What does the Kitfox community think of Sport Aviation?

[Fooey]

One thing I don't like is the size. And one thing I would like to see is a monthly article written by a builder and not a staff writer with a canned idea of what we all would like to hear. A builders tale of his venture from start to flight with photos of his pride and joy. I bet you could get a ton of builders who would love to tell their story for free. I do enjoy the magazine but if it comes the same day as Kit Planes I pick that one up first.

Thanks for asking.
Fooey

New LSA pilot waiting for the right Kitfox to come along.

[Chad Jensen]

Fooey, you hit the nail on the head! Rod and I had a brainstorming session a couple of weeks ago to lay out how the contemporary style, and what you described is the tip of the iceberg on what we laid out.

We hear about the size of the magazine a lot...most people like it, but it's probably the thing people are most vocal about.

[DesertFox4]

I'd just like to see anything about Kitfox's or even a Kitfox in "what our members are building" section. Been quite a while now since our community had much recognition in S.A. Maybe a mention or two about Kitfox Aircraft LLC's incredible accomplishments since 2006.
Bronze Lindy in 2010 for the Rotec radial powered Super Sport is just one of them. I was there. You couldn't get near the Kitfox all week for people wanting a look at aviation nostalgia personified. We just had two fly from Idaho to the Bahamas and back.

As a member in immaculate standing since 1982 I lived for the arrival of Sport Aviation. Saved every issue as a treasure trove of building tips and collective experiences, many useful should I be lucky enough some day to build my own airplane.
Now if I spend 15 minutes in each issue it's rare. Usually next day it's tear off my mailing address label and into the recycle bin. Past the point of caring about the latest twin engine turbo something or other with panels worth more than the last 3 houses I've owned. I'll never get the chance to sit in one of those much less fly one. Give me simple, fun aviation. Sport Pilot world is were lots of us will be living aviation for the remainder of our flying lives. I do appreciate that part of my dues goes towards EAA's legal department and the fact that they do a decent job of keeping the big bad wolves from Washington D.C. out of our cockpits and hangars.


BTW, I've attended approx. 15 AirVenture's since the late 70's. I do enjoy the big show. I've got to meet some of the worlds greatest aviators up close and personal over the years. I'd list some of them but it'd just come off as name dropping.

Anyways, best of luck Chad. Thanks for asking and in some cases letting us vent publicly.

[Chad Jensen]

I'd just like to see anything about Kitfox's or even a Kitfox in "what our members are building" section. Been quite a while now since our community had much recognition in S.A. Maybe a mention or two about Kitfox Aircraft LLC's incredible accomplishments since 2006.
Bronze Lindy in 2010 for the Rotec radial powered Super Sport is just one of them.

I can't officially say to expect something in the near future...but expect something in the near future.

Anyways, best of luck Chad. Thanks for asking and in some cases letting us vent publicly.

I asked for it. Seriously though, there has been a void in the EAA/communities relationship for a long time, and I'm here to close that gap so we communicate effectively and bring the relationships back.

[Esser]

This is an old thread but I just want to say that I think the magazine is great and it might be my imagination but I think it has gotten better in 2012. Sure it's not all homebuilding and such but I think it captures the image of what EAA is: A bunch of people who like to fly. I read it front to back and find 95% of the articles interesting. When there is an article about a twin engine pressurized gismo that I will never fly it doesn't make it bad. I will never fly a DC-7 but you have to admit it, it's interesting to read about. When I read the magazine it makes me want to go out and fly. So in my opinion Chad, it's doing the job well.

[av8rps]

This is an old thread but I just want to say that I think the magazine is great and it might be my imagination but I think it has gotten better in 2012. Sure it's not all homebuilding and such but I think it captures the image of what EAA is: A bunch of people who like to fly. I read it front to back and find 95% of the articles interesting. When there is an article about a twin engine pressurized gismo that I will never fly it doesn't make it bad. I will never fly a DC-7 but you have to admit it, it's interesting to read about. When I read the magazine it makes me want to go out and fly. So in my opinion Chad, it's doing the job well.

I know this thread is old, but I'm going to throw in my 2 cents worth;

I know it is tough for EAA to be all things to all people...just look at the large variety of aircraft that show up at AirVenture ever year. There's a bit of everything. Problem is, they need to do it with essentially one magazine...and that's tough.

So knowing that, it is extra important that EAA doesn't allow any particular group, or writer (s), to overpower the content of the magazine with articles and features based on their personal preferences. Broad coverage of the entire field of aircraft has to be the mission. And if EAA could extract demographics on their members preferences, that would be an even better way for them to know they are addressing their members interests.

But, in addition to satisfying the wide interests of the membership, EAA needs to continue what they've done since the beginning; Show ways for people to get involved in aviation for less money. Inexpensive aircraft are all over the place, but rarely do they get much attention anymore. Yet, showing a wannabe aviator how to get into aviation affordably is probably the best thing any of us can do to keep aviation alive. The financial stumbling block in aviation is a huge issue for most every aviation wannabe I've run into. So featuring low cost aircraft alternatives in EVERY Sport Aviation magazine should be an automatic in my opinion. And of course the how-to-do-it-yourself information goes hand in hand with the low cost aviation mantra. So if EAA were to do that every month, I'm pretty sure the "grass roots" gang will be happy.

And to keep the rest of the membership happy, covering the variety of all the other aircraft articles would be great (maybe I could give up my Flying or Plane and Pilot?). And while I personally don't ever see myself owning a DC-7 or a Corsair, I can put up with articles on aircraft like that as long as those are the exception, and not the rule.

And heck, when I get to the back of the magazine and then find myself going back to the articles I initially passed over (like the DC-7...) I almost always learn something

Paul Seehafer
EAA 181597
Lake Amphib, Kitfox Floatplane, Kitfox Speedster project, Just Aircraft Highlander, and an Avid Flyer (or two)

[IVPleasure]

Size matters.

Since the size change I rarely even bother looking inside the magazine and it certaily does not fit on the shelf properly. Of those that say the size is OK I suspect it is more like "tolerate" it. Changing back to a standard size most likely wouldn't bother all those that "like" it now but would certainly please the rest of us. It would be interesting to know the real reason EAA decided to **** off so many of it's members. I suspect it all had to do with money.

The magazine should primarily focus on affordable flying.

Dave
Slow build Kitfox IV-1050 because that is what I can afford.

[av8rps]

Size matters.

Since the size change I rarely even bother looking inside the magazine and it certaily does not fit on the shelf properly. Of those that say the size is OK I suspect it is more like "tolerate" it. Changing back to a standard size most likely wouldn't bother all those that "like" it now but would certainly please the rest of us. It would be interesting to know the real reason EAA decided to **** off so many of it's members. I suspect it all had to do with money.

The magazine should primarily focus on affordable flying.

Dave
Slow build Kitfox IV-1050 because that is what I can afford.

While I generally agree with Dave that the magazine would fit in more places if it were smaller, I personally like the larger size. There is no question it holds more information, and it also feels like a much higher quality periodical with the larger size and the beautiful matte finish printing of the photos. Sure, when I'm done reading mine and I try to put it in the magazine holders that the rest of my Sport Aviations are in, it doesn't fit. So I line them up on my shelf like a book and it works just fine. And I always leave the latest copies out on the coffee table. It's a pretty classy periodical overall, and it generally gets picked up by people that visit.

So while I do think the magazine might be easier to store if smaller, I feel the quality improvement, along with the increased content allowed by the overall bigger size makes me feel like I am getting more for my membership money. And as much as I like my Kitplanes magazine (like many of you), I really feel that my EAA magazine just flat out makes Kitplanes look like a throwaway you buy at the bookstore.

And btw, because I save all of my aviation magazines, I've noticed over the years that many of the other magazines have actually gotten smaller . So when we say size matters, I'm more concerned with any of them making it smaller, not bigger. I want all the content I can get.

And as we discussed previously, the content is still the most important aspect of Sport Aviation. But I can see where members may be torn over the size. My vote would be to keep focusing on the content and keep the size the same.

And for all those that think online content will replace the magazine eventually, I personally hope to never see that day. Yeah, I read and enjoy many on line magazines and info like many of you. But I still really enjoy getting magazines in the mail that I can read without having to sit at a computer screen. I just find that premium and can't imagine having to give that up in favor of everything on-line. Newspapers believed radios would put them out of business, but it never happened. And radio thought television would put them out of business, but that never happened. And the internet was thought to put all of them out of business, but that hasn't happened either. So I applaud EAA for recognizing the importance of their magazine, and Chad Jensen for having the interest and courage to ask all of us what we think.

But hey, can someone do something about my "General Aviation News"? Yeah, I know it is supposed to be like a newspaper, but that one is absolutely impossible to make fit anywhere

[Chad Jensen]

Glad to see this thread still has life in it. The people that need to read it are reading it.

[Av8r3400]

Also glad to see you are still watching it, Chad.