John Deakin, a founding contributor to AVweb and a highly regarded pilot, author and aviation educator, died Wednesday. Deakin was an Air America pilot, flying throughout Southeast Asia before landing a job with Japan Airlines. He flew 747s for the airline and retired as one of its most experienced pilots. “He had more Pacific crossings than most of us have takeoffs and landings,” said AVweb Editor-At-Large Paul Bertorelli, who wrote about his passing in a blog post. “John was a larger than life character, but not the loud kind that let you know about it by making himself the center of attention.”
Deakin wrote an immensely popular column called Pelican’s Perch for AVweb for more than a decade. Doug Ritter, AVweb’s first editor, said Deakin’s breadth of experience and brilliant writing made him a must-read for those embracing the new medium of the internet for their aviation stories. “He was an extraordinary pilot, an incredible teller of stories, an articulate and gifted writer and educator and a truly solid and giving human being,” Ritter said. “We have lost a giant.”
