Maria L. Langer is the author of more than 85 non-fiction books, video media training materials, and hundreds of magazine and Web-published articles. She was an occasional speaker at Macworld Expo and has appeared as a guest on numerous podcasts and video podcasts. Langer is also a commercial helicopter pilot and operates a helicopter tour and charter business based primarily in Wenatchee, Washington, in the United States. She has written for several aviation magazines, including Sport Aviation, Aircraft Owner Online,AOPA Pilot, HeliNews, Vertical, and Rotor & Wing. Langer graduated from Hofstra University in 1982 with a BBA in Accounting.
Author
Langer's first published work appeared in 1991 as the written materials for a 4-1/2 day course offered by the Institute of Internal Auditors. After writing other training materials for that organization, she was hired as a ghostwriter for four chapters of a John Dvorak book called Dvorak's Inside Track to the Mac. She partnered with Dvorak co-author Bernard J. David to co-author The Mac Shareware Emporium. From that point forward, she worked mostly alone on dozens of computer how-to books for beginning to intermediate users. Topics include Mac OS, individual Microsoft Office applications for Mac OS and Microsoft Windows, iBooks Author, WordPress, Dragon Dictate, FileMaker Pro, and web publishing for business. Her publishers include Peachpit Press, O'Reilly, McGraw-Hill, Macmillan, and Flying M Productions. Starting in the early 1990s, Langer authored numerous articles about using computers for a wide range of print and Web-based publications. Later, in the early 2000s, she began self-publishing additional how-to and reference material on a website dedicated to supporting her readers. In 2006, Langer began authoring screencast style video training materials for MacPro Video and Lynda.com. She has also incorporated original video material into interactive ebooks published with iBooks Author for the iPad for Flying M Productions.
Helicopter Pilot
Langer began flying helicopters in 1997. She trained primarily in the Phoenix, Arizona area. Langer started her helicopter tour and charter company, Flying M Air, in 2001 with a Robinson R22 helicopter. In 2004, she worked as a seasonal tour pilot for Papillon Grand Canyon Helicopters. The following year, she purchased a Robinson R44 helicopter and got an FAA Single Pilot Part 135 certificate to do air-taxi work. Although Flying M Air's operations were primarily in Arizona, in 2008 the company began doing seasonal agricultural work inWashington state. Flying M Air moved to the Wenatchee, Washington area in 2013. In February 2018, Langer destroyed her helicopter after crashing it through some trees while flying at night. She suffered only minor injuries. She blamed inattention and has since purchased another helicopter and resumed flying.
