FlyPast/ Aeroplane Monthly running the same cover !

Spooky!

My history is similar – never a Flypast (FP) reader, AE Quarterly (AEQ) died, I gave up on Air International (AI) a few years ago when it became (IMO) a ‘trade mag’ monthly equivalent to Flight, and now AM and FP are in the same stable – it remains to be seen what happens to both titles. I’ll review when my sub to AM expires.

In the meantime I have decamped to ‘The Aviation Historian’, run by a former editor of AM, as a replacement for AEQ

But I do wish something like the old ‘AI’ – paper and/or electronic – with a mix of historic and current could be revived. The railway mags can do that – why not aviation?

Ref: AE/AI. As a sign of the different times, there was also in those days constraint on the amount of advertising compared to its modern counterpart, where now up to a third of the content is direct advertising (plus an indeterminate amount of indirect advertising through “special features ” etc.)
As a P.S.
Looking at the incident at O.W. on Sunday and the interest in the Sopwith Triplane.
I’m open to correction, but I cannot find a single dedicated type article of any depth with drawings and history, of the original Sopwith Triplane aircraft in any Fly Past, Air International (or Enthusiast ) or, for that matter Aeroplane Monthly, in any issue from the start of their respective publications, notwithstanding the ‘Fighter A-Z” precis series over the years in AE/AI.

Air International’s first issue (as Air Enthusiast in 1971 ) I bought and then subscribed to for some 43 years following its proclamation of being “a monthly journal for people having an interest in aircraft in particular and aviation in general, and is unashamedly concerned with aviation history”. A cause now long gone with nothing that cannot now be found on internet fora regarding modern aviation.

I publication I dearly miss. I’ve kept several old issues and have one of their bound annuals I found at a used book sale somewhere. It’s fun to go back and see articles highlighting new types like the F-16 and Hawk.
As you point out, AE/AI had history pieces plus month updates of current civil and military sales and developments. Truly an “all in one” publication.
Its modern military features were written by the likes of John Fricker and Roy Braybrook…making it a mini “Aviation Week” or “Flight International“, and it even a modeling section with colour profiles and kit reviews.

I’d subscribe today if it were still around.

Aeroplane magazine used to have a forum, but it was never very active and, ultimately, became moribund. I presume that it was at that point that the magazine’s publishers pulled it. Maybe it proved that there wasn’t sufficient demand for two broadly similar general aviation history forums. Let’s hope that history does not repeat itself in the context of general aviation history magazines.

I have to observe the ‘Aeroplane’ design layout has taken a ghastly tabloid turn in recent months, with beautiful shots bleeding into the text, and absolute mish -mash of colours and styles. No doubt someone has decided it must have more ‘yoof’ appeal ( as if !) . I hope someone can rescue it soon. Sadly, they do not host their own forum on which to have any discussion.

In your opinion. I find the Aeroplane layout really clear and easy to read. I think Flypast is improving, it was always a dreadful layout, and if anything is heading towards an Aeroplane style layout.

After having subscribed to FlyPast , Air International ,including AE Quarterly (and incidentally Aeroplane Monthly over the road ) since their first issues , all of which I have indexed and hold – this year I am letting all of my subscriptions lapse to these periodicals.
I am aware of the pressures of running such magazines financially and I wish all their hard working staffs well.
I guess that I just don’t fit the target readership audience anymore these days,finding the content increasingly superficial and somewhat monotonous. The editorial differences between Flypast and Aeroplane have now eroded so much that they are now clones with little to choose between them. Endless articles about Spitfires tend to lose their attraction for me after many years of saturation, with so many manufacturers, (let alone types) not covered by any of these publications in their existences so far.
Air International’s first issue (as Air Enthusiast in 1971 ) I bought and then subscribed to for some 43 years following its proclamation of being “a monthly journal for people having an interest in aircraft in particular and aviation in general, and is unashamedly concerned with aviation history”. A cause now long gone with nothing that cannot now be found on internet fora regarding modern aviation.
It was Air International’s 500th issue some months ago. An event of no apparent significance to the current management.( I did have the temerity to point the event out, albeit, perhaps understandably, eliciting no acknowledgement or other response)

So now, regrettably,
So long, farewell and good luck for the future.

I predict the cover shot will be two Lancasters flying over the East Kirkby Lancaster( now that is going to be very busy at ground level)

To be expected…it’s the “biggest” warbird news story out there at the present time.

We shouldn’t be surprised to see both Lancasters together on the cover of both Aeroplane and Flypast at the same time in the near future.

As usual Gavin your pictures were excellent and eyecatching,unless you have tried air to air it is hard to convey the tricky challenges to be overcome and half of those challenges happen before you even get in the air !

I took the photos and they are different.
As Dave said I supplied several different images to each but they went for the same idea.
I did try my best to avoid it, as Dave also said it was a quick flight and that kind of image best suited the needs for each magazine and despite my best efforts it happened, the images were not identical as supplying the same image to two magazines is pretty dumb and is something I would never do.

The Mossie was such a popular aeroplane and the magazine deadlines clashed and no one wanted to wait until the second flight.

However being a photographer from a little country like New Zealand I was quite proud to have two covers at the same time, yes the images are close but both editors were happy as I asked them afterwards and to them the stories within were as important.

We used a T-28 as camera plane, had the aircraft on the left and right sides with left and right hand orbits and submitted images of both but they went for the same thing.

I’ve never had problems with Key..because of currency exchange issues I have them extend my subscription.
Just like dosh in the bank…:D

I don’t send photos in to any of the UK magazines. Any of mine that have been published in the past have been requested by the editors.

Aeroplane published one of my photos under a different name, and I never got paid. Flypast gave me hassle over payment. They wanted to do it electronically I wanted a cheque and I’m still waiting for payment from Classic-Aircraft, or what ever they call it now this month, for photos published earlier this year. Their loss not mine.

The only magazine I do supply photos for now is published on the other side of the world. 😀

Brian

Like David I’ve never had a problem with Key – very simple, especially now it’s all done via an electronic transfer. 🙂

Likewise with the other title, where things have ‘improved’ with the new publisher!

Really ? Over the years I have never had a problem with a single payment from Key . All arrive at the time i expect them. I should contact them with your concerns.

Both mags are dreadful at paying up, that’s for sure.

No reply?….. surprise surprise. A few years ago i sent in some photos taken by my father for them to use in their magazine, and sent them by recorded delivery. They were received and signed for, but i never received them back nor did i get any reply to my many phone calls, emails, messages etc.

Very poor show and a painful lesson learnt as regard that magazine!!!! 😡

Rob

I have to observe the ‘Aeroplane’ design layout has taken a ghastly tabloid turn in recent months, with beautiful shots bleeding into the text, and absolute mish -mash of colours and styles. No doubt someone has decided it must have more ‘yoof’ appeal ( as if !) . I hope someone can rescue it soon. Sadly, they do not host their own forum on which to have any discussion.

I couldn’t agree more. Also, have you noticed how they now refer to things like “four-engine aircraft” instead of “four-engined”? I wrote to them about this and other things and asked if there were any plans to rename the magazine “Airplane”, but, of course, I had no reply!
Jim

In an ideal world, probably a flying mag would be landscape format, thus allowing use of uncropped photos on the front cover.

In portrait, cropping will always be of the nose/cockpit area of the aeroplane, and so if the formation is essentially one long left-hand orbit, in essence you will end up with one shot. A tandem seat camera-ship is better, as you can shoot port and starboard.

I have to observe the ‘Aeroplane’ design layout has taken a ghastly tabloid turn in recent months, with beautiful shots bleeding into the text, and absolute mish -mash of colours and styles. No doubt someone has decided it must have more ‘yoof’ appeal ( as if !) . I hope someone can rescue it soon. Sadly, they do not host their own forum on which to have any discussion.

No harm done, may even attract non enthusiasts to buy a copy. Good for magazine circulation, good for sparking interest in historic types, good for the Mosquito cause. Lets hope the recent flight is the catalyst to get more warbird operators who read about and see her make this type top of their wanted list. A flyer has been completed, sceptics proved wrong, learning curves taken and understood, looking forward to seeing another duplication on the book shelves!

Flightpath and Aeroplane are a closer pair than Flypast with either.
It’s clear from the shadows that each photo was taken at least on a different pass. I don’t know if they were different flights.

http://cap-photography.blogspot.co.nz/2012/11/latest-cover.html

Also, some background on the ‘convertible’ Trojan used for at least one photo flight (which I’d already posted on the ‘Mossie helmet camera’ thread.)
http://rnzaf.proboards.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=photography&thread=17279&page=1

Thanks!

Quite a show!