Flypast Magazine

Last year a friend gave me several dozen copies of FlyPast from the early years – there are plenty of quizzes and similar competitions in there!

The Farnborough airshow is, and has always been, primarily a trade event. 

Totally agree avion ancien and not only the ones with the paper qualifications but the ones hiring as well. Experience in life and the real world should still count, but that is the sad state of things I am afraid.

We live in a world in which many think that if they graduate with a MBA today, they are fully equipped to run every organisation in the world tomorrow. It’s a world in which focussed experience frequently counts for little and paper qualifications are king!

Just like the plank at Duxford that abolished Friends of Duxford and I understand is now hellbent on ruining Old Warden.

It reminds me a bit of Farnborough Air Show.  A new team ‘inherited’ the running of the event, but within their ranks was very little experience or understanding of air displays, or particularly what public/enthusiasts wanted. They declined advise and external input,  charged (£) like a wounded rhino, and in a short period of time had so debased the ‘brand’ that the negative press was quite overwhelming, and the jig was up- no more public displays.

Vacuous marketing, ignorance of their subject and core audience, and changes for the sake of change killed something greatly cherished by many. 

A depressingly common scenario.  

I’m also a reader and hoarder of back issues since Issue 1 – and the single Classic Aircraft predecessor – initially from newsagents but a subscriber for around 30 years at an educated guess.

The magazine’s often been quite difficult to read at times in recent years, as an old fart, due to the habit they had of printing in white over a full page dark picture. That was what first triggered my thoughts of cancelling the subscription.

Now they’ve gone the opposite way with acres of wasted white space, and less content.

No doubt if I bothered to complain I’d get the usual “clean, modern” guff that’s been used as an excuse on innumerable websites in the last few years – this forum for example.

If anybody even only thinks “clean and modern” they should be sacked immediately.

Facebook isn’t an option for me as I don’t and won’t use any social media.

As a reader (and hoarder of back issues) since Issue 1, I didn’t renew my subscription when it ran out a few months ago.

Says it all really….

… but I dont suppose anybody at Key is bothered. I’m not their target audience any more. How did something which was so good get so bad? Is it the Key’s use of “generic” editorial staff rather than people who actually have an interest in the subject and know what they’re talking about. It is not just the aviation titles where this race to the bottom has happened.

I agree lads, it is not the same as it used to be and you can get more news on facebook and up to date.. Shame really I cant complain as I dont pay for it but it is getting to the point that it is not worth it.. lots of restorations ongoing at the moment and recoveries but never hear owt in the magazine

Funny you should say that dhfan, I have been contemplating doing the same with my subscription.

I think it’s time to cancel my subscription, which I’ve been threatening to do for the last few years anyway.

I’m 70, not 7 years old.

Yes I feel that they have lost direction, with the likes of quizzes and top ten aircraft and such stuff.

Yes I can see it will appeal to a wider audience but at the same time it loses it’s way as a specialist type mag. The latest issue is a prime example of how bad it has got, I was very disappointed with it.

It would be a good thing for the new team to read some of the eighties through to nineties issues to get a feel of what made it a great magazine back then and try to emulate that, not turn it into a glossy type of offering that gets binned after reading because it is so shallow that nobody wants to keep it.

Quality before quantity.

I wrote to the editor in January after the First edition dropped on my mat Reader since 1st Edition and was apalled as to how the magazine had been butchered. The
The sales pitch for FlyPast is

Every issue of FlyPast magazine is also packed with:

• Global comprehensive and authoritative news on aviation history and heritage.
• In-depth features and specials profiling aircraft, manufacturers, air forces and countries.
• Regular readers’ favourites – ‘Men behind the medals’, ‘We salute you – in memory’ and ‘From the workshop’.
• First person aircrew memories.
• Museum collections, restoration projects and warbird preservation.
• Airshow news and reviews.
• All the latest events and happenings from around the world.
• Product reviews.

I was disturbed to see We Salute you squeezed into a forgotten strip and 2 full pages dedicated to a  Childish Quiz also a Photo competition appeared and the crowning glory was the Airshow Camera review . 
I told him I read Flypast as I want to be informed about Aviation History and to keep up with aircraft conservation. I pointed out the We Salute you needs to be given respect but all has fallen on deaf ears I’m afraid 

I got suspcious back in October 2021 when my wife said she had seen on facebook a young girl in Peterborough had applied for Flypast deputy editor job, didn’t know anything about aircraft and was asking for back copies of Flypast and Aeroplane Monthly which I offered, arranged collection but she never came to collect, didn’t even bother to tell us as she got the job !!.

The editor tells me he and the ‘New Team’ are looking to change the direction of the magazine to broaden its appeal. And since that point it has slowly started to get back to normal, but for me this is a crying shame, and I have now switched to Aeroplane monthly.
 

I dont suppose $99UD dollars is a lot more than we pay on a yearly basis, Mr Google says it equals £73.  12 copies at the current price of £5.49 is £66 give or take a penny or two so not that much dearer. Lets face it the Yanks seem to have more money to play with then we poor UK citizens

Yes I understand that there wouldn’t be enough for a monthly mag Prop Strike, but there could be something more in-depth and technical about the restorations than the Spitfire specials, they are only a glossy extra in my opinion. I don’t know if it would work though as I can appreciate that there would have to be a demand for it to be commercially viable.

Just out of curiosity I clicked around to find the US price for Flypast – $99 USD for a year. Ummm … no.

FlyPast have done Spitfire ‘special editions’ in the past, quite a few actually.  However, I don’t think there is enough content to support 12 issues a year. Probably one a year would be the most you could reasonably fill.

Now there’s an idea airfield, there would probably be sufficient interest for a stand alone magazine about Spitfires so long as it is about rebuilds and current stuff that is going on with them not rehashed history.

I too was shocked when I saw the new format, it just doesn’t work. I realise they have to cater foe readers al over the globe and report news from afar but there is an active preservation movement in the UK that deserves more in depth reporting. The preservation movement started way back in the 60s, why not go back to those days with some photos and reports, lets face it that’s how it all began and that’s how Flypast came onto the bookshelves.

On another point despite the Spitfire being the most iconic aeroplane  ever there does seem to be an idea that photo shots and stories  month after month surrounding the many Spitfire rebuilds is what we we want. The various stories and histories are great but do we have to open the magazine each month and see yet another Spitfire taking to the air with air to air shots. Surely a one of magazine devoted to that subject would be more appealing to those with that particular interest?

I’m shocked….. Key actually seem to have finally listened to their consumers and have reinstated the news pages section within the magazine,