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On August 5th, 2007, AOPA Pilot Editor Julie K. Boatman and Dan Gryder flew the AOPA 2007 Sweepstakes airplane, the , into Iowa City for an afternoon of showing off and good fun.

Setting up a table inside the FBO, we did a suite give-away drawing, signed up new folks to our airport support group, "Friends of Iowa City Airport", and donated a few dozen donuts for all to enjoy.

We had a great time, and what a cool plane!    The Cessna Cardinal has been receiving a top-to-bottom make-over and is absolutely drop-dead gorgeous.  The interior is still a work in progress, but the leather seats are like butter, and the paint is as deep as a Mercedes-Benz'.   Dan and Julie also assured us that the plane could have easily landed itself in Iowa City, despite our lack of an ILS approach, simply by pushing a few buttons and letting the S-Tec 55 autopilot do the work in concert with the on-board Garmin GPS.   Truly amazing stuff.

Julie is a former resident of Iowa City who learned to fly at nearby Green Castle Airport.   We've known her since 2005, when we stopped at AOPA headquarters in Frederick, MD (on our way to an appearance at Udvar-Hazy in the first "Be A Pilot Day" at the Smithsonian) to personally thank her for a wonderful article she had written about the hotel.  We joined her and her husband for dinner and ice cream, and have remained friends ever since.

Click to view local newspaper coverage of the event.

Here are some pix from the day: 

Folks awaiting the Cardinal's arrival	The FBO rolled out the red carpet for Dan & Julie...	What a beauty!	Dan Gryder stepping out...
Mary & Julie on the ramp	Everyone wants a look...	Eagerly awaiting their turn...	Julie with the Cardinal she must ultimately give away!
Pilots of all ages...	Making airplane noises is FUN!	Even Mary got to do it!	Swarmed on the ramp...
The view down the spine of the empennage...	Cool Cardinal paint job