Mats Averkvist was born in 1961 in the commercial and maritime city of Norrköping. At a young age in the schoolyard, the Bråvalla Wing’s SAAB J 35F Draken aircraft often came in low over the school on their way down to land. In the mornings they would take off with the EBK switched on and make a wide turn in front of the school out over Lake Glan. The window panes rattled and not much was said in lessons as the aircraft started every five minutes! It may have been that, or that Mats’ father had a stack of Biggles books that got the young son interested in aviation history. Plastic modelling and the comic book Pilot probably also played a part.
His spare time is now devoted to research and aviation history writing. He has been the editorial secretary of the Norwegian aviation history journal Flyhistorie. Since 2013 Mats has been the permanent secretary of Flyglitteraturgruppen Malmen (FLIT). In 2016 Mats moved back to Sweden and works at a company in the power supply industry. Since a few years he is also the editor of Bråvallabladet, F 13 Kamratförening. His aviation history specialisation is mainly Flyg i Norrköping and generally Swedish military aviation and civil aviation 1919-1963.