The next leg

In a number of editorial positions, I’ve covered airplanes from ultralights to large-cabin business jets, written my weather column “Wx Watch” since 1982, written a book on aviation weather, expounded on instrument flying, logged nearly 5,000 flying hours, earned an airline transport pilot certificate and three type ratings, flown to destinations all around the world, and commented on general aviation’s history, news, and trends. Including the definitive history of AOPA—Freedom to Fly, a book published in 2018.

In all, I figure I wrote some 1,800 articles for AOPA Pilot and flew around 300 different airplanes. The most memorable flight? Hard to say. There have been so, so many. One involved my first overwater ferry flight, in a brand-new (then Socata) Trinidad TC from the factory in France to its owner in Livermore, California. I flew in a flight of four over the North Atlantic, led by an ex-airline pilot. All of us were new to ocean flying, and GPS was still years in the future. Then there were those Air Journey flights to Venice, Asia, Australia, and South America. But on a very personal level, there were those incomparable flights through the Caribbean, including that stop on Crooked Island where I met my wife, Sylvia.

It’s been a dream job, and a far cry from the, yes, humdrum work I did before joining AOPA in 1979. It was fulfilling, and especially satisfying in that it was an extension of my family’s aviation history. My grandfather flew as a pilot in World War I, and my father was a pilot in World War II. Even though I didn’t fly in any battles—except for dueling with a few hairy crosswind landings and low approaches—my GA flying career somehow helped bind me to a larger purpose and the entire GA community, especially AOPA members.

Even so, 43 years is a long time. In fact, I’ve been at AOPA Pilot for nearly half of AOPA’s lifetime. Shocker! That made me realize that sometimes it’s best to let go and put the past behind. That time is now. It was a tough call, but I’ve decided to retire from AOPA (see “Briefing: Tom Horne Retires,” p. 34). But while I may be leaving AOPA Pilot, I’ll be contributing from time to time and still stay involved in aviation. It’ll be difficult to stay away from flying and writing after such a long time in one career, so you never know what awaits. But know that it’s been a privilege to serve you over the years.

Thomas A. Horne retired June 16 after 43 years at AOPA.