Our Favorite Stories From 2021

Keeping all of that in mind, the FLYING editorial team came up with their favorite stories from this unusual and exciting year.

The story about the ban on the sale of 100LL fuel at Reid-Hillview Airport (KRHV) in San Jose, California, ostensibly to reduce lead from the atmosphere, is a story we all should pay attention to, because it is viewed by some as a manufactured political health crisis to pressure the FAA to close the airport.

The ban was allegedly triggered by a study into blood lead levels (BLL) of children in California. The BLL of the children who live near the airport was not markedly higher than children who live in other parts of the Golden State, yet the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors cited this study in their decision to ban the sale of the fuel in an effort to reduce lead contamination.

Another suggestion was to close the airport sooner than 2031 when the grant assurances expire.

I am skeptical of the assertion the airport is the greatest contributor to lead contamination, as I grew up near the airport, and know that most of the homes and businesses in the area were constructed between 1920 and 1970, when lead pipes and lead paint were common. The lead contamination study did not mention pipes or paint.—Meg Godlewski, FLYING reporter

The Jetson One is, by far, my favorite eVTOL to be unveiled this year. Given its purely recreational approach, the Jetson is meant to be flown by anyone—even if you're not a pilot. Everything from its design, to its seemingly endless modality fill me with excitement to hopefully fly one someday. —Jeremy Kariuki, Modern FLYING reporter

As a former aviation university magazine editor and lover of print media, I was excited to see that along with enriching the magazine’s digital content, New FLYING CEO Craig Fuller planned to invest in the print version of FLYING. He promised higher quality paper, expanded and more in-depth aviation news coverage, additional writing/editorial staff, and bigger and better photography. 

Most have heard of the demise of print media. According to the Poynter Institute, since 2004, about 1,800 newspapers have closed, for good. And, more than 100 community newsrooms folded during the coronavirus pandemic. Magazine deaths also outnumbered new publication startups by nearly 4:1 in 2020. Sadly, the trend in publications has been to reduce staff, eliminate enterprise stories and investigative journalism, and go all digital. Fuller, however, is listening to his audience and bucking that trend. The new FLYING magazine, a quarterly, coffee-table-worthy publication, will launch in 2022. I’m proud to be a part of the team that’s bringing Fuller’s vision to fruition. —Sara Withrow, FLYING copy editor

For me, the story of the year for 2021 is personal—and it exemplifies the long game we play in aviation. When a person has a dream they hold dear, the strong keep fighting for it, making incremental steps along the way, meeting the setbacks with renewed focus—finding a way.

On June 20, 2021, Wally Funk became the (then) oldest person to travel into space, fulfilling her dream of doing so. 

A real pilot from her youth, Wally Funk set herself on a path that took her from instructing and competing in college to the stars—or to at least the Kármán line. Though she was denied the opportunity to become an astronaut several times, she never stopped flying, and she never stopped holding that dream in her heart. —Julie Boatman, FLYING editor-in-chief

The first orbital spaceflight by an all-civilian crew was history’s biggest indicator yet that real space travel may be available to more people in more ways in the very near future. Not only did the four-member crew orbit the planet for three days, they raised more than $150 million for a children’s research hospital. —Thom Patterson, FLYING reporter

My favorite story of 2021 is Martha Lunken’s masterful mea culpa.

I couldn’t believe what I was reading. Aside from the obvious wrongdoing, Martha’s hilarious and astonishing narrative rivaled even Charles Dickens’ attempt at mischief in David Copperfield:

“And, friends, even now I can neither explain nor justify my impulsive, unpremeditated and spontaneous decision to fly underneath it. I do remember saying out loud, “Lord, I just have to do this before I’m too old to fly anymore.”

“She did what?” I imagine the feds saying before they revoked her certificates. For what it’s worth, her public admission is one for the books, and I wish her the best as she restarts her journey. —Michael Wildes, FLYING reporter

My favorite story of the year, hands down, was William Shatner's trip to the edge of space as a crewmember aboard Blue Origin's NS-18 mission.

For "Star Trek" fans, it seemed only logical that Captain James T. Kirk should be included among the first space tourists boosted into the heavens. It was, however, Shatner's raw, heartfelt display of emotion upon emerging from the crew capsule that continues to stick with me. 

“What you have given me is the most profound experience,” he told Jeff Bezos, founder of Blue Origin, minutes after his feet touched terra firma. The 90-year-old actor's trip is a reminder that sometimes reality is better than fiction, and the magic of flight is truly a wondrous thing. —Kimberly Johnson, FLYING reporter

Editor's Note: In addition to her pick above, Meg Godlewski also wanted to mention this story:

Shatner in Space tops my list of the most important stories because it provided a link between science fiction and science fact.

William Shatner, of course is known to sci-fi fans around the world as Captain James T. Kirk from the Star Trek franchise.  Shatner's ride aboard the Blue Origin rocket and his emotional reaction to seeing the earth from the edge of space was moving on several levels. You could tell he was a changed man—providing proof that aviation changes your perspective on many things.