Leighton Collins

Leighton Holden Collins (April 20, 1902 - January 16, 1995) was an American aviator, author, and journalist.

Collins was born in Greenville, Texas. He studied math and physics as an undergraduate at the University of the South, business administration at Harvard, and earned a law degree from the Arkansas Law School in 1927.

He learned to fly at Little Rock in 1928, and soloed an open-cockpit biplane in 1929. He flew his own airplane to serve his insurance business customers, which led to an interest in flight safety. He was an aircraft salesman and flight school operator during the 1930s.

Collins was the founder and editor of Air Facts magazine, a pioneering effort in the field of air safety, which was published from 1938 until 1976. He authored several popular books about flying technique and contributed a chapter to the classic Stick and Rudder by Wolfgang Langewiesche.

Leighton Collins' son Richard L. Collins is also a well-known aviation writer.

Books authored

 * Takeoffs & Landings (1981)