Pilots Association dinner

The East Central Ohio Pilots Association (ECOPA) will hold its annual awards banquet March 12 at Skyland Pines Banquet Center, 3550 Columbus Rd. NE, Canton.

The dinner will begin at 7 p.m., and the featured speaker will be Brian Binnie, test pilot for Scaled Composites, the aircraft design company founded by Burt Rutan. Binnie was at the controls of Space Ship One in October 2004 when it rocketed into space for the second time within 14 days to capture the $10 million Ansari X Prize. Binnie will describe his flight aboard Space Ship One and provide an update to the development of its successor spacecraft.

The public is invited to attend but reservations must be made with Kathy Long at Jim Long Aviation at the Akron-Canton Airport, (330) 499-2979.

The cost is $30 for nonmembers.

For more details, contact ECOPA President Stephen G. Smith at (330) 284-5349.