Call for entries are now out for the fifth annual ‘Richard Collins Writing Prize’ for young pilots.

Richard Collins was a well-known American aviation journalist and author who during his nearly 61-year writing career wrote over 1500 magazine articles, 13 books, and created a library of aviation training videos.

Collins earned his private pilot certificate in 1952 and subsequently logged over 20,000 hours. His  first article appeared in the November 1947 issue of Air Facts. In 1968, Collins began writing for Flying magazine, and he was named Editor in Chief in 1977. He moved to AOPA Pilot magazine in 1988. Richard returned to Flying magazine as an editor in 1993, writing a monthly column as well as feature articles. In October 2008 Collins retired as a regular contributor to Flying magazine.

Richard is a well-known pioneering flight safety advocate, and is one of the founders of Air Facts magazine founded in 1938. In 2011 Richard Collins and John Zimmerman joined with Sporty’s Pilot Shop to launch an online version of Air Facts.

Richard Collins died on April 29, 2018, aged 84. The annual competition is sponsored by the Collins family and Sporty’s, and is open to pilots who are 24 years old or younger.

Competition rules & prizes

The first place winner will receive USD5,000, while the second place winner will receive USD2,500.

• To qualify, the writer must be a pilot (including student pilot).
• The article must be original.
• No longer than 1,500 words.
• The topic should be “my most memorable flight.”
• Young pilots are required to submit a 100-word bio to accompany their articles.

The articles will be judged by a panel of three: Richard Collins, Jr., Amy Laboda, and J. Mac McClellan. The winning articles will be published in Air Facts.

Articles may be submitted through 7 March 2023, and sent in as a Word document to airfacts@sportys.com.