I've been writing about some pretty heavy aviation issues lately. Aviation is a very important freedom to me and there are definitely some forces out there threatening it right now. As important as aviation is for commerce and industry, I feel about airplanes like Disney's Captain Jack Sparrow feels about ships. (Answers.com has the quote.)

Thankfully, there's at least one company out there that helps me remember this: Paradise Aircraft.

I still haven't flown in a P-1 yet, so any opinions I have about Paradise come from watching the company and interacting with the people who work there. They're an enthusiastic entrant into the Light Sport Aircraft category with a proven track record since before LSA was invented and have happy, positive people working for them. Their aircraft boast impressive performance and they are one of the industry leaders in developing handicap-accessible aircraft.

Now, I see that they are also helping foster a sense of community that exists among their customers. Chris Regis of Paradise just showed me ParadisePilots.com. It's a brand new site that aims to provide friends and customers of Paradise with information and community through blogs and forums. What a great resource for a group of pilots who know what aviation is all about! Paradise Pilots isn't the only aircraft-type community out there, but I think it'll be well loved by its family.

Good work to the friends of Paradise. One of these days I'll get my boss to let me stop by and fly a P-1 so I can fully understand what keeps you so happy. Keep up the good work and let us know how your community grows.