LIFE EXPERENCE, FROM THE COCKPIT

For the Love of Flight and the Science of the Sky.

Why We Fly

Welcome to WhyWeFly.aero, the digital home of Dr. Mike Jones — a 4,000-hour commercial pilot, aviation author, and fierce advocate for small airports. For over 30 years, aviation has been a lifelong passion rather than a simple hobby. Flying is a rare pursuit that demands both physical eye-hand coordination and intellectual rigor, from understanding the mechanics of a wing to navigating the complexities of airport governance.


This site serves as a searchable digital portfolio and comprehensive library housing well over 100 published articles gathered from the cockpit and featured in premier aviation magazines like Cessna Pilots Magazine, Professional Pilot Magazine, and General Aviation News. To make exploring easy, the archive is broken down into core categories: Adventures in Destinations, Airport Stewardship, Specific Flying Skills, Flying with a Purpose, Pilots and People, and Technology. Whether you are looking to improve your specific flying skills, find new destinations, or learn how to protect your local airport "like a garden," you will find decades of insights here.๏ปฟ


More than just a library, this project explores the "why" behind our passion for flight and is a resource for fellow pilots and aviation enthusiasts who believe that learning never truly hits a ceiling — a philosophy Dr. Jones embodied by earning his doctorate at age 72. The site is designed for engagement, so we invite you to read the articles, leave comments, and rate your "readers' favorites" to join the ongoing conversation about all things aviation.

A glimpse into our archives. Explore three of our favorite stories below, or dive into the full collection for much more.

A small white and blue single-engine airplane flying in front of an aircraft hangar.
DESTINATIONS

Put-In Bay Visit

Three flyers you have met before on these pages - Alex Mello, Karen Ewart, and myself - needed to arrive in Juneau, Wisconsin to join the Cessnas-to-Oshkosh mass arrival. Every year we pick a convenient spot to join up prior to the final swoosh into Dodge County. Ewart recalled an article about South Bass island in the middle of Lake Erie...

A smiling person wearing a blue shirt stands in front of a red airplane inside a hangar, with event title text overlaid.
PILOTS & PEOPLE

Rick Giles and His Genial Beast

Rick Giles and his family have a rich aviation history, flying for the military, for airlines, bush flying, and sometimes just for family fun. They have maintained their strong connection to aviation by owning and flying the same airplane, a timeless but burly Cessna C180 taildragger, N180MW, for more than forty years. Here's how they did it...

A large group of people posing in an outdoor field, some smiling, in front of a parked aircraft with a dog sitting nearby.
DESTINATIONS

A Family Affair — Preserving Our Heritage of Grass Roots Flying

Two young brothers, Paul and Danny Rovegno, purchased Lake Ridge Aero Park (8NC8) near Durham, NC with a mission to keep grass roots aviation alive — and their fall 2021 fly-in drew over 100 planes, free meals, campfire sing-alongs, and even a P-51 touching grass for the first time in 30 years.

Airport Advocacy: Protecting our local infrastructure. Aviation Research: Data-driven insights into flight culture. Industry Trends: Staying ahead of the curve in a changing market.

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Adventures

Fly-in adventures across America

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Destinations

Airports, fly-ins, and destinations worth the trip

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Airports & Stewardship

Protecting our local infrastructure

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Flying Skills

Tips, training, and techniques for pilots at every level

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Flying with Purpose

Young Eagles and Angel Flights

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History

The people and moments that shaped general aviation

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Plane Ownership

Buying, building, maintaining, and loving your aircraft

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Pilots & People

Portraits and stories from the aviation community

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Technology

Innovation, avionics, and the future of general aviation

A person wearing a headset in the cockpit of a small aircraft, smiling with a rural landscape visible through the window.

Meet Dr. Mike Jones

Dr. Mike Jones is a 4,000-hour commercially-rated pilot, a Vietnam-era Air Force veteran, a former air traffic controller, and successful businessperson. Jonesy has dedicated his life to continuous learning and the aviation community. For almost three decades, he has explored the skies in his beloved burgundy and gold Cessna 210. 

 

A firm believer that education never stops, Mike recently earned his Doctorate in Business Administration from the University of Florida at age 72. His dissertation was a statistical analysis of the conditions which produce the best general aviation airports. 

 

Building on a lifetime of experiences and his doctoral research, today Dr. Jones is a fierce advocate for small airports. He consults with small airports across the country helping them grow and become more relevant to the communities they serve. He also serves on the Moore County Airport Authority in Pinehurst, NC. 

Aerial view of the Chicago skyline, Navy Pier, and Lake Michigan, seen from an airplane cockpit.

Nature's Symphony

Breathtaking colors of our planet
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A bright red, single-engine bush plane parked on an asphalt ramp in front of hangars.

Faces of Humanity

Portraits of people from around the globe
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A smiling instructor and student sit in the cockpit of a small airplane, wearing headsets while in flight.

Sands of Time

Stark beauty of desolate dunes
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Beyond Boundaries

Visual odyssey across continents
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A person wearing an orange vest on a red scooter on grass, facing a small green and white airplane on an airport tarmac.
Aerial view of the New York City skyline from a plane window, featuring skyscrapers along the Hudson River waterfront.
A person in a neon yellow shirt stands under a blue canopy, photographing a heart-shaped skywriting trail in a blue sky.
A red and white high-wing light aircraft flying above a treeline against a pale sky.
A vintage military aircraft with a green camouflage paint scheme, parked on an apron with smoke visible beneath the engine.
A red and white bush plane with large tundra tires flying against a clear blue sky.
A view from the side of a red and white small airplane in flight, showing its wing, propeller, and registration N112SC.
Four people in a hangar converse while preparing pancakes on a large griddle at an airport.
A small white and blue single-engine airplane flying in front of an aircraft hangar.
A line of ten young children posing and smiling in front of a Royal Air Force airplane on an outdoor runway.
A large UPS cargo plane with its nose door open at an outdoor airshow, surrounded by a crowd of people.
A young child with a red bow waves from inside the cockpit of a vintage olive green U.S. Army model AT-19 aircraft.
A crowd gathers on an airfield in front of a gray U.S. Air Force C-17 transport plane and an F-15 fighter jet.
A person and three children in Halloween costumes pose in front of a red, propeller-driven plane decorated with a ghost.
A group of five people and a German Shepherd stand on an airport tarmac next to a small white and blue airplane.
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Watch cockpit videos, airport commentary, and aviation adventures on Dr. Jones's YouTube channel.

Want to Connect?

Whether you have a story to share, a question about aviation, or just want to say hello — Dr. Mike would love to hear from you.

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