Stephen Pope was Editor-in-Chief of Flying magazine from 2015 to July 2019. An award-winning aviation journalist and commercial pilot who holds multiengine, instrument, and seaplane ratings, he edited aviation magazines for more than 20 years and has written thousands of articles on a diverse array of topics from advanced cockpit technology to tailwheel flying technique.
Stephen’s roots in aviation reach far back. He learned to fly at age 15 in a Piper J-3 Cub at Trinca Airport, a small grass strip in northern New Jersey. While still in high school Stephen worked as a line boy at the 60th Street Heliport in New York City and for First Aviation, an FBO at New Jersey’s Teterboro Airport. After soloing at 16, earning his private pilot’s license at 17 and gaining his instrument rating a year later, he enrolled at the University of Maryland as a journalism major, where he received his degree and completed an editorial internship with AOPA Pilot magazine.
After graduating, Stephen joined the editorial staff of Aviation International News, a business aviation trade magazine. During his 15 years with the publication he moved up the ranks to become Senior Editor directing avionics and technology coverage, Editor of Convention Publications and, in his last role with the company, Editor of Business Jet Traveler magazine. He joined the staff of Flying in 2010.
Stephen has won seven Aerospace Journalist of the Year Awards, including being named overall Aerospace Journalist of the Year in 2007 at the Paris Air Show. He has also won three NBAA Gold Wing Journalism Awards, the first in 1999 for his feature article on the business jet charter industry, the second as part of a team of journalists covering the 9/11 attacks and the third for a story on business aviation’s response to the January 2010 Haitian earthquake, when he traveled to Haiti to deliver a planeload of doctors, nurses, medicine and supplies to aid disaster victims.
He is a Trustee of the National Aviation Hall of Fame and serves on a steering committee to help select the recipient of the annual Harrison Ford Legacy in Aviation Award at the Living Legends of Aviation Awards in Beverly Hills, California. An active and enthusiastic pilot with deep roots in aviation in his home state, Stephen is also a Trustee of the Aviation Hall of Fame & Museum of New Jersey. He lives in Tewksbury, New Jersey, with his wife Kate and sons Andrew and Alexander.
Source: flyingmag.com
