Richard Lawrence Collins (November 28, 1933 – April 29, 2018) was an American aviation author and journalist. Collins earned his private pilot certificate in 1952 and subsequently logged over 20,000 hours in general aviation airplanes. He was the son of Leighton Collins (20 April 1902 — 16 January 1995), a well-known aviation writer, pioneering flight safety advocate and founder of ''Air Facts'' magazine. Richard Collins died on April 29, 2018, aged 84.

Magazine editor and writer

The first article that Richard Collins wrote appeared in the November 1947 issue of ''Air Facts''. In 1968, Collins began writing for ''

Flying Flying may refer to: * Flight, the process of flying * Aviation, the creation and operation of aircraft Music Albums * ''Flying'' (Grammatrain album), 1997 * ''Flying'' (Jonathan Fagerlund album), 2008 * ''Flying'' (UFO album), 1971 * ''Fl ...

'' magazine, and he was named Editor in Chief in 1977. He moved to ''

AOPA Pilot The Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA) is a Frederick, Maryland-based American non-profit political organization that advocates for general aviation. AOPA's membership consists mainly of general aviation pilots in the United States ...

'' magazine as Publisher and Editor in 1988. In 1993, he returned to ''Flying'' as an editor at large, where he wrote a monthly column as well as feature articles. In October 2008 Collins retired as a regular contributor to ''Flying'' magazine. At the time of retirement, Collins had been on the masthead of an aviation magazine since July 1958.

Re-launch of ''Air Facts''

In 2011 Richard Collins and John Zimmerman joined with

Sporty's Pilot Shop Clermont County Airport is a public use airport located two nautical miles (4 km) west of the central business district of Batavia, a village in Clermont County, Ohio, United States. It is owned by the Clermont County Commissioners. It is als ...

to launch an online version of the print magazine ''Air Facts'', which Richard's father had originated in 1938 and which had continued until 1976. Listed as 'Emeritus Editor', Collins published a blog on the site and wrote articles for the journal. His final contribution to the site was published on 22 March 2018, five weeks before his death. During his nearly 61-year writing career, Collins wrote 1500+ magazine articles, 13 books, and created a library of aviation training videos.

Books

Collins authored 13 books about aviation weather and flying technique: * ''Flying IFR'' * ''Flying the Weather Map'' * ''Flight Level Flying'' * ''Instrument Flying Refresher'' * ''Air Crashes'' * ''Mastering the Systems: Air Traffic Control and Weather'' * ''The Perfect Flight'' * ''Tips to Fly by'' * ''Thunderstorms and Airplanes'' * ''Flying Safely'' * ''Pilot Upgrade: How to Stay Current in Safety'' * ''Logbooks: Life in Aviation'' * ''The Next Hour: The Most Important Hour in Your Logbook'' – released in 2009; the last of his books, dealing with the prevention of aircraft accidents.

Personal

Collins married Ann Slocomb in 1958. They had three children, Charlotte, Sarah, and Richard. His wife died on 26 March 2013. She was a staunch supporter and editorial assistant to Collins during their 55-year marriage.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Collins, Richard L. 1933 births 2018 deaths American aviators American aviation writers American flight instructors