Do you like a good tribute? If so then surf on over to www.FlightInfo.com and see what you’re missing.
On October 15, 2005, FlightInfo.com creator and webmaster Mark Schaden perished in a tragic accident—a two-airplane mid-air collision over Rootstown, OH. Mark started FlightInfo.com back in 1996 as an online community and clearinghouse for all things aviation.
The website address is FlightInfo.com, but the site is affectionately known as “The Hangar” to its thousands of devoted visitors. In the nine years prior to his untimely death, Mark upgraded The Hangar many times. Each new look using the latest technology to make an ever homier, more inviting place for aviation enthusiasts to gather and to gossip. For the uninitiated, the next best thing to do after flying is to talk about how great it was, to as many people you can corner.
Mark Schaden knew that better than anyone else. Taking a page from Joe DiMaggio’s work ethic, Schaden always treated his site as if at any moment, somebody new had just surfed to it for the very first time. His site was the spiffiest, cleanest and most crowded online aviation community on the Internet. Each new iteration of The Hangar attracted flocks more aviation fiends. Schaden took great pride in the community that he had built, and it showed.
The site lives on with areas dedicated to Training, General Aviation, Professional Pilot Forums and much more. During the length of his tenure as FlightInfo.com webmaster, Mark guided the site with a gentle touch. Just like a good pilot handles their aircraft. The only time Mark evidenced a firm hand was when a member or site surfer violated one of the few community rules: no flaming; no spamming; no unethical comments. When caught, the violator would be banished to the FlightInfo.com penalty box to serve out their sentence. Mark encouraged individuality and freedom of expression on the site, but he also approached the position of webmaster seriously. His energy, enthusiasm and decency made the World Wide Web a better place to surf.
So it is fitting that the same people who benefited from Mark’s dedication would dedicate a portion of FlightInfo.com to his memory. If you do not surf to another site all year, surf on over to FlightInfo.com /MarkMemorial, and see what you’re missing. The worded tributes to him, and the photographs posted there of him, by people who hardly knew him, are genuinely touching. They are evidence of how one person can positively affect multitudes of people. They are evidence of the best communal aspects of the Internet.
On behalf of the 25,352 plus pilot members of FlightInfo.com living in all corners of the globe, we salute you, Mark Schaden. We salute you and we miss you. We pledge to continue to support and to spread the word of www.FlightInfo.com in your memory.
