Milestones

Tom Haines to retire

Editor in chief is stepping down

By Julie Summers Walker

The familiar face of general aviation to pilots everywhere, the GA advocate and leader of the AOPA media and outreach channels since the early 1990s, Editor in Chief Thomas B. Haines retires April 11, 2022. From his mustachioed young face (and an ill-thought-out revival during the pandemic) to his clean-shaven, steely-eyed gaze (which many of his colleagues refer to as “Blue Steel”) Tom’s visage has been the face of GA since he joined the association as an associate editor in 1988. He has been at the helm of the world’s largest aviation magazine for nearly 30 years.

He has led the communications efforts of the association—beginning as a magazine editor under then-Editor Richard Collins—with passion, insight, and innovation. A private pilot since he was a teenager growing up in rural Pennsylvania, Tom has pursued ratings, flight experiences, and flying opportunities from a flight in the Concorde to taking the helm of a Southwest airliner. He has a commercial pilot certificate with multiengine, instrument, and seaplane ratings, and holds type ratings in the Eclipse 500 and Cessna CJ business jets and has a second-in-command type rating in the North American B–25 Mitchell. He co-owns a Beechcraft Bonanza A36.

Tom has shared the changes, upheavals, and innovations in GA with AOPA members through his monthly magazine column “Waypoints” and has served as anchor of the popular AOPA Live This Week web-television program since he helped launch the show in May 2012. He has managed a staff of 35 writers, editors, graphic artists, photographers, videographers, event planners, communications experts, and support personnel with humor, loyalty, and, on occasion, an iron will. His support for—and advocacy of—the AOPA mission has never wavered.

His writing has earned him awards from the Associated Press and American Society of Business Publication Editors. In 2010, the Bahamian government named Tom its Travel Writer of the Year. He is often sought out for his publishing and aviation expertise, speaking at regional and national publishing conferences, and has appeared on news shows at NBC, CNN, and MSNBC. He has been quoted in The Wall Street Journal, Newsweek, Bloomberg Businessweek, and many other national publications. While Tom will be pursuing some of his many interests outside GA—he and his family are avid world travelers (most recently having the unfortunate yet distinct experience of being deported from a South American country)—GA’s favorite spokesperson will continue to consult for the association and will contribute his column to AOPA Pilot on a bimonthly basis (see “Waypoints: And That’s the Way It Is,” p. 20).

“When Tom told me it was time for his next chapter, I asked him to reconsider but I couldn’t change his mind,” said AOPA President and CEO Mark Baker. “Tom has been a real right-hand person to me. He has helped guide AOPA and is leaving us in very good hands. Thank you, Tom!”

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Melissa Rudinger starts own company

Melissa Rudinger has retired from AOPA after nearly 30 years. She has started EastView Aviation Consulting in Frederick, Maryland.

Rudinger joined AOPA in 1992 and served in the advocacy division of the association in roles including air traffic control, regulatory affairs, communications, and government affairs. She served as co-host of AOPA Live This Week and most recently was executive director of the AOPA Foundation. She holds a commercial pilot certificate with a lighter-than-air rating.

An effective and tireless advocate for AOPA and its members, Rudinger’s accomplishments at AOPA include guiding the association through the crisis and shutdown of air traffic in the wake of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and record-breaking fundraising for the You Can Fly program under the AOPA Foundation. She served under three of AOPA’s five presidents. —JSW