Sorry to take a while coming back; magazine deadlines are way more important than this topic.
I’d actually argue that PC is very well placed for what we require on Flight, having now done reports on the T-50, M-346, M-311, PC-21, and Rafale for us. Plus his past experience on F-16, Mirage 2000, Tornado GR1/4 and F2 and many others, including VAAC Harrier.
I find it odd that you assert that the magazine’s reputation has been gravely damaged, yet to my knowledge we have received no negative correspondence from our readers. The Rafale test was a massive scoop, and very successful.
Also, we’ve strangely seen no official reports/comments from those RAF pilots who supposedly flew Rafale recently – no photos, nothing. So when can we look forward to reading a flight test report on it from one of your six much better TPs, maybe in Combat Aircraft Monthly?