A few weeks ago, I heard a rumor that there was a shake-up in
progress at Flying magazine... a publication that I grew up reading
as my dreams of becoming a pilot were just taking root. I lived for
each issue of a number of aviation magazines in my early teens and
have strong affection for a few, in particular, that fed my
appetite for all manner of aviation info long before the Internet
revolution.
Two pubs, in particular, were my favorites... Air Progress,
which had an amazing editorial roster before it was sold to the
company that ultimately beat it to death and destroyed it... and
Flying Magazine, a publication that has managed to (so far) survive
the decline of print as the online revolution keeps changing the
way the aero-world gets its info.
While the online world keeps whittling away at the print world
and magazine after magazine falls by the wayside, the future of
Flying got a bit of a boost when a good friend was named to be the
new Editor-In-Chief of this iconic publication. Michael Maya
Charles is one of the good guys... a man who not only loves flight
and the world that has been built up around it, but is keenly aware
of the hazards this industry faces and the hard work that must be
done if this business is to survive.
According to his bio, Michael Maya Charles started flying at the
age of 11, soon after his father learned to fly. Michael became his
father's "first student" soon after he obtained his private
license. Soon, a few of the pilots at the small town FBO "adopted"
the young lad, taking him with them on lunch flights and short
hops. The FBO owner recognized Michael's keen interest in
aviation and hired him as a "line boy," the person responsible for
refueling and washing aircraft. As part of their benefit package,
the FBO offered all employees flying lessons at half price. This
benefit was like adding rocket fuel to the passion of a young man
with his head in the clouds, and Michael took every opportunity to
fly.
Michael soloed on his 16th birthday, got his private on his
17th, and his commercial a couple of days after he turned 18. Soon,
he was multi-engine rated and obtained his CFI so that he could
teach others how to fly. While going to college, he earned money
flight instructing, managing a flight school and flying charters.
Since those heady days, Michael has spent way too much time hanging
around airports. He's worked as a corporate pilot, flown cancelled
checks, owned a charter business, done a lot of instructing and was
chief pilot for several companies. He began flying for the airlines
over 25 years ago and has been a captain with a major airline for
15 years.
Michael's interest in writing began with a patient teacher in
grade school, who encouraged him to stay with it, in spite of his
initial difficulty with putting pen to paper. Michael hung in
there, as she suggested, and eventually became editor of his high
school newspaper. In his early 20's, Michael became a freelance
photographer and then writer for FLYING Magazine and was offered
the top slot at Flying magazine just prior to the 2010 EAA Fly-In
at Oshkosh, WI. While featuring someone who works for a somewhat
competitive entity is not something you'd normally see hereabouts,
we think enough of Michael to wish him luck and present him to you
via Aero-TV... if aviation is going to survive, it will be because
of the 'Good Guys' who are passionately involved in building a
positive future for the aero-world... guys, in fact, like
Michael.
ANN's Daily Aero-Term (04.20.24): Light Gun
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