Air Arsenal North America by Phil Butler and Dan Hagedorn.

Wonderful piece of research and really fascinating photographs.

In the past Aeroplane managed to achieve a unique balance between articles and photographs, civil and military, a reggie type content and good reviews and letters. Sadly lacking lately but looking back through issues of the 1980s and 1990s is a great model, but that’s looking back and maybe not the way the magazine is going to go. We can live in hope.

Definitely right about the number of train magazines. How on earth do they all survive in such an (over) crowded market ?

I’m sure you are right about trains.

Moggy :highly_amused:

I think it will be inevitable that Flypast and Aeroplane will in due course merge into one publication. We readers are powerless in the face of such marketing, circulation and economic decisions. We can threaten to stop buying a combined Flypast/ Aeroplane which is pretty like biting off your nose to spite your face as the saying goes. On a positive note and it’s a positive hope too – a combined magazine could be made into a first class publication combining the best of both magazines – the excellent news and photographic coverage of Flypast with the historical and technical content of Aeroplane. You can only hope for the best but there is an opportunity here to produce something of real quality.

Let ‘Aeroplane’ survive

As an Aeroplane Monthly reader since the very first issue I hope the magazine can survive as a separate publication from Flypast. They both cater for a different readership in my experience. Kelsey have not been the best of custodians of Aeroplane and under their ownership the magazine has very definitely gone downhill and its coverage has been far too orientated to the military side rather than retaining its previous balance. The preservation news is much the same and has missed so much. Take a look through back issues of the 1980s and 1990s and compare with the magazine of today – it is a pale shadow.

Interesting basing strategy the RAF envisaged for its F-111Ks involving the “Island Bases” in the Indian Ocean (Diego Garcia and Aldabra) and also Darwin. Obviously to cover for reduced aircraft carrier presence East of Suez but in recent years the US has proved how sound the basic British thinking was. Apparently Vulcans were also to play a part in the Island Bases strategy and one would presume Nimrods too. The Aldabra base did not proceed due to the presence of giant turtles.

South Africa was very interested in buying Nimrods back in the late 1960s and 1970s but any possible deal ran up against the UN arms embargo.

The MoD should have stepped in and bought the 13 Dutch Navy P-3C Orions when they were up for sale. Problem solved at minimum cost but minimum and cost are two words not known within the MoD.