Mary Grady - Aviation Feature Stories

"Rediscovering A Legend -- Amelia Earhart's Flight Across America"     Low and slow, with heart

An airplane, especially an antique open-cockpit biplane built of wood and fabric and luck, is an idea with wings. The idea lives in each spar and brace, in every particle of imagination and know-how and tinkering that brought it all together and keeps it alive. And like any idea, it has the power to make things happen. In September 2001, a handful of people inspired by an old airplane and the spirit of a lost aviator joined forces to bring an idea to life.

"How To Save An Airport"     In Plum Island, Mass., the usual story takes an unusual twist

The little airport doesn't look like much at first glance. ... Yet if you sit for a while on that porch, with your feet up on the worn wooden railing, and watch as the sky grows bluer, the sun sinks lower, the windsocks sag, suddenly you might realize an hour or two has passed and you're feeling very content. ... Yes, it's plain and simple and slow, but that is precisely its allure.

"Up and Away in the Land of Wonders"     The experimental spirit

The experimental spirit -- down and dirty, nuts and bolts, figure-it-out-for-yourself kind of spirit -- is alive and well at Brian Boland's sprawling grass-field airport. ... Every spring, the experimental balloon builders feel that hint of warmth in the air, notice the days growing longer and the winds blowing gentler, and head for Post Mills.

	As a contributing writer to Robb Report, I cover a wide variety of aviation topics. Here are two recent feature stories currently on the RR site: "Light Speed," a 2006 look at the advent of very-light jets. "Light Fantastic," the VLJ phenomenon circa 2004. Not yet online: "Precision Guidance," a look at upset recovery training (August 2007). I have also contributed a long list of shorter features on new and emerging aircraft and trends, as well as "Best of" selections. Search on "Grady" at the RR Web site to find these. And here are some older RR stories from my archives: "Upwardly mobile," about racing in gas balloons. "Pull of the past," about a modern re-creation of Amelia Earhart's cross-country flight. "James Fallows Interview," a chat with the author of a book on the aviation industry.
	As part of the AVweb newsteam, I've covered EAA AirVenture at Oshkosh, the world's largest aviation event, just about every year since 1999. I also write occasional features, such as this story about flying in Alaska, a story about polar explorers, a report on the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta, a visit to Arizona's Copperstate Fly-in, Women in Aviation International's convention, and the Air Race Classic, a cross-country airplane race for women. I also write the annual Year in Review feature.
	Other aviation features include: "Flying dreams," a travel story about aviation museums for Odyssey,the magazine of the Chevron Travel Club. "Flights of fancy," a feature about a local airline for The Providence Sunday Journal. "Well worth the drive: Experimental balloon rally in Post Mills, Vt.," a brief travel story for Yankee magazine. More links coming soon

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Thanks for visiting. Last updated January 2004.