Page 1 - Aerotech News and Review, February 5, 2021

Aerotech News
Aerotech News
Aerotech News

Journal of Aerospace, Defense Industry and Veteran News
and Review
and Review
Defense industry publisher celebrates anniversary

Aerotech News and Review

celebrates 35th anniversary

of publishing

Aerotech News and Review, Inc., publisher future. Typesetting was ordered from a small
of five aerospace and military base newspapers, graphics shop in Mojave (a 25-mile drive from
celebrated its 35th anniversary Feb. 1. Lancaster) and delivered on long, printed strips
A lot has changed in the 35 years since Aero- of photo paper, which were manually pasted
tech’s launch. In February 1986, the world was onto paper layout sheets using hot wax, and
a very different place. augmented with border tape. Corrections were
Ronald Reagan was president. The biggest made using pen, Liquid Paper and photocopies
threat to world peace was the Soviet Union and obtained from a public copy machine at the Lan-
the Warsaw Pact. Few people had heard of an caster Sav-On drugstore. Paste-up was done on
obscure military islamist group called al Qaeda. the couple’s kitchen table (which still serves as
And in February 1986, the first edition of An- the break room table in the company’s present-
telope Valley Aerospace — now Aerotech News day headquarters), with a rolling pin providing
and Review — hit the newsstands.
The first issue was all set to go to press in late
January 1986, when it had to be scrapped and re-
done — Space Shuttle Challenger had exploded 35 years ago:
over Florida. In 1986, Ronald Reagan was president of
“We were all ready to go to press and then the United States, and Margaret Thatcher
the Challenger tragedy happened, so what took prime minister of the United Kingdom.
us two weeks to get ready we had to redo in 24 The Cosby Show was the most watched
hours,” said Paul Kinison, publisher. Paul’s wife television program in America, and in Janu-
and business partner, Lisa Kinison, videotaped ary 1986, the number one song in the U.S.
television news coverage of the accident and was “Say You, Say Me” by Lionel Ritchie.
reviewed it painstakingly, frame by frame. An- At the movies, Americans were watching
telope Valley Aerospace was among the first Rocky IV, Out of Africa, Iron Eagle, and The
media sources to report that the explosion had Color Purple. MTV was five years old!
originated from Challenger’s right solid rocket In the Antelope Valley, Rockwell Interna-
booster in its Feb. 1, 1986 issue. tional had recently finished the Space Shuttle
What started as a monthly newspaper focusing Atlantis; Northrop was developing the B-2
on aerospace and defense in California’s Ante- Spirit bomber — still five years away from
lope Valley, is now a bi-weekly print and digital its first flight; Lockheed had recently ended
publication with a digital presence that attracts production of the L-1011; and Rockwell was
readers from around the world. building and delivering B-1B Lancers.
The husband and wife team of Paul and Lisa
Kinison started Antelope Valley Aerospace in
January 1986 in a garage apartment on Milling the finishing touch to completed pages. A pea-
Street in Lancaster, Calif. not far from the cur- green government surplus IBM typewriter served
rent Lancaster Performing Arts Center site. At as a reliable workhorse for generating invoices
the tender age of 26, Paul already had 10-years’ and business correspondence.
experience working with newspapers in various In June of 1987, the publication name was
capacities, and neither had a college degree. changed to Aerotech News and Review, to re-
Internet and affordable fax and personal com-
puter equipment were still some years in the See AEROTECH, Page 2

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February 5, 2021 • Volume 36, Issue 1 Serving the aerospace industry since 1986
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