Dumping Flying Magazine

"Robert M. Gary" wrote in message .

.......the DC-3 drivers are all dead,


HEY!!!!!

"Robert M. Gary" wrote in message

........ We really need another Len Morgan.
He wasn't all touchy-feely like Gordon and Wallace but he has the old
time stores that were great (I bought a book of his collections from
the mag a while back). I think they were hoping that Tom Block would
become that but he didn't seem to want to write about the old airline
days.

I had the good luck to meet Len Morgan a couple of times. I wouldn't
presume to say we were friends, but we did chat a few minutes over coffee
once at LGA. A *very* nice guy. All the senses you pick up from his
writing are dead on.

Although I've never met Tom Block, we passed in airport concourses a number
of times. :-) I've spoken with a number of people who knew him, some of
whom friends who flew with him at US, and a noticeable theme that emerged
was that there were few people more impressed with Tom Block than Tom Block
YMMV

"John Gaquin" wrote:
a noticeable theme that emerged was that there were few people
more impressed with Tom Block than Tom Block

Funny, that's exactly the impression I got from reading his columns.
--
Dan
C172RG at BFM
(remove pants to reply by email)

I get AOPA Pilot, like everyone, but some months it's just too boring
to even begin reading. It seems like the kind of flying magazine that
would have been published in the old USSR. Painfully official.

On the other hand, P&P and Private Pilot seem terribly lightweight and
disorganized. Sometimes I'll buy them on the newstand if they are
covering something of particular interest, but I'd probably never
subscribe.

I really like Flying...and I don't even read Lane Wallace most months
(although I do think she's great, and my wife has several of her
pieces posted in her office). Flying seems to hit the right balance a
lot of the time, and I don't think I could live without Garrison
(checkout www.melmoth2.com if you're a fan). Probably too much
business jet coverage, but I imagine a lot of their ad revenue comes
from bizjet builders. I'm willing to let Collins be Collins, although
I certainly understand why many may be absolutely sick of him by now.

But if I could read only one flying magazine, it would have to be the
Aviation Consumer. Absolutely authoritative, totally free of
advertising pressure and willing to kick up a storm of controversy if
need be. On top of that, I KNOW reading it has saved me a small
fortune as an aircraft owner. It's worth the subcription price just to
get access to their awesome web site, which is unequalled by anybody.
No, I don't work for them. Try it and see.

(Robert M. Gary) writes:

We really need another Len Morgan.

You said it. I really enjoyed reading his "Vectors" column, and the
occasional articles he wrote.

-jav

Robert M. Gary wrote:
We really need another Len Morgan.
He wasn't all touchy-feely like Gordon and Wallace but he has the old
time stores that were great (I bought a book of his collections from
the mag a while back).

Totally agree. I've subscribed to Flying off and on for more than 25
years. I would always read the accident reports (not to be goulish, but
to learn from them), then straight to Len Morgan. I liked the way he
presented flying from both a historical and personal approach. Lane is
OK, but is no Len Morgan. IMHO, his departure left a big hole in the
magazine. I do find that, almost without exception, the major review
they do each month also shows up in AOPA within a month or 2 (sometimes
the same month). Garrison is good (I'm an engineering geek, so I like
that stuff).

--
Remove "2PLANES" to reply.

Dave wrote:

Is it me, or has Flying become among the worst GA magazines to read?
Why does it seem that all I read about are trip reports from Mac and
Dick Collins that, personally, offer little educational value? Each
of these guys write serveral articles per issue. Are they that hard
up for good writers, or do these guys just like to write everything
themselves? When I open AOPA Pilot, Flight Training, Private Pilot,
Plane and Pilot, etc. I find a good balance of education, reviews, and
good tidbits. All I feel I've gained from reading Flying is knowing
every detail of what's in the Avionics stack of Mac's Barron and
Dick's Cessna P210.

I still subscribe. I do think Flying spends too much time on the bizjet side
of things though.

Dick Collins is a bit pedantic in his writing style, but I value his
opinions, even if I don't always agree. His critcal looks at safety issues
are some of the best counterpoints to the FAA propaganda and I doubt there
is anyone with more insight into weather.


--
Frank....H

Like anything else in aviation, it was better decades ago than now.

The writers/editors were better. One cannot compare MacLellan to Robert
Parke or Robert Blodgett. The columnists like Stephen Wilkinson, Bax, and
Tom Block were also better than what Flying has now (although Wilkinson did
himself in with his article discouraging the use of checklists)

I've been subscribing for forty years, and I might finally drop it too.
"Dave" wrote in message
om...
Is it me, or has Flying become among the worst GA magazines to read?
Why does it seem that all I read about are trip reports from Mac and
Dick Collins that, personally, offer little educational value? Each
of these guys write serveral articles per issue. Are they that hard
up for good writers, or do these guys just like to write everything
themselves? When I open AOPA Pilot, Flight Training, Private Pilot,
Plane and Pilot, etc. I find a good balance of education, reviews, and
good tidbits. All I feel I've gained from reading Flying is knowing
every detail of what's in the Avionics stack of Mac's Barron and
Dick's Cessna P210.

Dave wrote:

Is it me, or has Flying become among the worst GA magazines to read?

Dunno. I dumped my subscription over ten years ago.

George Patterson
This marriage is off to a shaky start. The groom just asked the band to
play "Your cheatin' heart", and the bride just requested "Don't come home
a'drinkin' with lovin' on your mind".

(Dave) writes:

Is it me,

No.

or has Flying become among the worst GA magazines to read?

Yes. The only good writer left is Peter Garrison. Lane Wallace is
afraid to fly at night. Everybody else is afraid to fly in anything
costing less than $500,000.


Here's a post I made about Flying Rag in November 2002.


Flying magazine is about worthless anymore. So I get a thick envelope
from them, open it, and it's a survey complete with a crisp dollar
bill. Alright, I think, a chance to tell them what's wrong with their
magazine.

So I start reading the survey. It starts with the usual questions
about flying experience, do I own or rent, and so on. Then it gets to
my job: what do I do, job title, etc. Then total family income, and
do I own rental and investment property? And how much do I own in
stocks?

Now I'm thinking, screw you. Your magazine sucks and the only thing
you want to know from me is my financial situation?? It's now one
dollar better, that's for sure. Maybe I'll send the return envelope
back empty.