Mark Vanhoenacker

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Mark Vanhoenacker
Born1974
Pittsfield, Massachusetts
NationalityBelgian-American
Known forCommercial pilot, author, and aviation columnist

Mark Vanhoenacker (born 1974) is a Belgian-American airline pilot and author. [1] He is a Boeing 787 pilot with British Airways and is also frequent contributor for the New York Times , Slate and the Financial Times with a focus on aviation. His first book, Skyfaring: A Journey with a Pilot was published in 2015, followed by How to Land a Plane in 2017, and Imagine a City in 2022. [2] [3]

Contents

Life

Vanhoenacker was born in Pittsfield, Massachusetts. His father, a former priest who left his vocation, was born in Belgium. [4] His mother was born to a Lithuanian family in the United States. [5] He has an adopted brother. [6]

Vanhoenacker studied at Amherst College, before undertaking an MPhil in history at the University of Cambridge. He started a PhD programme in East African history but decided after several months that he was more interested in pursuing a career in aviation. [7] While saving money towards the expected cost of his flight training, he worked as a management consultant in Boston. [4] [8] [9] He subsequently joined a British Airways (BA) training programme, [8] and became a pilot of small Airbus aircraft in Europe than going on to become a Boeing 747 pilot. Following the retirement of the 747 fleet in 2020, Vanhoenacker now flies Boeing 787 aircraft. [10] Vanhoenacker is gay. [11]

Writing

Vanhoenacker is a contributor to newspapers including the New York Times and Financial Times, and news websites such as Slate, with a focus on commercial aviation. [12] [13] He has written the following books:

References

  1. ↑ Margolis, Jonathan (20 November 2016). "The ups and downs of being an airline pilot". The Guardian. Retrieved 17 August 2020.
  2. ↑ Hannigan, Tim (23 June 2022). ""Imagine a City: A Pilot Sees the World" by Mark Vanhoenacker". Asian Review of Books. Retrieved 25 February 2023.
  3. ↑ "The world as experienced from the cockpit". TLS. Retrieved 25 February 2023.
  4. 1 2 Collins, Lauren (6–13 July 2015). "Bird's-Eye View". The New Yorker. Retrieved 17 August 2020.
  5. ↑ Wilkinson, Carl (24 July 2015). "I never leave home without..." Financial Times. Retrieved 16 August 2020.
  6. ↑ Vanhoenacker, Mark: Imagine a City
  7. ↑ "About the Author: Mark Vanhoenacker '96". Amherst College. September 2015. Retrieved 17 August 2020.
  8. 1 2 Nunes, Alex (5 November 2015). "The Poetry Up There: An Interview With Skyfaring Author and Pilot Mark Vanhoenacker". JSTOR Daily. JSTOR. Retrieved 17 August 2020.
  9. ↑ "Extract from 'Skyfaring', by Mark Vanhoenacker". Financial Times. 17 April 2015. Retrieved 17 August 2020.
  10. ↑ "Boeing out in style: a pilot's final flight in a 747". Financial Times. 27 February 2018. Retrieved 25 February 2023.
  11. ↑ Vanhoenacker, Mark (23 June 2022). "A Gay Pilot Reflects on What Travel Means to Queer Folks". The New York Times. Retrieved 25 February 2023.
  12. ↑ Vanhoenacker, Mark (14 May 2015). "In Flight". The New York Times. Retrieved 9 October 2017.
  13. ↑ Vanhoenacker, Mark (10 October 2017). "As the 747 Begins Its Final Approach, a Pilot Takes a Flight Down Memory Lane". The New York Times. Retrieved 17 August 2020.
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