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I wouldn’t be much of an aviation writer if I didn’t read. And I don’t think you can be much of an aviation enthusiast if you don’t read either, so I do my part by strumming through a bunch of aviation magazines, online pubs and a couple of newspapers each week to stay in touch with the industry. Here are some of the folks I read, no matter what they write. You’ll also find most of them on Twitter.
I’ve known most of them for years so trust me, if you have the opportunity to say hi at a show when you see them, don’t be shy. They all like to schmooze about the industry no matter where you come from … except maybe for helicopters. I’m not sure they count since we all really know those things fly using wires and magic anyway.
Jon Ostrower – The Wall Street Journal – I first learned about Jon when he started writing his 787 blog. Right from the start I realized he had a flare for digging deep for the inside details on every single issue relevant to the extra years it took Boeing to kick that new bird of theirs out the door. He spent a few years at Flight Global before heading out the door to DC to work for the WSJ. There’s even a pic around the net somewhere of Jon at his first AirVenture sporting a Jetwhine button. I have to find that one. @jonostrower
Molly McMillian – The Wichita Eagle – Molly’s one of the few working journalists who still covers aviation for a general readership newspaper, The Wichita Eagle. Really nice, smart lady. Find her on Twitter @mmcmillin
Matt Thurber – Aviation International News & Business Jet Traveler – Matt’s a versatile writer, pilot and even an A&P technician so he’s the guy I go to with nuts and bolts questions when I get stuck. And the guy writes 24 hours a day I think since his byline is everywhere.
Tom Haines – AOPA Pilot’s – Tom’s the soft spoken editor of AOPA Pilot magazine and the guy who gets to file some of the coolest pilot reports around, so I’m extremely envious. Despite the fact that he flies a Bonanza rather than a Cirrus, I still respect him a bunch. He also hosts AOPA Live, every week, another cool job. @tomhaines29
Pia Bergqvist – Flying – I remember back in the old days when Pia worked in PR at Cessna. She gave me my first demo ride in a Cessna Corvalis before she moved on to Flying magazine. She loves the Cirrus like I do and there is no truth to the rumor that I only admire her because she’s Swedish. I’m half on my dad’s side. @piapilot
John Croft – Aviation Week – John’s Av Week’s safety geek so we see eye to eye on many things in this industry, although AvWeek gives him way more space each week to write than I do at AINSafety … not that I’m complaining Charlie, just comparing. We actually met up at a safety conference in DC some years back when he introduced himself only by his Twitter handle, @avweekjc
Mike Collins – AOPA Pilot’s Technical Editor – Mike earned my undying admiration when he came to Chicago a few years ago to shoot the photos for an AOPA Pilot story I wrote about flying the L-39 at Gauntlet Warbirds at KARR. We flew in January and Mike spent half a morning hanging out of the back of a T-6 shooting the photos. The way he was dressed, he looked like a big bear at the back end of that airplane. He also climbed on board an MU-2 for a quick ride around the world earlier this year. What a guy. [Read more…] about Aviation Writers I Read
