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.
Bell Helicopter has delivered a Model 407GX to Helidrive in Saint Petersburg, the first of the type for Russia. Helidrive, which represents Bell in northwest Russia, accepted the aircraft is early September. It plans to use the aircraft for private and charter flights. To date, more than 1,100 Bell 407s have been delivered globally. The 407GX has a Garmin G1000H flight deck, including a terrain avoidance warning system, synthetic vision and a traffic information system.
Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel has nixed plans to lease Midway International Airport (MDW) to private investors. Rahm suddenly canceled the process in September when only one lease bidder remained. A spokeswoman for the mayor's office was quoted as saying, “We set a high bar,” but “the companies did not meet that bar and could not make an offer that would meet what taxpayers deserve.” The lease, which was expected to generate billions of dollars for the city, would have involved the first major metropolitan U.S. airport to go under private control.
Swift Fuels LLC has opened their new aviation fuel blending facility in Lafayette, Ind., where it is also building a pilot plant. The company is investing $2.5 million in the facilities. The blending facility will store at least 50,000 gal. unleaded, high-octane aviation components for sales and shipment. The pilot plant will produce more than 10,000 gal. of 100SF avgas per month when it reaches full capacity. It can produce the fuel from petroleum or bio-sourced material.
