Kitplanes or SportAviation?

[KPmarc]

Why must nearly every article in EVERY aviation rag be somehow related to crashing and burning?

Why can't we get an aviation magazine that inspires us to GO FLYING? I want stories about great flights. Pictures of great planes. How-to construction/maintenance articles. Interesting antiques and what it's like to fly them. Honest critiques of planes or kits that I might actually buy. You know -- the kinds of things you would find in any normal hobby magazine.

Sure thing.

How about Brian Clark's story about flying in Alaska from late last year?

How about the photos of airplanes like the ViperJet, Rocket EVO, RV-9A by excellent shooters like Richard Vander Meulen and Kevin Wing?

How about a lenghty series on metalworking by some guy with a halfway decent web site? [Hmmm, maybe I'll have to come up with something like that!]

I suppose it's nice to know we're at least in the ballpark.

--Marc

 

[REHughes]

Experimental Aircraft Technology

Linkie no workie. I tried several times. I also googled the mag. name with no luck.

What a bummer. Another subscription unfulfilled.
Oh, well, it was good while it lasted.

Hawkeye

 

[Barry]

Kit Planes

Hi Marc.

I abandoned Sports Aviation some while ago as it seemed like a propaganda rag for Mr Poberezny. Talk about "cult of the personality" he seems to get presented with a new aviation outstanding achievement award each month. Also what is more important there are very few technical articles in the magazine.

That is why I took out a subscription to KP magazine. At least you provide informative articles on what is new in homebuilding.

Living over here in Europe (France) this is useful as we are out in left field as far as what is going on in the US.

However I have one complaint and that is why does it take so long for us to get the magazine? I and others over here who subscribe receive our magazine 2 months late. Can't you do something to sort out you international distribution system?

Barry RV6A F-PRVM

 

[Kevin Horton]

Look how long it took CAFE Foundation to publish its tests, which I consder to be benchmark items in our world.

What is the story with the CAFE Foundation reports? They used to get published in Sport Aviation. Then they went quiet for many years. The RV-9A report only seems to have been published on their web site. Or did it get in a a magazine and I missed it?

It would be a major coup for Kitplanes if they could somehow start carrying the CAFE Foundation reports. Designers should be willing to provide aircraft to the CAFE Foundation to test. The designer and Kitplanes should help cover the flight test costs. They are exactly the kind of honest, objective, informative flight test report that prospective builders/purchasers crave. They would sell magazines.

Kitplanes has greatly improved in the last few years. I would like to see more technical articles, but they obviously require people to step up to the plate and write them. Once I get my aircraft flying, I may offer the occasional flight testing article.

My biggest beef with Kitplanes is the very occasional error in technical articles and performance data (they are not the only one with this problem, and it only happens once in a while). Ideally, every technical article and flight test report would be reviewed by someone who was knowledgeable in that field. The editors can't be experts in every field.

 

[rv8ch]

ExTechMag

Incidently, "Experimental Aircraft Technology" is a very enjoyable recently introduced magazine from Brett Hahn. Check it out at www.extechmag.com

They seemed to have stopped sending out the mag. I really enjoyed it. I imagine getting a new magazine rolling is very hard work, and you have to admire the courage of those that give it a shot. I hope they find a way to come back.

 

[rv8ch]

International magazine distribution

However I have one complaint and that is why does it take so long for us to get the magazine? I and others over here who subscribe receive our magazine 2 months late. Can't you do something to sort out you international distribution system?

Barry, if they figure this out, I hope they license the technique to the dozen or so other various magazines I subscribe to. What I really love is when I get clumps of 3 months at a time. What's also very interesting is the various distribution centers they use to mail the magazines from. Sometimes the USA, often Germany, Holland, France from time to time, and I've even had an Eastern European country, but I can't recall which. Globalization, I guess. I'm waiting for them to start getting mailed from China!

 

[pat]

experimental aircraft technology mag

I subscribed recently to this mag and guess what! link no longer works yet they had no problem charging my card for the subscription

 

[RV8N]

Kitplanes - telling it like it is

Let me start by saying that I haven't been following this thread until today and haven't read many of the responses. I have read both KP and S/A for at least 15 years and enjoy them both for different reasons. I am assuming KP Marc is the editor of KP.

Marc, I want to thank you for bringing KP to a higher level. In previous years, there was a tone to all articles that the magazine was afraid of telling it like it is. I read many articles describing the flying qualities of aircraft and then later heard from reliable pilots that the plane actually flew very poorly. It was as if KP was afraid of saying anything that would keep the manufacturer from advertising in their magazine.

In the past several months, I have read several articles that clearly pointed out poor handling qualities and other issues that would need to be resolved before the plane would be marketable. I now have more trust in what I'm reading in KP. Thanks again

 

[rv6ejguy]

Marc, I think you've done a fine job with KP to date. It has come a long ways in a few years. You have a difficult task trying to please many people with varied interests and budgets while trying to make the magazine profitable.

It's nice to read independent flight evaluations on different designs rather than just factory propaganda. You have lots of info on traditional and alternative powerplants and avionics. All helpful in our decision making.

I'm working on some new ideas for articles related to liquid cooled engines and quantifying information on heat exchangers and ducting both from test stand and flight data which might be of some interest as well as a build up on our twin turbo Subaru powered RV10.

Keep up the good work.

Ross Farnham

 

[kevinh]

In the past several months, I have read several articles that clearly pointed out poor handling qualities and other issues that would need to be resolved before the plane would be marketable. I now have more trust in what I'm reading in KP. Thanks again

Me too. It does seem like in the last year or so KP has gotten much better. I now prefer it to SA and actively encourage new members in our EAA chapter to consider reading it.

 

[svanarts]

Kitplanes for me

Still, I'd like to hear from the rest: What can we do that we're not doing now, and how can we improve what we DO do?

Marc, I really like Kitplanes. It's the only other aviation magazine that I subscribe to other than EAAAOPA.

Frankly I wish Dan's articles had appeared about 5 years ago but back then he was buidling his plane just as I was. What I would like to see now is

• maintenance tips geared toward kit aircraft, stuff certified machanics might already know
• flying destinations, some fun places to fly once the plane is done
• real reviews of real avionics, look around on this site for suggestions
• flying tips
• trip reports from regular folks - for inspiration

You've already got much of this in your magazine and I truly enjoy it. Honestly, these and other forums like them should be your go-to place to see what interests pilots. Not just RV-centric nuts like us but all kit plane builders and fliers. If a all possible, start your own forums. Doug, Blue Mountain, Control Vision and others have kept in touch with their customer base and thereby kept in tune with what their customers want in their products. You could probably find someone willing to run it for you for a free subscription.

 

[Tom Schad]

Whether you like or don't like AOPA or Sport Aviation, those two organizations have an effective lobby that does a good job of protecting us from our elected representatives. Don't worry about the magazine and support the organinzation. Tom Schad RV-8 N558TX

 

[jonbakerok]

Point taken, but..

Sure thing.

How about Brian Clark's story about flying in Alaska from late last year?

How about the photos of airplanes like the ViperJet, Rocket EVO, RV-9A by excellent shooters like Richard Vander Meulen and Kevin Wing?

How about a lenghty series on metalworking by some guy with a halfway decent web site? [Hmmm, maybe I'll have to come up with something like that!]

I suppose it's nice to know we're at least in the ballpark.

--Marc

OK, I'll admit that Kitplanes is a lot less fixated on crashing than the EAA's rag. But, I just checked your website and here's the highlights that popped up for the current issue:

1. "Meet the Caddy"
2. "Avoiding Mayday"
3. "Gyroplane Safety"

I hit refresh a bunch of times and a lot of other more interesting articles popped up (it apparently picks three articles at random from the current issue). But it was really ironic that of the first three that popped up: one was about a new vendor, another was about burning, and the third was about crashing.

Weird, huh?

 

[KPmarc]

Tom's got a point that I've been ignoring: We all need to support the organizations that support us. I'm a member of both AOPA and EAA for just that reason.

--Marc

 

[KPmarc]

Jon:

That is weird. I think what you're seeing is the Free Content portion in random rotation. When I just looked it was the Indus T-211, Final Inspection Checklist, and Safari helo.

We're gradually updating that content as well.

--Marc

 

[osxuser]

Magizine that encourages us to GO FLYING:

http://www.pilotgetaways.com/

RV with 8.00x6 mainwheels is doable right?

 

[RV8N]

RV with 8.00x6 mainwheels is doable right?

Quite a while back, Van's experimented with 6.00x6 mains (I believe) on an RV-6. They called it "Bigfoot". I asked about it while I was building because I planned on landing on quite a few grass strips and possibly some unimproved strips. I was told they dropped the idea because there was very little improvement and the 5.00x5 mains could handle most strips.