Kerry Lynch stepped into the role of editor of the&nbsp;Aviation International News&nbsp;monthly magazine in May 2022 after serving with&nbsp;AIN&nbsp;for eight years. She joined&nbsp;AIN&nbsp;in December 2014 as a senior editor covering Washington and business aviation news. She has also served on Convention News teams, including as editor of&nbsp;HAI Convention News. Lynch previously spent 25 years with Aviation Week. During her time there, she reported for and later steered&nbsp;The Weekly of Business Aviation, oversaw business aviation content on the&nbsp;Aviation Week Intelligence Network, served on the&nbsp;Show News&nbsp;staff, and held roles as the Washington columnist for&nbsp;Business &amp; Commercial Aviation&nbsp;and&nbsp;Overhaul &amp; Maintenance&nbsp;monthly magazines. In 2021 she was honored with the National Business Aviation Association Platinum Wing Award for lifetime achievement in journalism and was the 2004 recipient of the National Air Transportation Association’s Aviation Journalism Excellence Award. She also has been a recipient of an Aerospace Media Award for business aviation (2022) and NBAA Gold Wing Award (2003, 2024). Lynch graduated from The Ohio State University with a bachelor of arts in journalism.

Editor, AIN monthly magazine

Kerry Lynch

Business aviation pioneer Charles "Chuck" McKinnon, who was the founder and long-time manager of IBM’s flight department, died March 30 in his hometown of Trussville, Alabama. He was 101.


"Chuck McKinnon was a trailblazer for business aviation,” said NBAA president and CEO Ed Bolen. “The industry would not be the same without a visionary like him. He worked tirelessly to promote the many benefits and opportunities [of] business aviation, both in the U.S. and abroad.”


McKinnon learned to fly in a Waco biplane from an auto racetrack on a site that is now Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, according to NBAA. Famed air racer Doug Davis provided him flight lessons in exchange for washing and waxing his aircraft.


After graduating from Georgia Tech in 1939 with degrees in engineering and business, McKinnon continued his career as a pilot for United Airlines, which had won a contract to fly supplies to troops during World War II. He is believed to be the last living member of the “Tracy Aces,” an unofficial title given to United Airlines pilots who had trained together in Tracy, California, NBAA said.


In 1954, McKinnon joined IBM to found the flight department. He flew the company’s first business aircraft, a twin-engine piston Aero Commander, which transported engineers to various sites across the country. He led the department until his retirement in 1977.


During his tenure he opened a satellite flight department at Le Bourget Airport in Paris in 1960, and a decade later worked to save the airport when Charles de Gaulle Airport began operations. He also was active with NBAA, serving as a representative on a committee to standardize cockpit instrumentation and aircraft flight-handling characteristics.


During his career, he flew four U.S. presidents, two kings and several astronauts. NBAA presented its John P. “Jack” Doswell Award to McKinnon in 2010 in recognition of his lifelong individual achievement in support of business aviation.


McKinnon was predeceased by his first wife of 66 years, Mary, in 2004; and his second wife, Janice K. Barden, founder of Aviation Personnel International.

Business Aviation 'Trailblazer' Chuck McKinnon Dies

McKinnon founded and managed IBM's flight department for nearly 25 years. 

2024 Corporate Aviation Leadership Summit

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