Welcome

"If you’re reading this, chances are you’re an aviation buff. And probably one of those fascinated by (obsessed with?) commercial aviation. You know the telltale signs. Drive past the airport and you find yourself slowing, hoping to catch a glimpse of some, any, airliner on very short final, or one just lifting off. You stand transfixed watching a silver dot leave a white contrail against the daytime sky, or the rhythmic pulse of red anti-collision lights tracing a path against the inky night sky. In the terminal you are transfixed by the view out the window – even if it’s dark out. You eagerly volunteer to drive people to or from the airport – and you make sure to bring along your airband scanner. ...."

-- from the Introduction to Airlines For the Rest of Us (See "How To Buy The Book")

I thoroughly understand; actually I was writing from personal experience. I've been obsessed with commercial aviation for what seems like almost my entire life. And that's more than a cliche. I am told that when I was a third- or fourth-grader at P.S. 62 on Fox Street in the South Bronx I would infuriate my teacher, because every time I heard an airliner drone overhead (LGA was very close by) I would run to the window to watch!

It's now some 55-or-more years later, and although I no longer run to the windows to watch an airplane (unless I hear a radial engine!) I am still obsessed. For many years now I have satisfied that obsession by writing about commercial aviation. In the previous milennium (the good one, before 9/11) I became fascinated by the story of the Local Service Airlines -- so much so that I began to research them and eventually wrote "A Locale For Every Locale," which was the cover story for the October, 2000 issue of AIRWAYS magazine <http://www.airwaysmag.com/>.

That story received a strong-enough response that I began to realize that there were an awful lot of airline buffs who wanted to read more about these colorful airlines with great names like 'Bonanza' and 'Mohawk' and 'Ozark' -- and I began to think that the topic was worthy of a book. With the help and encouragement of AIRWAYS's editor/publisher John Wegg, I continued my research and refined my writing.

The result, Airlines For the Rest of Us: The Rise and Fall of America's Local Service Airlines, is now available for purchase online. Elsewhere on this blog is a list of links to sites selling the book (average price: $15.95). Also on this site will be excerpts from the book, photos, and more. Another important topic is the relatively sad situation of service to small communities in 2009 -- a topic that the final chapter of Airlines For the Rest of Us thoroughly discusses.

This blog is not meant to replace nor to replicate the book. I might be a nice guy, but I'm not stupid! But it is meant to make more people aware of the book and, perhaps, to develop a dialog with a community of airline buffs who, like myself, respect The Locals and what they represented for the residents of the smaller communities in America.

So, "WELCOME!" -- and go buy my book!