Dons flak jacket... There's no doubt about it Pilot has changed, for better or worse really is a matter of taste (certainly you can't lay production problems at the door of the editorial team - One of the first things I learned when I first got into this journo caper was "never EVER underestimate the ability of a printer to cock it up").
The Rimmer view is that both Flyer and Today's Pilot have improved by leaps and bounds - especially the latter. While I'm reserving judgement on Pilot I think the old timer bit is getting a bit big but there you go, matter of opinon
I'd echo earlier comments about the triad compared with US mags although I'd qualify my remarks as has been mentioned above AOPA Pilot and B&C A both are top notch. Flying on the other hand is a little up it's own arse... basically all a bit 'what I did this month' type of copy mind you it'd be dead easy to write....Having said that Lane Wallace can be a good read (not a patch on Bax though) and there is some good stuff in it feature wise.
Newsflash: Pretty much every mag is a bit formula driven (here at Rimmer news I've just fininshed the 'what are we going to cover next year feature wise' phase... always a bit of a brain ache that one... you can't please everyone and people are always more than ready to tell you what they don't like) Every time somebody joins a mag as editor the first thing he or she does is think about how they can improve it and and preferably make their own mark. This is usually in the form of a re-design which nobody likes until the next time the mag is revamped then the new design is "the classic that shouldn't be tampered with"
You can bet your booties they firmly beleive that the changes will improve the the mag win more subs and advertisers since the opposite is a sure fire way to get a cozy chat with the publisher who it turn will have the phrase your fired somewhere in the his mind.
Returning the wider audience, the trouble with writing, especially on a specialist publication is that most of the readership thinks they can do it while the truth is not many people can... I can't tell you how many technical or policy driven articles we get which while they contain really good info are written in a style so turgid as to render them ineffective since nobody, short of a penitant fully paid up member of Opus Dei, is likely to get to the end. Like any job writing is a craft, unless you've got a natural ability, John Farley springs to mind as do Rufus and Irv, then it's a craft you have to learn.
Bottom line though folks: Every mag since Pontius was a pilot has waxed and waned in the quality of its copy and perhaps popularity as a result. This is always going to be subjective by definition
If you don't like the way a mag is heading editorially, the answer is simple don't buy it...
Takes cover awaiting the usual 'all journos are charlatans' fire away boys and girls just don't tell my mother she thinks I do something respectable like doorman at a brothel...at least that's what I keep telling her