AOPA Expo 2001
Now that the AOPA Expo is but a memory and the pile of work that awaited my return has been whittled down to a manageable crisis, I have time to write a few notes on the events. A few pictures are included in the photo section of our web site.

First, I want to thank Gordon Feingold, for posting an excellent report on the Public Forum. Since his report was exhaustive on Cirrus issues, I will only fill in a few gaps on the social front.

Friday evening cocktail reception: When Cirrus Design found out that our informal (read: Pay your own way) cocktail party was scheduled for the same time as theirs, they graciously invited all of our members and guests. The event was hosted by Denis Crowther in his 'garage.' This was some garage! It was about 60' deep and 30' wide. He had two antique cars in there, but personally I think they were just an excuse to have this place. He built a loft in the back third of the space, complete with a full bar, couch, big screen TV and office. CD provided drinks and a generous supply of appetizers.

After dinner, er, I mean hors-de-overes, festivities were turned offer to Alan Klapmeier and Ian Bentley. Both were in rare form: they were as entertaining as they were enlightening. I won't spend any time repeating what Gordon has posted already, except for one issue. Alan clearly claimed that he has learned how to start the SR22 in cold weather (we're talking Duluth here) and no longer has any problems starting it the first time. My experience differs substantially. Therefore, I want to challenge him publicly! Alan, here it is. If you can start a cold SR22 the first time in 5 'blades' or less, in front of witnesses, I will don a dress and serve drinks at Sun-n-Fun! For those of you who have not seen my legs, I assure you that I don't take such a challenge lightly.

Saturday Afternoon COPA Meeting: Our meeting was planned from 1:00 - 2:30 PM, and we used up every bit of that time. In all, including guest speakers and spouses, attendance was about 50.

The agenda began with a few very brief opening remarks by me, then a few award presentations. Walt Conley, the first Cirrus owner, and founding COPA Board member was recognized for his service to COPA in getting it established and given a fond send off to join the sales force of Cirrus Design. I am very happy to report that not only does Walt actually own a suit, but he was wearing it, and shoes too!

Next up was an award given to Steve Lin, in absentia. As most of you know, Steve is the genius behind our web site. What most of you probably don't realize is that Steve has a real job and a beautiful wife, Robin. How he can find time between the two to do any work for us, I'll never know, but we all appreciate it more than I can express in words. Since we can't afford to give him a raise or bonus, a public show of appreciation and a ; plaque was the least we could offer.

Director and Safety and Training Chairman, Bob Price, gave a presentation on the Cirrus Pilot Proficiency Program (by the way, that name is totally original: We didn't steal or copy it from anyone). In the program, Bob explained the purpose of the program and discussed the syllabus and solicited input on the schedule and costs. As we had both Alan Klapmeier and John Helms from NationsAir Insurance in attendance, all questions from the floor received expert answers from one of the three.

After the discussion, Director and Chief Technical Liaison, Mike Radomsky seized the floor to embarrass me thoroughly. If any of you believe the story he told about me assisting a polite young thief who was stealing laptop computers from my office, I assure you there was not a stitch of truth to it. [If you want Mike to repeat the story, just call him anytime after midnight on weekdays. I'll be glad to supply his telephone number.]

Following Mike, Alan and Ian once again teamed up to answer more questions from the floor. They were followed by Bob Cusick, OEM sales manager for Garmin. Unfortunately, Bob's remarks and our meeting, were cut short by two fire alarms, which in the aftermath of 9/11, did an excellent job of emptying the room.

In one final noteworthy AOPA Expos event, immediately following the Parade of Planes on Wednesday, Tom Bergeron (Cirrus Design Sales) was arrested for his failure to observe street signs.

Thank you all for attending. We look forward to seeing those who attended and hopefully those who were unable to at our next events.

Marty Kent