Fly with AOPA Ep. 79: First to Fly the Fury, Junkers unveiling, Pilots fly to Eclipse

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The Sun ‘n Fun Aerospace Expo marked its fiftieth year with warbirds, fireworks, and airplanes new and old. We also checked out the solar eclipse, and flew the Piper Fury.
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Send us your favorite flying videos—you just might see them on an upcoming show!

Posted 04/12/24

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[flywithaopa]

You can still get a weekly recap of the videos AOPA produces throughout the week by signing up for the weekly video newsletter. To sign up, visit

[thefamilythatfliestogether]

I liked the weekly updates. It was nice way to get a general idea of how aviation was doing during the week. It is sad to hear that it is ending.

[dwightott]

I’m really gonna miss the weekly show 😢. It was a great summary of what is going on in aviation and was perfectly timed for my Saturday morning coffee

[lukeTM]

Me too. Keep the weekly Fly with AOPA!!

[erniekelly]

I will miss the weekly summary. It was my “AOPA TV” fix every week. Been watching since Tom Haynes was hosting.

[erniekelly]

We’ll miss you, Alyssa! Thanks for all you’ve done for AOPA, but you’re making the right choice. Blessings.

[timfreeman]

I am bummed, I look forward to the weekly show for these past many years 😢

[JeffreyHostetler]

Disappointing that the format is changing. I really appreciate the weekly compilation and video presentation in addition to the vidoes, which can go into greater depth where I have interest. Alyssa Cobb has done a great job following the years of "high end" production that I enjoyed as well. Keep up the good work bringing aviation news and interest items to the members.

[kevinsislo]

Welcome to AOPA Katrina! Looking forward to more content. I hope Alyssa sticks around, she is very professional and does a great job in the videos.

[FlyWithAlexMora]

I will miss the weekly shows, drinking a cup of coffee Saturday mornings. Did you all poll your members for input? I didn’t see anything.

[RandyS-dx]

I, for one do not want to live on you-tube videos all the time. I have always looked foward to the Saturday AOPA video, with a quick 10-15 minute recap of weekly events. I hope you will reconsider the decision.

[shannondror]

I am a 43-year veteran member of AOPA, and I rely on these weekly video summaries to provide at least an index of the video reportage AOPA produces, if not the content itself as used to be presented. But if the emphasis is now shifting to specific content for discretionary consumption, let me request some specifics that I haven't seen. There has been some discussion of new engines, particularly from Rotax, and of new fuels that eliminate tetraethyl lead and reduce other pollutants. But I have not seen any presentation about smaller aircraft with two-stroke engines or the SAFs they need which include lubricant in their mixture. I have seen some electric-engined craft, mostly prototypes, but not actual practical helicopters. I have not seen discussion of hydrogen as an alternative fuel for hybridized systems, or the fuel-cells that power their electric motors, which makers of EV ground vehicles are increasingly turning to as pure battery technology has been found inadequate. I've seen some mention of multi-prop EVTOLs and FAR 103 platforms, but only with very impractically-limited range and duration of about one hour. I'd like to see more of this which addresses true point-to-point transportation and its operating infrastructure for fueling, housing, parking, storage, et al. I'd like to see auxiliary equipment for hand-held avionics, cameras and communication, and other support for ground-air coordination and working tasks that such single-pilot VTOL aircraft can perform.

[HorstSL]

Great input. Liked it very much! But why are kicking out Melissa? I l liked the way she was doing her job!

[flyyourdream]

Your analysis and results are surely a result of releasing all the videos throughout the week that are exactly what you include in the weekly fly aopa. So it’s clear to see why you found what you did with numbers. After years of watching the weekly show and others that try to recreate it, the news style desk with Tom was the absolute best format, cinematography and story telling that I’ve seen on YouTube or elsewhere. I’d have to assume that it assisted in actually growing AOPA. I’m not sure what the real reason for this shift is but I’m hoping it’s not the beginning of the end, as I’ve noticed a few other oddities throughout the organization. For reference I am a younger guy(the ones that are suppose to take the torch) and not many people my age I’ve talked to prefer this style over the previous. So you may want to do some outreach. We have all tried to watch the new style and like it, it’s good, dont get me wrong but it’s not up to snuff with the top tier stuff you all use to deliver for members and the community as a whole. Good luck and remember, stick to your roots and remember how you got where you did.

[ramoneortiz]

Love the M700. Playing lotto this weekend so I can get one and refurbish my ‘78 Piper Turbo Arrow III. Keep the videos coming. They are great!

[Tharkunify]

That night show was amazing! Never seen anything like that.

[Nomurasame]

Watched the eclipse at KMVN in Mt.Vernon, IL. A beautiful airport with a good restaurant. There were bunch of aviators camping under the wing. For the last one, we were at Triple Tree in SC. AOPA was there and our kids were filmed for a few seconds. They have all grown up. Cool memory.

[towcub]

The Jacksons’ SR5! Always a photogenic machine.

[kenknopp]

Watched the solar eclipse at the Jackman, Maine airport. Excellent view!!

[chriscampbell]

Watched the eclipse from 35, 000, thanks to United Airlines and our CA & FO orbiting Southern Illinois for about 30 minutes!