Let's design a magazine!
08-19-2003, 04:35 AM
#1
Let's design a magazine!
I have seen a great many folks who had something to say about Model Aviation, some good and some bad. Since most of us have our opinions, that is not a surprise. However, it seems that MA has taken actions to change lately and some seem to be less than happy about that.
Lets talk about what MA should become so it is once again a benefit we all look for in the mail instead of more junk. We know that the AMA stuff has to be there, so ignore that because it is the 'driver' for the magazine. However, what about the reviews and the columns? What kind of each and to what depth?
Years ago we used to have to build our radios, today we buy them. The soldering techniques modelers needed to be aware of 30 years ago are no longer used by very many (as an example) and recently a column on electronics was dropped. What about a column targeted to the new ARF driver telling how to program various radios as a replacement?
The folks in the hobby are changing so do we want to keep reviewing more scratch builds, ARF's, or do we want to target kit builders? It looks like we have been targeting scratch builders until recently. Where should we suggest MA be taken?
There are several areas that we (as a group) should review, but there is a place to start.
Lets talk about what MA should become so it is once again a benefit we all look for in the mail instead of more junk. We know that the AMA stuff has to be there, so ignore that because it is the 'driver' for the magazine. However, what about the reviews and the columns? What kind of each and to what depth?
Years ago we used to have to build our radios, today we buy them. The soldering techniques modelers needed to be aware of 30 years ago are no longer used by very many (as an example) and recently a column on electronics was dropped. What about a column targeted to the new ARF driver telling how to program various radios as a replacement?
The folks in the hobby are changing so do we want to keep reviewing more scratch builds, ARF's, or do we want to target kit builders? It looks like we have been targeting scratch builders until recently. Where should we suggest MA be taken?
There are several areas that we (as a group) should review, but there is a place to start.
08-19-2003, 03:34 PM
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Let's design a magazine!
I have a counter offer...
Why not tell Marc what you'd like to see in RCU Magazine?
This will not only be heard, but you won't have to put up with pages and pages of "Indoor Free Flight" and "Control Line" stuff.
Why not tell Marc what you'd like to see in RCU Magazine?
This will not only be heard, but you won't have to put up with pages and pages of "Indoor Free Flight" and "Control Line" stuff.
08-19-2003, 03:41 PM
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Let's design a magazine!
I'll start this off! I have both kits and ARF in my hangar, they both serve a purpose. But frankly, when it comes to the magazines I would like to see MUCH more attention given to scratch and kit building. Let's face it, an untrained monkey can assemble an arf (probably better than me!). It gets frustrating when you pick up the current magazines, and all have reviews of the exact same arfs.
I would like to see MA take the lead and get back to teaching the hobby, not just react to marketing like the magazines do.
I would like to see MA take the lead and get back to teaching the hobby, not just react to marketing like the magazines do.
08-19-2003, 05:37 PM
#6
Let's design a magazine!
Originally posted by P-51B
I'll start this off! I have both kits and ARF in my hangar, they both serve a purpose. But frankly, when it comes to the magazines I would like to see MUCH more attention given to scratch and kit building. Let's face it, an untrained monkey can assemble an arf (probably better than me!). It gets frustrating when you pick up the current magazines, and all have reviews of the exact same arfs.
I would like to see MA take the lead and get back to teaching the hobby, not just react to marketing like the magazines do.
I'll start this off! I have both kits and ARF in my hangar, they both serve a purpose. But frankly, when it comes to the magazines I would like to see MUCH more attention given to scratch and kit building. Let's face it, an untrained monkey can assemble an arf (probably better than me!). It gets frustrating when you pick up the current magazines, and all have reviews of the exact same arfs.
I would like to see MA take the lead and get back to teaching the hobby, not just react to marketing like the magazines do.
The comments about having to wade through pages and pages of other interests are good observations but they miss the true potential of MA as a magazine for the entire hobby. I think that the space spent on other interests has to be assumed along with the AMA stuff.
I agree that a good direction for MA to take as the number of KITS available on the market place seems to be taking a major hit these days. That is one reason many magazines are reviewing ARF's and the other reason is the ARF is what people are buying. If we educate folks on how to build, maybe kits and scratch building will survive. I think there needs to be a very strong "kit" to scratch build ratio as others have already indicated boredom with lots of 'stuff' in MA.
08-19-2003, 05:53 PM
#7
Let's design a magazine!
I am currently working with Erick to start doing Kit reviews. The problem has been that we had no one who could:
Write,
Edit,
Take and edit digital images,
Take and edit digital Videos,
Format all of the info into HTML (Web Page Language)
AND someone who likes to build.
I can do all of that, but like most of you, I like to fly in the summer. However, with winter around the corner, we plan on doing some kit reviews.
Write,
Edit,
Take and edit digital images,
Take and edit digital Videos,
Format all of the info into HTML (Web Page Language)
AND someone who likes to build.
I can do all of that, but like most of you, I like to fly in the summer. However, with winter around the corner, we plan on doing some kit reviews.
08-19-2003, 06:10 PM
#8
Let's design a magazine!
Kit or ARF does not matter to me. Spending more time on the finished product's performance and flight characteristics would be a welcomed change. The typical article has a detailed description about building the kit or assembling the ARF and a paragraph or two at the end about how it flys.
I do not care how good the wood is or how clear the instructions are if the finished product is a dud. I think the writers are often in a hurry to get the article in and flying the plane is the last part of the process, so it gets the short end of the stick. The building may take weeks or months, then after one trip to the field the article is published.
Some of the writers are not the most skilled flyers. This may be because articles focus on the building. How about having great pilots write articles about the planes performance. Let someone else build the plane and give it to the hot shot pilot to put it through its paces.
Eric
I do not care how good the wood is or how clear the instructions are if the finished product is a dud. I think the writers are often in a hurry to get the article in and flying the plane is the last part of the process, so it gets the short end of the stick. The building may take weeks or months, then after one trip to the field the article is published.
Some of the writers are not the most skilled flyers. This may be because articles focus on the building. How about having great pilots write articles about the planes performance. Let someone else build the plane and give it to the hot shot pilot to put it through its paces.
Eric
08-19-2003, 06:31 PM
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Originally posted by depfife
Kit or ARF does not matter to me. Spending more time on the finished product's performance and flight characteristics would be a welcomed change. The typical article has a detailed description about building the kit or assembling the ARF and a paragraph or two at the end about how it flys.
I do not care how good the wood is or how clear the instructions are if the finished product is a dud. I think the writers are often in a hurry to get the article in and flying the plane is the last part of the process, so it gets the short end of the stick. The building may take weeks or months, then after one trip to the field the article is published.
Some of the writers are not the most skilled flyers. This may be because articles focus on the building. How about having great pilots write articles about the planes performance. Let someone else build the plane and give it to the hot shot pilot to put it through its paces.
Eric
Kit or ARF does not matter to me. Spending more time on the finished product's performance and flight characteristics would be a welcomed change. The typical article has a detailed description about building the kit or assembling the ARF and a paragraph or two at the end about how it flys.
I do not care how good the wood is or how clear the instructions are if the finished product is a dud. I think the writers are often in a hurry to get the article in and flying the plane is the last part of the process, so it gets the short end of the stick. The building may take weeks or months, then after one trip to the field the article is published.
Some of the writers are not the most skilled flyers. This may be because articles focus on the building. How about having great pilots write articles about the planes performance. Let someone else build the plane and give it to the hot shot pilot to put it through its paces.
Eric
I think you have hit something here.
08-19-2003, 07:28 PM
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Let's design a magazine!
Probably the thing that makes one person view a plane very differently than another person does, is trimming the plane out. That does not mean moving the trim on the transmitter.
If a good pilot would not only give his impressions of the stock plane, but, the steps of how he improved it, after it is built , in a step by step manner, a lot more pilots might really enjoy their purchase and learn what trimming a plane means.
I think it is also important to realize that magazine reviews are, to a large extent, driven by advertisers. Although most magazines are not going to change their review, they will pull it altogether, if the manufacturer asks.
As Jim Branaum suggested, programming radios would be a great topic. That alone might be good for a series of articles lasting all year.
JR
If a good pilot would not only give his impressions of the stock plane, but, the steps of how he improved it, after it is built , in a step by step manner, a lot more pilots might really enjoy their purchase and learn what trimming a plane means.
I think it is also important to realize that magazine reviews are, to a large extent, driven by advertisers. Although most magazines are not going to change their review, they will pull it altogether, if the manufacturer asks.
As Jim Branaum suggested, programming radios would be a great topic. That alone might be good for a series of articles lasting all year.
JR
08-19-2003, 07:41 PM
#11
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Let's design a magazine!
To start off - I only get Model Aviation because I don't have any other choice. Most other AMA members fit into this same category. About 90% of it's contents are of no interest to me.
Why? It's because the AMA is made up of a lot of different type folks, each one of which is primarily interested in his particular segment of the hobby. For me, I am only interested in "Giant Scale" airplanes, engines, and accessories. I don't fly smaller airplanes, and I don't own any glo engines. Therefore I am not interested in helicopters, control line, free flight, sailpalnes, electrics, jets, glo engines, etc.
The magazine covers all these categories, and then some. I find the print so small that I couldn't read the articles even if I was interested. THE FONT SIZE NEEDS TO BE MADE LARGE ENOUGH SO THAT YOU DON'T HAVE TO READ THE MAGAZINE UNDER A MAGNIFYING GLASS.
I think that the eleven monthly district reports are a waste of time, space, and money. Again, eleven districts, and most modelers read only one, so ten pages go unread. Besides that, they rarely contain anything worth reading, and most are stuffed such small photos they come across meaningless.
So what would I do? First of all, I would eliminate the district reports to gain the space. Then I would concentrate on "how to" articles. The "Shoestring" article by Hal deBolt in the July issue is an excellent example. Since 90% of the AMA membership flys R/C planes, then 90% of the magazine content should be EVERYDAY R/C related. If that means printing special issues for control line scale, control line speed, free flight, indoors, old timers, R/C combat, R/C pylon racing, etc. maybe three times a year - then so be it. The we would only have to throw three magazines in the trash instead of twelve.
Put some "meat" back into the magazine. Get back to building, and offer Plans for sale. Offer articles on how flying fields were obtained. (Here in Sebring, the county built us the best flying field in the state of Florida, at no charge, just because we asked?) Others must have similar stories that would benefit the rest of the population, but nobody knows about it because there is no way to get the message out. There are a lot of other interesting subjects that one can "learn" from, so those need to be addressed.
I'm just glad to be a part of RCU where I get more information from the forums in one evening than any magazine could ever deliver in one year. So just let the magazine do the "how to" articles, and let the internet do the rest.
Why? It's because the AMA is made up of a lot of different type folks, each one of which is primarily interested in his particular segment of the hobby. For me, I am only interested in "Giant Scale" airplanes, engines, and accessories. I don't fly smaller airplanes, and I don't own any glo engines. Therefore I am not interested in helicopters, control line, free flight, sailpalnes, electrics, jets, glo engines, etc.
The magazine covers all these categories, and then some. I find the print so small that I couldn't read the articles even if I was interested. THE FONT SIZE NEEDS TO BE MADE LARGE ENOUGH SO THAT YOU DON'T HAVE TO READ THE MAGAZINE UNDER A MAGNIFYING GLASS.
I think that the eleven monthly district reports are a waste of time, space, and money. Again, eleven districts, and most modelers read only one, so ten pages go unread. Besides that, they rarely contain anything worth reading, and most are stuffed such small photos they come across meaningless.
So what would I do? First of all, I would eliminate the district reports to gain the space. Then I would concentrate on "how to" articles. The "Shoestring" article by Hal deBolt in the July issue is an excellent example. Since 90% of the AMA membership flys R/C planes, then 90% of the magazine content should be EVERYDAY R/C related. If that means printing special issues for control line scale, control line speed, free flight, indoors, old timers, R/C combat, R/C pylon racing, etc. maybe three times a year - then so be it. The we would only have to throw three magazines in the trash instead of twelve.
Put some "meat" back into the magazine. Get back to building, and offer Plans for sale. Offer articles on how flying fields were obtained. (Here in Sebring, the county built us the best flying field in the state of Florida, at no charge, just because we asked?) Others must have similar stories that would benefit the rest of the population, but nobody knows about it because there is no way to get the message out. There are a lot of other interesting subjects that one can "learn" from, so those need to be addressed.
I'm just glad to be a part of RCU where I get more information from the forums in one evening than any magazine could ever deliver in one year. So just let the magazine do the "how to" articles, and let the internet do the rest.
08-19-2003, 08:10 PM
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Let's design a magazine!
Dang i meet all the requirments but html. Missed out again
I have no problim paying $7.99 for a computer mag. I would like to see less ads and more info and would not mind paying a little more to see maybe a H9 P-51 kit build review. Something with more info and less ad copy.
Pat
I have no problim paying $7.99 for a computer mag. I would like to see less ads and more info and would not mind paying a little more to see maybe a H9 P-51 kit build review. Something with more info and less ad copy.
Pat
08-19-2003, 08:18 PM
#13
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Let's design a magazine!
I miss everything except the HTML lol
I can also edit movies and pictures.
See my webpage: www.mklinux.org/~rifel/HOME.html
That would be a cool idea, like a monthly e-mail newsletter type thing.
I can also edit movies and pictures.
See my webpage: www.mklinux.org/~rifel/HOME.html
That would be a cool idea, like a monthly e-mail newsletter type thing.
08-19-2003, 11:01 PM
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Let's design a magazine!
Originally posted by MinnFlyer
I have a counter offer...
Why not tell Marc what you'd like to see in RCU Magazine?
This will not only be heard, but you won't have to put up with pages and pages of "Indoor Free Flight" and "Control Line" stuff.
I have a counter offer...
Why not tell Marc what you'd like to see in RCU Magazine?
This will not only be heard, but you won't have to put up with pages and pages of "Indoor Free Flight" and "Control Line" stuff.
Without Free Flight and Control Line, you wouldn't have the hobby you have today. I personally enjoy those articles, and much of what they do/have done rolls over into current r/c practices.... I still build stick and tissue, and I have a couple of CL's hanging around, next to my r/c planes.
phil in austin
08-20-2003, 03:17 AM
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Originally posted by Billiam411
Yes, but this site is named RC Universe, not Model Car and Plane Universe.
Yes, but this site is named RC Universe, not Model Car and Plane Universe.
This is not really aimed at you. You were just standing in the wrong spot at the wrong time.
This site may soon not be named RC anything. It might very well be a free-flight and control line site.
If any of you think the UMA is a real organization that can help out, now is the time for them to exert their political muscle.
If any of you think that the AMA is just an insurance company that covers you and your club, close up shop. Your done.
If you think Model Aviation has too much "old time stuff" and is not longer relevant, you had better head for e-bay right now and try to cut your losses.... sell your RC stuff while it has some value.
Any of you whining about a 55 pound weight limit
Any of you that will not give Maynard Hill the credit he deserves for a wonderful record attempt.
Any of you that think your AMA dues is too high
READ THIS:
http://www.modelaircraft.org/templat...20comments.pdf
For all the rest of you, you had better hope the AMA is a heck of a lot more than an insurance company. You had best hope they do what they have always been able to do for us all.
JR
08-20-2003, 03:41 AM
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Originally posted by MinnFlyer
I am currently working with Erick to start doing Kit reviews.
I can do all of that, but like most of you, I like to fly in the summer. However, with winter around the corner, we plan on doing some kit reviews.
I am currently working with Erick to start doing Kit reviews.
I can do all of that, but like most of you, I like to fly in the summer. However, with winter around the corner, we plan on doing some kit reviews.
<gg>
-David C.
08-20-2003, 03:43 AM
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Eric
This is about every forum on RCU and about the very survival of RCU. It is only limited to the US. It would have no effect on other countries.
It's not AMA news, it's not park flyer news, it is about everything RC from toys to cars to boats to planes to helis to jets. NO ONE is exempt. Heck, it probably messes with your garage door. Thank goodness most remotes in the house are IR.
JR
This is about every forum on RCU and about the very survival of RCU. It is only limited to the US. It would have no effect on other countries.
It's not AMA news, it's not park flyer news, it is about everything RC from toys to cars to boats to planes to helis to jets. NO ONE is exempt. Heck, it probably messes with your garage door. Thank goodness most remotes in the house are IR.
JR
08-20-2003, 04:54 AM
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Re: Don't worry
Originally posted by mr_matt
Hi frequency spread spectrum is coming, this might just push the development timeline a bit
Hi frequency spread spectrum is coming, this might just push the development timeline a bit
JR
08-20-2003, 05:15 AM
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This thread is getting off track. If you'd like to talk about frequency issues, please start a thread in the appropriate forum. Let's keep this one to what RCU members would like to see in a magazine.
08-20-2003, 12:21 PM
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I would also like to see "free plans" included in the magazine.
A long time ago, some of the U.S. magazines did this, and the awesome UK ones still do.
A long time ago, some of the U.S. magazines did this, and the awesome UK ones still do.
08-20-2003, 08:10 PM
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i think i suggested the free plans to somebody a few weeks ago......sound familiar Jim? anyway just do a wide range of articles about ALL aspects c/l r/c ff cars boats hovercraft!! all of it
as long as it has a remote controller for it!!!!
i love to build btw and i have the ability to do digital pix and vids and i do html too!!!
john
as long as it has a remote controller for it!!!!
i love to build btw and i have the ability to do digital pix and vids and i do html too!!!
john
