AOPA Sweepstakes RV-10 Awarded
Special Events
“I’m sitting in this airplane, and they are telling me it’s mine!
AOPA Sweepstakes Van’s Aircraft RV-10 Chris Rose Photo
LIVERMORE, CALIF. – Those were the words of AOPA member, Aaron Benedetti of Livermore, California, when AOPA President & CEO Mark Baker handed him the keys to the AOPA Sweepstakes Van’s Aircraft RV-10, January 24, 2021. Benedetti’s old college friend, Darren Pleasance, led Benedetti to the surprise presentation at Livermore Municipal Airport. Also, on hand for the presentation, was AOPA Editor at Large, Dave Hirschman, and photographer, Chris Rose. In addition to being an airline captain, Benedetti is an active general aviation pilot. He has owned several airplanes over the years, including a Pitts S1 and an Aeronca Champ. He flies with a friend in his friend’s RV–7, so he is familiar with the RV series, and the RV–10 is similar in many ways. He wants to use the RV–10 to visit smaller airports in the West: “My wife, Karen, and camping gear will fit nicely,” he said. Benedetti learned to fly in the
San Francisco Bay area before studying engineering during college at the University of California at Santa Barbara. He flew for a regional airline and then was hired by United Airlines in 1990. Today, he’s a Boeing 787 Dreamliner captain and mostly flies oceanic routes between San Francisco and Europe, Asia, and Australia. Benedetti is an avid paraglider who has been known to bring a backpack parachute rig on trips so that he can soar from mountaintops around the world on layovers. How is the winning name drawn? The surprise of winning the AOPA Sweepstakes Van’s Aircraft RV-10 sets in as Aaron Benedetti sits in the left seat of the aircraft at California’s Livermore Municipal Airport on January 24, 2021, just minutes after being told he was the winner! When Benedetti looked at the RV-10’s instrument panel, he remarked that it was similar to the Boeing 787 he flies for the airlines. The 787 has five screens and the RV-10 has three. Benedetti called his wife, Karen, from the cockpit to share the good news: “I’m sitting in this airplane, and they’re telling me it’s mine. It’s remarkable.” Chris Rose Photo
The sweepstakes drawing is completely random. An international judging organization in New York City handles the drawing and sends AOPA randomly selected entrants’ numbers with the prize assigned to each, so AOPA can deliver the
APRIL/MAY 2021 MIDWEST FLYER MAGAZINE 41
