Bill was Editor-in-Chief of Business & Commercial Aviation from 2000 to 2020. During his stewardship, the monthly magazine received scores of awards for editorial excellence.
He is the recipient of the Lifetime Achievement in Journalism Award from the National Business Aviation Association; the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Aerospace Media Awards; the Aviation Journalism Award from the National Air Transportation Association; and an Aerospace Journalist of the Year Award for Business Aviation.
Previously, Bill served as Managing Editor of Aviation Week Television. He was the top editor for both Flying and Professional Pilot magazines, as well as a member of the senior editorial staff at Reader's Digest. He also managed communications for FlightSafety International.
Bill has authored or co-authored three aviation books, was an essayist for National Public Radio, wrote aviation documentaries for The Discovery Channel and has written for numerous publications including The New York Times, Smithsonian Air & Space, Popular Mechanics and The Associated Press, among others.
An active aviator, Bill holds a Commercial Pilot license, along with multiengine, instrument, seaplane and glider ratings.
Every year we eagerly anticipate the posting of the finalists in the Aerospace Journalist of the Year competition. While numerous articles by B&CA editors and contributors have been singled out for honor over the years, the field of entries keeps growing larger and more formidable. So, there's no telling which might receive strong marks from the judges. Now, I'm delighted to tell that seven articles published by B&CA made it to the shortlist of finalists in the 2006 round. The articles and their authors are:
EVERY SUMMER A SMALL group of aviation scribblers gather for a weekend away to consider the constitution of bracing libations, provide observations on the genders, and analyze the merits and histories of assorted aircraft. My children describe the sojourn as "Dad's weekend to drink whiskey, grow his beard and smoke cigars with his airplane buddies," which pretty much captures the spirit of the thing.
The pilot and copilot of a Citation Ultra arrived early at Friedman Memorial (SUN), the airport serving Sun Valley, Idaho, for what was to be a quick flight to the Carlsbad-McClellan-Palomar Airport (CRQ), 638 nm distant and some 30 miles north of San Diego. The two passengers that morning, Jan. 24, 2006, were a scientific instrument company executive on an out-and-back business trip and a family friend, who happened to be the wife of one of the aircraft's owners.
