William "Bill" Shumann was born in Easton, Pennsylvania in 1939 and developed a fondness for aviation as a young boy. His father was one of the local business leaders who worked to bring Trans World Airlines service to the Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton (now Lehigh Valley) airport after World War II, an effort that was successful in 1947. Around this time, Bill took his first flight. He and his father took the train from Easton to Newark, New Jersey, then hopped on a DC-3 for the short flight back to ABE. Bill was hooked.

Bill's childhood fascination with flight led to a long and distinguished career in aviation. After a brief stint as a reporter and editor for The Washington Post, he joined Aviation Week and Space Technology as a reporter and editor. From there he moved to the staff of the U.S. Senate Committee on Aeronautical and Space Sciences, the Air Line Pilots Association, GE Aviation, and Lockheed Martin. His work took him around the world, including to Bangkok in 1986, China and Singapore in the 1990s (quite unusual back then), the UK for the Farnborough Air Show, and France for the Paris Air Show. He wrapped up his professional career at the Federal Aviation Administration where he responded to the media on 9/11. In these roles, he applied his skills as a writer and communicator to inform reporters and the public about aviation.

He also shared the delights of flying with his children. On pleasant weekend afternoons, he would sometimes pack his kids into the car and take them down to Gravelly Point, on the Potomac River just north of Reagan National Airport, for close-up views of planes taking off and landing. During summer family vacations at Virginia Beach, he would watch the planes from nearby Oceana Naval Station and immediately identify them. "A couple of F-18s!" he would say.

After his kids had grown, Bill decided to take up flying himself. He earned his pilot's license, and enjoyed flying Cessna 172s and PA28s. Taking off from the Manassas, Virginia airport, he would fly west to take in the Blue Ridge Mountains, and east over the Chesapeake Bay. He offered to take his family members up in the air for pleasure rides. Some eagerly accepted, others steadfastly refused, and still others accepted and later regretted it ?€“ not due to Bill's flying, but due to severe motion sickness. Although his strong stomach may not have passed down to his progeny, his fondness for aviation has. His teenage granddaughter has for years aspired to be a professional pilot to fly Dreamliners around the globe.

After retiring, Bill continued to be involved in aviation. He volunteered weekly at the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum, helping visitors understand and appreciate the history and marvels of flight. He serves at Reagan National Airport, assisting travelers in the airport to make their flight experience more enjoyable.

We salute Bill for his work in aviation, his love of flying, and for sharing that joy with others.