Introducing Staff, Stringers, Videographers, And People Who Make It All Work

Anyone who's ever been to Oshkosh knows that there are hundreds of events and activities as well as tens of thousands of people that descend (some quite literally) on Wittman Regional Airport in mid-summer. While we have a very hard-working and dedicated staff, ANN could not provide you with the extensive information we do without the help of some equally ... some might say more ... dedicated volunteers who give a week of their time to make sure you have the best possible coverage of the show. As we lead up to this year's edition of AirVenture, we'll be introducing you to the people that make all of that possible.

Tom Patton: News Editor

Everyone probably remembers their first experience in an airplane. For Tom, it was on a family vacation at age 12 or 13. That first experience was in a Cherokee 6 into the Grand Canyon. "My dad let me ride in the right front seat," he recalls. He was immediately hooked.

Tom's history with aviation runs deep. His uncle ... also Tom Patton ... a Beechcraft Bonanza salesman in Van Nuys, CA was featured on the cover of Flying Magazine in 1959. He earned his Private Pilot certificate the hard, but fun way ... pumping gas, mowing grass, and answering phones at the local airport (KBFR) in exchange for his flying lessons. "On my first solo, I distinctly recall rotating the airplane, a Grumman-American AA-1B TR2, off the runway at KBFR and thinking to myself 'well ... now I'm certainly committed'," he said. "My pilot's license cost me $50 for the checkride and a lot of sweat equity."

Tom also has a long broadcast and journalism career in his wake, acting as news director for Georgia Public Broadcasting and WJCT-FM before striking out on his own. Along the way, he was a morning disc jockey, radio and internet producer at C-SPAN, producer and writer at VOA, improv actor, and television host.

He now creates content for Aero-News mostly from his back porch in Neptune Beach, FL where he lives with his wife Andie.

FMI: www.aero-news.net