The MA mag for joining AMA
#26
Banned
My Feedback: (8)
No one but you said anything about raising salaries. If cash is tight for the AMA then they should (like other reputable businesses ) look for ways to cut costs; like cuts in salaries, benefits , etc..or the high costs of printing a magazine that is 3/4 advertisements.....not keep raising membership dues.
Please show me the stats where an overwhelming number of members still want this outdated magazine.
Please show me the stats where an overwhelming number of members still want this outdated magazine.
As for stats, I don't have any hard and fast stats just as you don't have any to back up that money is misappropriated or that very few people sit down and read the mag. It's an assumption, right or wrong, on our part. What I think though is that if nobody is reading this, and it's that expensive to produce, it would have been gone long ago. What business would keep tossing money at something that nobody is looking at (wait..how long was Windows Vista sold?). I've got to think there is sufficient demand there. As a stand alone mag $5.95 it sure beats other similar type of mags out there no?
Fair enough. My thoughts will always be; who wants this rag anyway now-a-days ? The last estate sale I went to there was a decades old collection of modeling magazines floor to ceiling in cabinets 30' long. Magazines that were chock-full of kit , scratch builds, plans, etc... Guess what?.......Nobody wanted them ...couldn't give them away. Yes maybe a few folks wanted one or two editions to complete a collection but not worth it. It's a waste of money and resources to keep printing it....make it electronic and lower the dues!
I took a look through the last copy of MA, Decembers. I didn't see 3/4 of the mag being devoted to ads, the opposite actually. 160 pages, and of that 52 were all ads. The rest was copy, with some ads as well. And might I mention, lots of ads some mom and pop/one man US based hobby operations too!
Articles on the ARUP (bizzare and cool as hell), Focal Point (my fav section,,,geeky centerfold), old timer antigue planes (SAM), RC Giant story, a profile on slope soarer/builder Michael Richter, free flight article to name a few. I dunno, I think that's pretty comprehensive. And the district info too, always cool to see what other groups are doing.
It's not a mag for everyone, or the person looking for one facet of the hobby I guess. I think it has to be as much as possible for everyone, so there are hard choices to make. Kinda like making a perfectly bland turkey hoggie appeal to everyone.
#27
Banned
My Feedback: (8)
Honestly I don't know how much lower a membership could be to make any difference. AMA membership equals the cost of 6 mags at retail price. Drop it to 25, 20? I think it's a bargain at 29
#30
Join Date: Sep 2006
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I'd rather read the National Enquirer or any other trashy tabloid than to waste my time reading anything written in the MA magazine.
Model Aviation should just put a caption above each article that reads, "The manufacturer told us what to write and paid us a lot of money for this ... It's not an article about this plane, it's a paid advertisement."
MA should also describe themselves as pure fiction, or science fiction.
On the rare occasion of an actual article that is not about a new product, MA merely writes a revamped version of an earlier article, or a complete re-posting of an article that is a year or two old. They must have a very short attention span (ADHD). MA has beaten the "downwind turn" subject to death more times than the subject has appeared on RCU. Now that's bad!!!!!!
When MA arrives in my mailbox, it goes straight into the trash can. Never makes it into the house. It's not even worth putting it into the recycle bin.
Model Aviation should just put a caption above each article that reads, "The manufacturer told us what to write and paid us a lot of money for this ... It's not an article about this plane, it's a paid advertisement."
MA should also describe themselves as pure fiction, or science fiction.
On the rare occasion of an actual article that is not about a new product, MA merely writes a revamped version of an earlier article, or a complete re-posting of an article that is a year or two old. They must have a very short attention span (ADHD). MA has beaten the "downwind turn" subject to death more times than the subject has appeared on RCU. Now that's bad!!!!!!
When MA arrives in my mailbox, it goes straight into the trash can. Never makes it into the house. It's not even worth putting it into the recycle bin.
Note sure what magazine you are reading??? I don't see any of the "manufacturer told us what to write" that you refer to. In fact, every review has a Pluses and Minuses section and I have never seen a review that didn't have at lease one minus. Most have at least two or three. With the discontinuation of RC Report, all of the other commercial magazines only refer to the positives in their reviews.
You write that that it is rare for them to have an article on something other than a new product... if someone wants to have a critique of MA, it could be that there are not enough reviews of new products. Usually they have just one or two per issue. The majority of the articles are from SIG's, explaining what's new, what's developing, how to's, and so on in their areas. I might have missed the article on the "downwind turn" so maybe there was one, but I've never seen the plethora of articles on that subject that you refer to.
Like someone else said, you send yours right to the trash and don't read it, so on what are you basing your critique?
Lars
#31
Banned
My Feedback: (8)
Hey Bobby,
Note sure what magazine you are reading??? I don't see any of the "manufacturer told us what to write" that you refer to. In fact, every review has a Pluses and Minuses section and I have never seen a review that didn't have at lease one minus. Most have at least two or three. With the discontinuation of RC Report, all of the other commercial magazines only refer to the positives in their reviews.
You write that that it is rare for them to have an article on something other than a new product... if someone wants to have a critique of MA, it could be that there are not enough reviews of new products. Usually they have just one or two per issue. The majority of the articles are from SIG's, explaining what's new, what's developing, how to's, and so on in their areas. I might have missed the article on the "downwind turn" so maybe there was one, but I've never seen the plethora of articles on that subject that you refer to.
Like someone else said, you send yours right to the trash and don't read it, so on what are you basing your critique?
Lars
Note sure what magazine you are reading??? I don't see any of the "manufacturer told us what to write" that you refer to. In fact, every review has a Pluses and Minuses section and I have never seen a review that didn't have at lease one minus. Most have at least two or three. With the discontinuation of RC Report, all of the other commercial magazines only refer to the positives in their reviews.
You write that that it is rare for them to have an article on something other than a new product... if someone wants to have a critique of MA, it could be that there are not enough reviews of new products. Usually they have just one or two per issue. The majority of the articles are from SIG's, explaining what's new, what's developing, how to's, and so on in their areas. I might have missed the article on the "downwind turn" so maybe there was one, but I've never seen the plethora of articles on that subject that you refer to.
Like someone else said, you send yours right to the trash and don't read it, so on what are you basing your critique?
Lars
No alternative publication was named either. Hmm?
#39
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Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: Los Angeles,
CA
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I really enjoy reading the Model Aviation magazine. The best articles for me are the coverage of model airplane World Championships which M.A. covers since day one. To the best of my knowledge, only M.A. has full coverage of these great events since the report is usually written by the team manager or a team member.
#41
Senior Member
My Feedback: (3)
Ever since the very beginning of model aviation, women have shown virtually ZERO interest in building model airplanes.
Every generation of men [since "Super Glue" and Monokote arrived on the scene] has displayed the effeminate trend towards no interest in building either.
Every generation of men [since "Super Glue" and Monokote arrived on the scene] has displayed the effeminate trend towards no interest in building either.
#42
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Join Date: Dec 2001
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Ever since the very beginning of model aviation, women have shown virtually ZERO interest in building model airplanes.
Every generation of men [since "Super Glue" and Monokote arrived on the scene] has displayed the effeminate trend towards no interest in building either.
Every generation of men [since "Super Glue" and Monokote arrived on the scene] has displayed the effeminate trend towards no interest in building either.
#43
Banned
My Feedback: (8)
It's just to easy for some people to be negative, and paint everything in a negative, and more alarmingly, conspiratorial light. Sucks the fun out of the hobby when you meet those folks at the field, almost the same here.
#47
HIT THE DELETE BUTTON!!!!!!
#48
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Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: South Florida
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#49
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He's not reading MA, that's for sure. Either he is mistaken as to what mag he is reading, or his comments are not factually correct. After all, he said the mag doesn't even get to the house, it goes right into the trash.
No alternative publication was named either. Hmm?
No alternative publication was named either. Hmm?
I don't feel that I need to state that I read any alternative publication, whether I do or not. That has no bearing on my statement that MA is useless.
I agree that MA should be switched to an internet publication, but the good ol' boys in the AMA wouldn't go for that because they want to use the magazine as a revenue source for their own personal/financial gain.
#50
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Join Date: Dec 2001
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I am enjoying the option to take the print edition, the online edition, or both.
I very seldom ever read anything in the Model Aviation magazine, and it seemed to be a big waste of a tree to me, so I opted for the digital edition only.
It is nice to have the option of having access to the digital issue only, and saving $9.95 and part of a tree.
It seems as if most of you have no idea that a digital copy of MA is even available. The annual dues for AMA with the print and digital editions is $57.95, and the annual dues with the digital edition only is $48.00.
My interests are only in aerobatic and 3D at this time, so the magazine venue doesn't appeal to me. Magazines cover many aspects of the hobby that have absolutely no interest to me. I would much rather spend my RC reading time on the internet, looking up specific things that I have questions about. Digital information is easly accessed, and more timely.
I just logged onto the AMA site and looked at the most recent edition of MA, and noticed that I haven't even looked at an issue since April 2014. Saved me a few walks to the garbage can.
It was suggested that a person could donate issues of MA to the local library....I tried this, and they weren't interested, and didn't want the magazines. I contacted a local VA hospital to see if they would want my collection of old model magazines that dated back to the 60's, and they also weren't interested. Finally got rid of them to the landfill a few months back.
Greg
I very seldom ever read anything in the Model Aviation magazine, and it seemed to be a big waste of a tree to me, so I opted for the digital edition only.
It is nice to have the option of having access to the digital issue only, and saving $9.95 and part of a tree.
It seems as if most of you have no idea that a digital copy of MA is even available. The annual dues for AMA with the print and digital editions is $57.95, and the annual dues with the digital edition only is $48.00.
My interests are only in aerobatic and 3D at this time, so the magazine venue doesn't appeal to me. Magazines cover many aspects of the hobby that have absolutely no interest to me. I would much rather spend my RC reading time on the internet, looking up specific things that I have questions about. Digital information is easly accessed, and more timely.
I just logged onto the AMA site and looked at the most recent edition of MA, and noticed that I haven't even looked at an issue since April 2014. Saved me a few walks to the garbage can.
It was suggested that a person could donate issues of MA to the local library....I tried this, and they weren't interested, and didn't want the magazines. I contacted a local VA hospital to see if they would want my collection of old model magazines that dated back to the 60's, and they also weren't interested. Finally got rid of them to the landfill a few months back.
Greg
Last edited by OldRookie; 12-16-2014 at 08:04 AM.