Which is why the magazine- to paraphrase Paul's admonition about what the EAA should be- should be broad enough to cover the interests of all involved. That's my point and has been from word one. Trying to limit the magazine to our own narrow interests is simply going to cause more strife. I don't care if people want to cover non-certed engines (to respond to Spungey's suggestion) but I'm not going to read that article because I don't like non-certified engines. Same goes for articles about ultralights and other light aircraft which I have philosophically outgrown (for lack of a better term). But at the same time, there needs to be articles about the top of the line in certified aircraft to inspire those of us who want to emulate that and articles about the "gee whiz" type certifications in aircraft beyond the grasp of the average homebuilder.Matthew and Steve have brought to light the division that exists even amongst homebuilders....we can't even agree on what is practical and what is not----
By "compartmentalizing" the magazine into a series of sections each covering a specific aspect of the EAA each month. The only way that will happen is if people spend half the energy they do whining on here actually writing for the magazine. Given how well a lot of the folks on here write when someone says something they disagree with, I find it hard to believe that their writing skills are not good enough for a trade magazine. You don't have to be John Steinbeck to produce a readable article. Pretty much anyone who graduated high school (especially pre-1990) and can refrain from drooling on themselves in social situations can turn out a decent article which is all the magazine needs. We're not shooting for Pulitzers here, we're just trying to fix the "problems" that everyone keeps pointing out.so how the heck can we ever expect SA to reach us all at our own level of comfort and skill???
None taken at all. I have pretty thick skin and can see the other side of the coin even though I don't necessarily enjoy those aspects of aviation.Please take this for what it's worth --- an no offense intended toward anyone.....
Ron's a man to be emulated and envied in many ways.In the 1990's we experimenters had our own magazine. Anyone else remember "EAA Experimenter"? I loved it then and would love it now. All about not simply how-to, but tools, shops and even some of the underlying philosophy of the DIY world. It was small--typically 30 pages or so. I always wanted more meat in even it. Maybe it's about "Those who want to build, build. Those who want to write, write." Few of us have Ron W's gift for both. Both skills can be learned, though.
Perhaps we could take Chad and the other powers that be into producing the Experimenter as a PDF every month and making it freely available? I certainly would prefer it in that format over a hard copy format (and it's easily printable if one is so inclined) and if it's "open access" then it's a good recruiting tool.
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Originally Posted by steveinindy
She's very understanding...for now.
