

As the publisher of several aviation publications since 1978, I have had many opportunities to work with pilots and aviation leaders who have affected the course of aviation. While we have featured these people in the magazine over the years, I thought you would like to know what motivated them to do what they do, and what it has been like to work with them behind the scenes. The reason I am calling this column “Backstage” is because some of my most memorable experiences have occurred backstage at Theater In The Woods during EAA AirVenture in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. But none of those experiences would have been possible without the support and cooperation of EAA Founder Paul H. Poberezny, and his son and successor, EAA President & CEO Tom Poberezny. So let us begin where the story begins.
It’s not every day you get a call from Paul, but it’s also not every day you publish the first issue of an aviation magazine from his home state of Wisconsin.
When we received Paul’s call during the supper hour the first week in December 1978, Peggy answered and told me the call was for me and handed me the phone. “Who’s calling,” I asked her. “I don’t know, but he wants to talk to you.”
After I said hello, not knowing who I was saying hello to, Paul said:
“I just got home from the office and I was helping momma with the dishes and she handed me a magazine from my home state of Wisconsin, and I was so proud that I just had to pick up the phone and call you.”
Our magazine started as “Wisconsin Flyer” in 1978, and renamed “Midwest Flyer Magazine” in 1980. Our first issue was the 1979 Sample Copy, in which we mailed 15,000 copies to every pilot in the state in December 1978, thanks to Peggy’s mom, dad, one of her aunts and uncles, who helped us label every magazine by hand, on the floor in our family room. Peggy’s dad was a bit slow at labeling, but he assured us that he would never visit us again for Thanksgiving. A farmer from western Minnesota, he truly didn’t realize what he was getting into at the time, as we didn’t tell our families in advance that we were starting the magazine. We were concerned that had we told them, they would have tried to discourage us. But once they saw the magazine and the shock of us starting a business wore off, they were very supportive!
Paul continued: “If there is anything I can ever do for you, I want you to let me know. To start, we want to take out a full-page advertisement beginning with your next issue.”
My response: “Thank you very much sir. Who may I ask is calling?”
Paul: “This is Paul Poberezny.”
I was shocked and pleasantly surprised. Paul continued: “We have a little event over here at EAA headquarters next week and I would like you and your wife to join us for dinner so we can get better acquainted.”

We accepted Paul’s invitation, drove from our home in Oregon, Wisconsin to EAA headquarters in Hales Corners, Wisconsin and enjoyed dinner with him, his wife Audrey, their son Tom and his wife Sharon, and daughter Bonnie and her husband Bud Judy. Paul was sitting next to me and asked: “Are you a pilot, Dave? Not that you have to be, but I was just wondering.”
I replied: “Yes, Paul, I have been flying since 1971.” He seemed pleased.
The meeting in the other room I believe was the annual meeting of the International Council of Air Shows (ICAS), an organization I later did some contract work publishing their magazine. At the podium speaking was airshow performer Bill Barber of Ann Arbor, Michigan. Little did I know at the time, Bill and I would later become good friends, and he would eventually become a contributing editor for a magazine we later created for the airshow entertainment industry.
During dinner, we overheard Bill’s presentation and later walked around the museum, which was much smaller than EAA’s current museum in Oshkosh. When we had seen everything to be seen and were ready to leave, Tom Poberezny escorted us to the main entrance where an aircraft owned by actor Cliff Robertson was on display. (I believe that aircraft was Cliff’s Messerschmidt 108.) Cliff was another person who I would later meet and work with, thanks to our friendship with the Poberezny family, and our involvement with EAA and the airshow entertainment industry. A story for a future “Backstage” article.