some other airplane type rating training courses so you can compare.
Course
Days to
Complete
Cost
Douglas DC-3
INITIAL PIC
6
$14,000
Douglas DC-3
INITIAL SIC
3
$3220 Guaranteed
Douglas DC-3
RECURRENT PIC
2
$5460 Guaranteed
Douglas DC-3
RECURRENT SIC
1
$2100 Guaranteed
Hawker 800XP
INITIAL PIC
17
$32,775
Citation I / II
INITIAL PIC
10
$15,650
Lear 31A
INITIAL PIC
17
$19,025
Lear 45
INITIAL PIC
17
$25,025
Lear 60
INITIAL PIC
17
$25,425
Gulfstream G-IV
INITIAL PIC
17
$32,850
AIRSHOWS:
We have proven that the DC-3 is crowd favorite at air shows. We invite you to use our DC-3 for your purpose. We can design a custom image exactly to your specifications. As a static display, plan on more visitors per day than any other display at these air-show opportunities. We can also fly the aircraft for demonstration, or give VIP/Corporate guest rides. We provide custom media packages for your company to use our aircraft to your specifications for results that are second to none. Ask about our low level “almost aerobatic” DC-3 routine with smoke on, our single engine very low - low pass (one engine feathered), and our single wheel landing. You have to see it to believe it! All DC-3 operations flown by Dan Gryder from the right seat of the DC-3.