Pierre Sparaco: A Life And Love Of Aviation Journalism
October 16, 2015
Aspiring Journalist At His Keyboard
Pierre got his start in writing as a student in 1955.

A Bold Start
Pierre launched his career in journalism with this editorial for the first monthly bulletin of an aircraft spotters club in March 1956.

If These Keys Could Talk
Pierre's Underwood manual typewriter.

Pierre In 1964

Pierre In 1964

October 1964 at SABCA, with Aviation et Astronautique

Pierre in 1964

Interview Around 1968

Around 1970 at Dassault

At FN Moteurs In Early 1970s

At FN Moteurs In Early 1970s

At FN Moteurs In Early 1970s

Roger Cabiac and Pierre

Neil Anderson and Pierre in the 1970s

Farnborough Report
Pierre wrote about the 1986 Farnborough air show.

Writing About General Aviation In 1988

Aviation Magazine Offers A Report On The Soviet Union in 1988

Covering Business Aviation In Europe

Pierre in March 1992, on the day when Aviation Magazine was sold

Aviation Week Adds Pierre To Its Staff
Pierre's hiring broadened our editorial perspective in Europe and also started the precedent of recruiting editors from outside the U.S., rather than sending American journalists to staff our bureaus.

Bringing New Perspective To Coverage in Europe

Aviation Week Staff Meeting, January 1996


The Evolving Super Jumbo
Pierre covered Airbus' plans for a superjumbo, originally dubbed the A3XX but renamed the A380 after the program's formal launch.

New Perspective
Pierre could bring a European perspective to coverage in Aviation Week & Space Technology as the magazine broadened its global reach. When he began writing a column, it was dubbed "A European Perspective."

Jean Pinet And Pierre In 1997


Office Mates
Pierre and Mike Taverna in Aviation Week’s Paris office.

Pierre in 2001

Career Honor
Pierre received the Lyman Award for his achievements in aerospace journalism at the National Press Club,
Washington, in 2002

Paris Air Show Coverage In Powered Flight's Centennial Year

Aviation Week Laureates Dinner, 2004


Inaugural Column
In his first column for Aviation Week, Pierre explained the politics of Airbus.

Explaining The Safety Culture

Airbus Innovation Days Toulouse, 2014

Colleagues in Toulouse
Pierre 2014 in Toulouse with Joe Anselmo, Rupa Haria, Jens Flottau
and Robert Wall.

Toulouse 2014, with Aviation Week
Editor-in-Chief Joe Anselmo

Flying In The Airbus A350

The Family

Musée de l'Aviation

One Of Pierre's Many Books


50 Years Of Covering Aerospace Journalism







Pierre and Jean Pierson


Patrick Anspach, Pierre And James Sarazin In 2006
Dozens of colleagues, friends and family members gathered at Le Musee de l'Air et de l'Espace in Le Bourget, France, on Oct. 9 to celebrate the life and career of legendary Aviation Week editor, bureau chief and columnist Pierre Sparaco, who died on Aug. 3 at the age of 75 after a battle with leukemia.
The event was held in the museum's Concorde Hall, in the shadow of an Air France Concorde, a fitting venue for Sparaco, who had covered the supersonic passenger jet from its inception to its retirement in 2003. Aviation Week Editor-in-Chief Joe Anselmo — who attended the memorial service along with Executive Editor James R. Asker, Managing Editor Jens Flottau, Paris Bureau Chief Amy Svitak and Copy Editor Patricia Parmalee — noted Sparaco's pivotal role in transforming Aviation Week from a U.S.-centric publication into one with a diverse international staff and outlook.
A highlight of the memorial was a slideshow put together with photographs from Sparaco's wife, Danielle, and colleagues at Aviation Week and French publications he worked at before joining Aviation Week in 1992, such as Air Revue and Aviation. The slideshow, shared here with our readers, also includes quotes from Sparaco's reporting on the rise of Europe's aerospace industry.