The Story

Some journeys begin with a business plan.

Mine began with a simple question.

Why should military aviation enthusiasts have to choose between outstanding photography and well-researched editorial content?

During the mid-1990s, while working for the multilingual aviation magazine Top Gun, I experienced a publishing concept that was revolutionary for its time. The photography was dynamic, exciting and unlike anything else available on the market. Yet I often felt that the editorial content did not do those remarkable images justice.

At the same time, many traditional aviation magazines offered detailed articles but lacked the visual impact that truly captured the excitement of military aviation.

I became convinced that both belonged together.

Exceptional photography should inspire readers.

Exceptional journalism should help them understand what they are looking at.

That conviction never left me.

In 1997, long before digital publishing became commonplace, I launched the first version of CHECKSIX as an online aviation magazine. At the time, websites dedicated to military aviation photography already existed, but presenting carefully designed editorial features alongside professional photography in a true magazine format was something entirely different.

Although the vision was clear, turning it into a sustainable publishing project would take much longer than I had imagined.

Life, work and countless aviation assignments meant that the idea remained exactly that—an idea waiting for the right moment.

That moment finally arrived in 2022.

After more than two decades of experience in aviation photography and journalism, I decided it was time to build the publication I had envisioned all those years before.

I created CHECKSIX – The International Military Aviation Journal with one simple objective:

To combine authentic military aviation photography with accurate, engaging and professionally researched editorial reporting—without the limitations of traditional print publishing.

Today, every edition reflects that original vision.

Freed from the constraints of fixed page counts and extensive advertising, our digital format allows us to tell each story as completely as it deserves to be told. Whether a feature requires ten pages or thirty is determined by the subject—not by available space.

What began as the work of one aviation enthusiast has grown into an international Editorial Crew of photographers, writers and aviation specialists working across several countries, united by the same standards of professionalism, authenticity and mutual respect.

Looking back, I realise that I never created CHECKSIX simply to publish a magazine.

I created it to document military aviation with honesty, to preserve its history and to build a meaningful connection between air forces, the aviation industry and aviation enthusiasts around the world.

That mission continues with every edition we publish—and it continues to inspire me every single day.