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.
One of the important roles for any editor-in-chief to assume is serving as a facilitator for the editorial team, providing writers with the tools and encouragement they need to go after the tough or unusual story, and to grow within their careers. When Washington Editor Kerry Lynch suggested doing a feature on, well, nothing, I was intrigued since that would indeed be a challenge for even a top-flight reporter, and she is that. Specifically what she had in mind was walking the ramps, rooms and hangars of Signature's Ronald Reagan Washington National facility.
UPON REACHING MY GATE at Denver International, I encountered a mob of travelers of every stripe and attire. As the boarding time neared, the gate agent announced the flight had been overbooked and that he would give free tickets to those who'd take a later flight. I considered the offer, but I had much work to do and climbed on board. Sitting in my window seat in the back of the 737, I studied each passenger who neared, wondering with whom I was to share extremely close space for the next four-plus hours. The fellow in the suit? The cowboy?
THE INITIAL REPORTS were hearsay. Supposedly some customs officials in France had impounded an American business jet for violating the arcane regulations of cabotage. An unbelievable story had it not been for all the work Contributing Editor David Esler had already accomplished on that very subject. Civilian aviation throughout Europe is undergoing fundamental and pervasive change in its organizational structure. Understanding how the evolving regulations impact operators is of keen importance.
