Steve Lagergren of Litchfield, Minnesota, got the surprise of his life this week. While flying his experimental Van’s RV-7 he took delivery of a brand new airplane — a fully restored 1963 Beechcraft Debonair that was a gift from the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association. AOPA’s president Mark Baker and AOPA Pilot editor at large Tom Horne snuck up on Lagergren, who was flying with fellow RV-7 builder Bob Collins. Collins had coordinated the plan with AOPA for weeks and the four pilots were communicating on a common frequency.
The Debonair was part of AOPA’s annual sweepstakes in which the organization gives a restored airplane to a randomly selected member. The airplane has several speed mods, new 20-gallon wingtip fuel tanks and a brand new panel that features an Electronics International MVP-50P engine analyzer, Aspen Avionics’ multifunction displays and Garmin’s GTN 750/650 touchscreen GPS/nav/comms, ADS-B capable GDL 88 datalink transceiver and GDL 393D ADS-B-In receiver, which displays traffic on an iPad mini.
