It sprung from an email newsletter started by Derner in July 2002 called Aireola Aviation, sent to a group of local friends to give them a heads-up on upcoming unique aircraft visitors and happenings from the previous week.
NYCAviation's (often referred to colloquially as "NYCA") message boards allow its members to discuss their love of flying machines and to share their experiences and photography from airport visits around the globe.
[2] It now features expansive news pages, regular articles and plane spotting guides serving airports far beyond the New York City limits.
Recent popularity has been gained for the site through its "On This Day In Aviation" daily postings, and by keeping its followers in-the-know with regular updates on Twitter and Facebook.
In late January 2013, NYCAviation's Editor-in-Chief Matt Molnar, died at the age of 33, creating both personal and professional challenges among the small, close-knit team.
Adding a new airport guide on average of about one per week, they contain four tabbed pages that are complete with airfield statistics, radio frequencies, approach plates, and spotting maps.
NYCAviation's message boards allow its members to share plane spotting tips and photographs, discuss aviation industry news and events, and broader topics such as politics and humor.
[13] In July 2008, a treasured British Airways Concorde, on display at Floyd Bennett Field in Brooklyn during the restoration of its permanent home at the Intrepid Sea-Air-Space Museum, was damaged by a passing delivery truck.