One Of The 'Good Guys' Put in Charge Of Iconic Publication
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. So... the rumors of a shake-up were not welcome... until I heard who was selected to lead the works from here on out.
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.
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