Letter from the Editor

A while back, photographer Nick Moore asked me about doing an aviation podcast. I told him I had become close with a few avgeeks and photographers on Instagram; I'd start a group chat and we could discuss. Our sewing circle grew, James Woodard threw together a website on his own with some of his photos and shared it with us, just for fun.

Just for fun...

Fast forward to today, one year after our initial founding...the Full Disc family is humming along at high RPM, churning out incredible stories I never would have imagined we'd have the privilege of telling. They've snowballed from one another; out of each story sprouts the next opportunity. I've been blown away by the family-like kindness and generosity of the people in the aviation world, and it's not hard to find a good story worth telling.

We've flown in early 1940's L birds and Stearman for air to air shoots from Pennsylvania to Kansas. We had the honor of doing an interview with a real deal astronaut in Virginia. We've gone through startup procedures sitting in a P-51 cockpit in New York. We went up in a KC-10 to shoot boomers refueling F-15s and F-35s over New Jersey. We've seen C-130s rip through the Mach Loop in Wales. We flew in a TwinStar chopper in formation with a 1954 Grumman Albatross from Miami to the Bahamas. We've been up in the air with a 100 year old aircraft. We've been fortunate to be a part of some true aviation insanity. And that's just this year.

I graduated from James Madison University (GO DUKES) with a degree in English and after trying (and failing) to find a job in my field, I had resigned myself to thinking I'd never have an assignment where I could happily put my degree to use. I am pleased to say Full Disc Aviation has fulfilled that dream of mine, in addition to being a perfect host for the photography that often speaks for me when words cannot. More than anything, Full Disc has become a refuge for the oozing passion we all share regarding aviation.

Most of us are photographers, and many within our ranks were my initial inspiration to take photos of flying machines. Zulu, RyTy and Ryguy were all instrumental in getting my aviation photography skills up to operating temperature, but all of us each bring a distinctive edge and style to our photography and writing, and my goal as editor is to retain everyone's voice as clearly as possible.

Special thanks to James for keeping the website and all the design work cooking. I would also like to thank you, the reader, for joining us in our aviation adventures. There are many more stories to tell; we're not stopping here.

In flight,
Nicholas A. Pascarella