Sharpy01

My Feedback: (12)

...I picked up a new FlyRC today and although it is one flashy mag, I was quickly putting it back on the shelf.

I know the ARFs are getting better and in wider variety, (I even have one sitting in a box), but arf review after arf review .....? I find there are very few times that I'm actually purchasing them anymore.

Essentially, I always look to see what plan project is in the mag to determine if I'm buying it. I always gravitated to RCM's plans for whatever reason, but it would seem that they are in trouble now.

I know it's market driven and don't expect them to change.............just a statement that I'm sorry to see less and less in the way of unique stuff available to read about and possibly build some day.

........and a sidenote:
Vmar stuff just looks bad no matter how many times they are reviewed..

jhelps

I used to subscribe to Model Aviation news and pick up RCM every once in a while, however they are now so full of ads and ARF reviews that I let my subscription lapse and rarely pick one up at the news stand.

JH

Jim_McIntyre

Sigh ... same here. I let a lot of my subscriptions lapse some years ago, I've been reading magazines from the UK mostly, magazines with something interesting to read other than "20 minutes from the box to the air, only required 2 clicks of right and a click of down". Magazines like Scale Aviation Modeller ... but even these are drying up, in fact, even SAM is gone.

Welcome to the new "hobby", instant gratification ... you want fries with that?[:@][:'(]

On a positive note, the new Canadian magazine [link=http://www.rccanada.ca/mag/index.php]FRCC/DRCC[/link] shows some promise.

ccrebidoux

My Feedback: (3)

RIGHT??? Ah shoot, I thought it was left. Maybe that's why I fly so crooked!! Same trim setting for all arf's isn't it?? (at least according to ALL the reveiws)

Chris

Jim_McIntyre

Of course it's right, we all know you correct P factor with aileron.

donkey doctor

Hello; I like the English magazine "RCM and E" they usually include a set of plans in every issue, and they have something for everyone in every issue. I used to like RCM too, they had a nice blend while Don Dewey was there. I do agree that it seems like it's one ARF after another. I get Fly RC in the mail (a gift subscription) but I don't think I would buy it otherwise. A few of the other english mags appeal to me; AMI (aviation modeller international) and Scale modeller. They seem to have more building features then the domestic mags.

vicman

My Feedback: (10)

RCM&E first and RC Model World second. They are a little spendy over here but the plans and candid writing style are a beam of light in the box every month.

Sharpy01

My Feedback: (12)

Those are the two I look for the most...........when possible. Up in the sticks here, the only opportunity to get them is when you find you way to a chapters, which isn't that often.

RCM&E I favour. I love plans and any mag that puts them in their mag is ok with me. not to mention the massive difference in advertising. (It doesn't remind you of an RC cosompolitan where you takes you 20 pages of flippin to read a 1 and a half page article.

................what is a subscription worth to get it to Canada anyway?

vicman

My Feedback: (10)

I can't tell you about Canada but they are around 70 loonies down here. The price changes with the exchange rate. Contact
Traplett publishing and Wise Owl publications for subs.

Jim_McIntyre

I'm heading out for a week retreat at a resort and picked up a copy of Flying Scale Models that I have a few moments to browse while waiting for the wife to pack.
This issue comes with plans for a Corben Super Ace and a BUHL 'Air Sedan'. Great articles on making scale louvres from lithoplate and many 3-views and part 9a of Practical design for wing and tail structures. The section on cantilever wing spar design is easy to comprehend and especially interesting where built up designs are contrasted with typical foam wing failures.

Superb magazine![sm=thumbup.gif]

Sharpy01

My Feedback: (12)

Not sure I have even seen Flying Scale Models before. I'll look for it next week when I'm in the city.

MJD

My Feedback: (1)

RCM&E is about the most interesting to me. RC Flyer I find tolerable but I don't re-read it much which is a clue to substance. I bought two Backyard Flyer magazines (as that is one of my interests) and thought they were a waste of time and money.

What really rubs me, apart from the ads and ARF reviews we all dislike already, is the sensationalism that prevails these days in these mags.

"Breakthrough Receiver Technology - Grab those Signals!" or the like, and you open it up and find a catalog of off-the-shelf receivers.

"Nitro Power Demon! XYZ .46 review!" Oh look, it turns a 10-6 the same rpm as most other economy sport .46 engines, and has a couple of niggling flaws to boot.

And ohmygosh, the product reviews where people have to fix defects or instruction errors, or have to send to the factory/distributor for missing or replacement parts, or where the reviewer simply can't build the model box stock as a review should and report objectively..

I could rant, but I shan't. Well I already did a bit, sorry.

Mike D.

d_bodary

My Feedback: (85)

So far the only magazine that i have not let lapse is R/C Report. I have gotten a few issues from the hobby store of Fly RC and have not been really happy good to read once then toss. RCM i used to like allright but alas it looks like no more. Flying scale magazine i think is from the UK i like looking thru the magazine as they have just some awesome pictures of some detailed planes. although i don't build scale planes i have to admire the people that do. Model airplane news is getting some good articles on flying in their magazine that makes it worth buying a couple of times a year. The reviews the magazines have been doing lately seem sugarcoated at best. i don't mind if the reviewer makes some changes to the model during assembly as long as it is explained why? personal preference, supplied stuff is garbage etc. but when you change the model during the build and hide that you did any modifications just so the plane is safe and becomes a good flyer. in my opinion the magazine reviewer just did the reader a big disservice. Now on the other hand i have seen some arfs that the customer has assembled so crooked, and has modified with garbage linkage sloppy connections and then rants and raves about how the model flies like crap. i would imagine that the magazine reviewer at least knows how to keep minimum hinge gap build a straight model. knows how to install the radio and tune the engine. I guess i really got off the subject a little.