Joe Murray, Editor

People are inspired by flight and the capacity to move through the world in three dimensions. In Ohio, flying attracts – but it also employs and services a significant piece of the economy.

There are 166 public airports and 772 private fields serving general aviation with the system’s total impact in 2006 estimated at $10.5 billion.

“A mile of road will take you one mile. A mile of runway will take you anywhere.” No one is quite sure who said this first—but I am guessing when they did—they were looking through the propeller arc of a J3 Cub, and the airplane’s wheels were just rising above the dew on a narrow green patch of grass somewhere in Ohio.

General aviation in Ohio is anything but the airlines—and includes everything from family-run flight schools to the farmer’s grass airstrip and aerospace entrepreneurs dreaming of “roadless trucks” for third-world countries.

The light of the mainstream media often shines brightly on the jet drivers, millionaires and astronauts. But what most people don’t know is that you are as likely to find them here, at the local airfield with the other legends and leagues of hard-working folks whose lives are deeply rooted in the nation’s birthplace of aviation.

Among them are the freight dogs, restorers, crop dusters, mechanics, parachute packers, blimp and balloon drivers, flight instructors, students, sport pilots, and airfield operators. They all feed their families and love of aviation by living and working around the flying machines that most of us see only as specks in the early morning’s blue sky.

Jacquie Marino, Contributing Editor and Gary Harwood, Chief Photographer

Our effort will improve the public understanding and awareness of general aviation through the creation of digital narratives and stories designed to appeal to all.

We are now working on writing and editing stories and developing this Web site for launch on May 2, 2009.

We will feature the work of our students, citizen journalists, aviation enthusiasts, professional writers, reporters, videographers and photographers.

We will produce a wide variety of photostories and essays, video and audio for the Web, PBS and NPR broadcasts.  A book project is also in the works for next year.

A number of exceptional developers and designers are helping us prepare for spring, including Ben Hollis, Liz Wyglendowski, Chris Hallahan and Yeounju Kim.