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.
IT WAS SUPER BOWL Sunday 2006, with the Pittsburgh Steelers taking on the Seattle Seahawks in the 40th star-studded showdown, this time in Detroit. Fans by the tens of thousands were descending upon Ford Field, and as Jerome "The Bus" Bettis and his football battle-tested colleagues were suiting up, 250 miles to the west other teams of professionals were getting ready for a different kind of contest.
An Army brat, Tilton graduated from the U.S. Military Academy in 1962, but took a commission in the U.S. Air Force because he wanted to fly. After piloting six-engine B-47s, C-141s and B-57 Canberras for seven years, he entered the University of New Mexico as an officer-student, earning a master's degree in biology and then an M.D. Completing his residency, he flew King Airs, T-38s and, finally, F-15s as a physician/pilot. Retiring as a colonel in 1988, he joined Boeing's medical department, ultimately becoming director.
