ssautter

My local public library subscribes to Model Airplane News (MAN).
I read an article about the use of FPV systems for law enforcement, about two months ago.

The current MAN issue includes a Buyer' Guide, and I was rather dissappointed to see Horizon Hobby and HobbyKing products, but NO Hobbico products.
In other words: Model Airplane News and Air Age Inc. are biased towards some distributors and not others. I stopped shopping at my LHS for the same reason!

I do, however, read the AMA's Model Aviation publication on a regular basis, because the contest directory includes regional events for me to attend.
The sanctioned events, in any region, are difficult to keep-up with, without a database to refer to. So, I enjoy a few different model classes and the people that fly and race them.

Happy flying....

Truckracer

My Feedback: (19)

I think if you knew me, you'd find me anything but a FOG. I view a thread such as this as just a reality check of the current staus quo of our hobby. It what it is. If it wasn't about to rain (again) I'd just go flying and wouldn't be on this thread.

jfuller

My Feedback: (8)

Don't be too hard on your LHS. Both GP and Horizon have difficult to reach monthly $$ purchase requirements. It is next to impossible to buy from both unless you have a very large shop.

Jamesf

vicman

My Feedback: (10)

I think it's just the plane community. Take a look at the car and heli guys. They got hot babes galore! Heck even at their events they have pit queens and trophy girls. [X(]

Scrubmonkey

ive found that more and more magazines have plans and build articles now. there are about 3 or 4 on the rack in the newsagents with them in now

N1EDM

My Feedback: (2)

Wellss,

This may not be Sept 1987 but it is certainly June 1986. Will this work for you? Pardon me for being "Politically Incorrect"

I'm still looking for the April 1987 issue...

Bob

vicman

My Feedback: (10)

I think I dated the one in pink[X(]

aeronca52

I only subscribe to Flying Models. That said some friends give me their old MA's which I read but I feel like I'm looking at my first reading primer, ie See Dick, See Jane, see Spot run, etc.

Most of my reading consists of current and old Flying Models and those mags in my collection, like Model Builder, Air Trails, American Modeller, and pre 1975 MAN's.

N1EDM

My Feedback: (2)

You said September 1987, right???

You were interested in the color scheme on that Christen Eagle that was displayed on the cover, right???

Bob

P-39 fan

As a scale modeler from the late 60's, I tend to agree that the older magazines were much more informative and were a real joy to read from cover to cover. Some times 2 or 3 times! The latest group of model magazines seem to be more for advertising ARF's than any interesting articles that are useful. Seems like I can get through a model magazine in 10 minutes and see no need to pick it up again. I used to subscribe to 2 or 3 magazines years ago, I don't subscribe to any now.

[email protected]

My Feedback: (1)

april 1987 has e women holding each a balusa usa enforcer on the front> iam looking at mine right now

N1EDM

My Feedback: (2)

Oneaew, if I have that issue, I'll get it up here. Not sure if I remember that one or not. I'm not entirely certain that I have that issue, but I'll look.

Bob

RichardGee

My Feedback: (156)

VERY GLAD I had no issues of Scale RC Modeler in my collection....as 12 year old, I never would have gotten past the covers...or out of the bathroom

WOW!!

vicman

My Feedback: (10)

LOL, I'm thinking oneaew was typing with one hand there.[X(]

[email protected]

My Feedback: (1)

i was lol

husafreak

My Feedback: (3)

I agree that most modern magazines are just sales tools for ARF's but I don't think it's done for profit. It is just what passes for the hobby these days. I don't like those magazines. I do like the British magazines for examples of great craftsmanship and writing. But I recently bought a turbine jet model and then someone left a stack of old Jet International (British) mags from 2002 to 2006 in our clubhouse and it is amazing how much I have learned about jets and turbine systems from reading those. I was fortunate to find them.

Bozarth

My Feedback: (15)

Model magazines cannot keep up with each one of you through the years. They have to appeal to the newer hobbyists. After 4 or 5 years in the hobby, you will find little value in the articles. After that, the honeymoon is over.

husafreak is enjoying a new honeymoon with the British mags, but that too will pass.

Kurt
former MA columnist

CafeenMan

I read RCM for nearly 20 years and I was still learning from it.

Hemikiller

My Feedback: (125)

Agreed there, RCM was very much a technical magazine. With the likes of Peter Chinn, Clarence Lee and a host of others that I can't remember, I was always learning something from that magazine. FM was pretty good too, as many of the staff worked at Grumman as their day jobs. I still remember pictures of them test flying planes at the facility.I think that the quality of the articles has also dropped due to backgrounds of the writers. You're going to have a better, more in-depth article from an engineer - turned - writer, than the other way around. I can't tell you the of some of the complete trash I've read over the years, wondering how on earth the article got published.

You do outgrow magazines when you attain a certain level of experience. As Bozarth noted, the mags cater to the casual average Joe that isn't going to be doing much more than assembling an ARF, or the new guy looking to get into the hobby. It's the same with the other hobbies I have, car magazines really aren't much different - bolt on this, review that, a couple car features. It all becomes fluff when you've got a lot of experience under your belt, and that's not hte magaizines fault.

CafeenMan

Ken Willard was my model airplane hero and still is. He always had something offbeat going and they were good model airplanes.

Quikturn

My Feedback: (12)

The bottom line is that the older magazines were more technical. I guess you can say that it spoke to a higher level audience. Today's magazine articles are simply dumbed down. You just need to compare todays magazines with those from the 80's and earlier to see that. This is not only true in RC but in other fields as well.

sonsight

My Feedback: (1)

I quit buying them a few years ago. Just too many "reviews" where the model was built perfectly, the model flew perfectly, etc. At least with R/C Report Gordon wasn't afraid to tell the truth!
Jake

aircraftbuilder67

My Feedback: (6)

As someone who was away from the hobby for a while, I was hoping that some of the content of the current magazines would have some informative articles with real substance. A lot of things have improved during my hiatus..... magazine content is NOT one of them. I built from kits in the 80s and that's what I came back to recently. I feel like I missed out on so much from the heyday, I wanted to make up for lost time. I was hoping to find building articles, flying tips, engine tips, etc. Not too much published recently on this stuff. To really show how much I missed out on, I wanted to cover the Astro Hog Bipe I am currently buildingwith fabric and dope. Without these forums and belonging to a really great club, I'd never get any information in the mags. Even in the world of ARFs and the trend to bigger, it would be nice to have some technical articles on wiring, batteries, gas enginesand electronics. Anyway, I rant with the rest of the posters on my continued dissapointment with the "content" these days.

LesUyeda

The publishers will only publish what will sell. If that is only dumbed down, that is what you get.

Les

RichardGee

My Feedback: (156)

RCM was the last of the “big” RC magazines with credibility… Big is Beautiful, Dick Phillips; (Chuck) Cunningham on RC; For What It’s Worth… these were columns that helped us all successfully CREATE miniature flying model aircraft.
How technical can today’s magazines be?

“Slide perfectly built and finished wing halves onto carbon fiber wing spar. Tighten nuts. Bind your Tx to pre-installed Rx. Charge batteries; flip switch; FLY… If you crash, look for nearby garbage can since you are clueless on building or repairing model aircraft… proceed to hobbyshop and purchase another…”

Sorry to sound so cynical, but this “new crop o’ RCer” isn’t far from what I just described.
Yes, the new magazines DO cater mostly to this new breed, which is why those of us who’ve been active in the hobby for more than 10 years find very little of interest in today’s modeling publications.[]