FLYPAST 25 YEARS!!

I’ve got about 15 years worth of FP in binders, but stopped buying it some years ago now; what with an (at the time) vast shift into covering (it seemed) ruddy Canberra’s every single month, and a whole editorial style that I didn’t like much anymore (Ken Delve, I think) I just lost interest in it. Couple that with the advent of the internet, and there would have to be a VERY good article in it to make me want to buy it anymore. The news was always my favourite part of it, and the net just makes that all but utterly redundant.

I’ll still pick it up every now and then for a quick browse in Smiths, and I might actually buy an issue- perhaps one every two years or so! (Particularly if there’s a good Lancaster article, of course)

I forgot that at first Flypast only came out every two months, I’ve still got every copy from day one, except one, it was an edition from about 15 years ago featuring the Sandringham on the cover, it must have contained an article about Halifax’s as I gave it to my ex wifes uncle who was a flight engineer on them and is still involved with Elvington. By coincidence this months edition features an article about the B-17 jammers in which he flew quite a few missions.

Now if anyone still has that particular edition that I’m missing……………. and is about to put it in the recycle bag…………..well I would be interested.

‘Flypast’ progenitor.

Well it was launched originally by Mike Twite as ‘Classic Aircraft’, a WHSmith Publication, but by the second edition, or re-launch, it was ‘Flypast’ under the same editorship but now put out by Key.

I always felt that ‘Flypast’, was fathered by ‘Control Column’, a private subscription magazine, and the best available through the late 1960’s and 1970’s, dedicated solely to vintage aviation world-wide. Many amateur aviation journalists cut their teeth here.

… and yes I think they pinched the ‘Flypast’ name from Merseyside.

Mark

Yes, happy birthday.

It must have been explained many times before but what, if any, is the link between the Flypast we know and love and the Flypast of the Merseyside Aviation Society to which I subscribed when at Liverpool University in the early 1970’s?

It sure has come a long way. The first one had a kind of tabloid feel, using a rather large font. It certainly seemed pretty racy compared to Aeroplane Monthly.

In the first year they had some paintings, rather than photographs on the front cover, and one of the early issues did not even have an aircraft on the cover, but instead a very grainy shot of a Kamikaze pilot.

I cannot remember if the editor was K.E or the late Mike Twite.

As far as I am concerned, the best thing they ever did was host the forum.

I still have the 2nd magasine in my collection.

nostalgia

I have still got a full run of the first thirty or so AA mag cos I helped with contributions so will be keeping them however I am willing to let my Control Columns go just drop me your email and I can work out postage etc.