I have mentioned my relationship to PILOT elsewhere in this thread so won't repeat but I am being open and honest about my link.
This is a mostly well mannered discourse on the relative merits of PILOT magazine.
Having read through the comments there are some I agree with as a reader and some I don't. I do, however, want it to be a magazine which reflects what I want to read at the highest level of quality possible. At least in this I assume we all have the same requirements (even though our own interests will be different).
I am trying to balance being responsive to criticisms and comments with not appearing to try and counter everything that is said and develop an argument ( quite difficult I have found).
I will therefore constrain comments at this stage to matters of fact and response to specific points.
When James Gilbert decided to sell, whilst not inevitable, it was extremely likely that the magazine would go to a publishing business rather than another enthusiast individual - perhaps sad but real world. James gains financial reward for building the magazine up, the new owner pays a high price which requires further improvement in the magazine to deliver profits to pay the interest bills. Simple economics.
BRL (Mr Moderator sir) your rogue copy is clearly not by design and for anyone who understands publishing it is clear that where some copies are correct and some wrong this is a printer issue rather than a publisher issue and normally the publisher would be having conversations with the printer about the problem!. As I mentioned in a previous post despite this not being a problem caused by PILOT I am sure they would be willing to help you obtain a replacement copy - see later.
Aerohack - indeed credit where it is due - the piece does deserve praise and the author has since been writing for other magazines. I would hope to see him as a contributor to PILOT again shortly - he is one of the top contributors.
Plenty of mention has been given to changes at PILOT around May this year. Less has been said of more recent changes with the introduction of a new publisher. Bob Crawley, who I have been flying with recently, is extremely dedicated to sorting out problems which may have occurred in the past. He is a willing listener to complaints and has shown himself to act quickly to sort out problems. He can be contacted at
[email protected].
I took up the questions from Genghis and passed them on to Bob for his response - the following (apologies for length) is his reply - I hope it answers the questions raised (and prompts you to consider offering articles for PILOT to publish) but as always anyone frustrated with failing to get a response from PILOT can contact me and I will take it up with the team (
[email protected]):
As Publisher of Pilot for the last three months, perhaps I can set the record straight.
Pilot’s target audience is broad, ranging from private pilots who fly infrequently, stay local and rent or share an aeroplane, to military and commercial pilots, others who make their living in aviation, and aeroplane enthusiasts.
However our core audience is committed aviators who are knowledgeable about aircraft and flying. They usually have strong opinions, which is why any change to the magazine or its staff stimulates debate. Pilot has always published articles from a broad range of contributors. When Alan Cassidy as British Aerobatics Champion flight tests the latest aerobatic machine, he does it for Pilot, even though he is not a regular contributor.
The winners of the Dawn to Dusk contest also chose Pilot to write about how they did it. Contributions from readers like this have always been Pilot’s main strength, but we also have an exceptional team of regulars: Tim Cripps, Bruce Hales-Dutton, Derek Jones, Geoffrey P Jones, Pat Malone, John Templeton Smith, James Allan, Peter R March, Don Peterson and
Nick Bloom and others. Most of these do not write for other GA magazines. What they all have in common is experience and the ability to put it across in a way that is interesting and entertaining. With the exception of Peter R March, who specialises in aviation history, Pilot’s regulars each cover a range of topics. Nick Bloom, for instance, writes about flying technique, interviews aviation personalities and conducts flight tests.
Much of the team that wrote for Pilot when James Gilbert was editor is still on board. We have an excellent editor in Dave Calderwood, who spent 26 years in the profession before joining the magazine and a very talented new designer, Simon Watkins.
Despite what you may have heard or read Pilot’s owners are committed to building on its reputation as the leading GA magazine in the market. Early in 2003 Pilot will significantly increase its pagination, add new editorial sections, and will continue to strengthen its already impressive team of
regular contributors.
I took over as publisher of Pilot in the summer and was somewhat concerned about the way some things had been done in the past. Hopefully I have dealt with all outstanding issues in a courteous and professional manner.
***Note the above is editted to remove one name at the request of the individual***