Super Cub raffle highlight of Alaska show

For 10 years the Alaska Airmen’s Association has raffled off an airplane during its annual Alaska State Aviation Trade Show & Conference. Only once during those 10 years has the winner of the aircraft raffle been on hand to claim his airplane when his name was drawn at the end of the annual conference. On May 2, the tradition continued as Jim Sitkiewicz of Anchorage was declared the winner of this year’s plane, but he was not in attendance to claim his prize at the end of the 13th annual show.

The 7,500 available tickets were sold out by Saturday afternoon at $50 each, leaving many individuals looking for a ticket but not able to acquire one.

The raffle airplane was a PA-18 Piper Super Cub acquired by the association and refurbished by Dan’s Aircraft Repair. Many of the parts and accessories were contributed by firms from Alaska and all over the US and Canada.

The aircraft raffle was the highlight of the annual trade show and conference held in the FedEx Hangar on the Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport May 1 and 2. A crowd estimated at 20,000 turned out for the event, which included a host of forums and a trade show with about 150 vendors from all over the US and Canada displaying their products. As a matter of fact, a map near the entrance to the show asking for visitors to locate their homes revealed all but three US states and a couple of Canadian Provinces were represented.

Dee Hanson (left), Alaska Airmen’s executive director, said speakers during the show discussed a wide variety of topics, including Super Cub flying techniques, why knowing who is PIC really matters, tales from Alaskan bush pilots, and medical considerations to help a person become an “old, bold pilot,” among other subjects.

The Alaska Airmen’s Association also held its annual meeting just prior to presentations relating to flying Denali National Park, Nextgen GNSS in Alaska and AOPA representative Joey Colleran talking about airport advocacy.

For more information: AlaskaAirmen.org