Aviation Writer Richard Collins

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woxof

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woxof
Who knows how many hours he actually put on his C210 and how many years he wrote for Flying Magazine.

He was one of the main aviation writers when I started flying. Had a focus on weather analysis.

I liked his writing, did you?
 
I enjoyed Collins' writing, from the time he had his Piper Pacer, the C-172M, through the Cherokee Six, to the P210. What he lacked in technical expertise he made up for with experience and innate wisdom -- the latter likely based upon his father's many years of analyzing accidents in his Air Facts magazine.
 
After reading the above linked article, it’s no surprise he had the aircraft scrapped when he was done with it.
 
TCABM said:
After reading the above linked article, it’s no surprise he had the aircraft scrapped when he was done with it.
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Surprised he didn't set it on fire just to make sure. Somebody should have nominated Mr. Collins for membership in the Society of Experimental Test Pilots (SETP). Ford alternator, indeed!
 
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I enjoyed his columns and articles greatly. He had a "just the facts" writing style. The airplane and the mission were always the focus and thoroughly documented. He seemed to have much less ego than most aviation writers. He showed - by example - what was possible using light single piston aircraft for business travel. I remember reading about all of the maintenance issues and costs associated with that P210. It sort of put me off the idea of owning one.
 
Its funny but I absolutely loved his writing, if writing for magazines or short articles. I feel he was a bit scattered and hard to follow in book form. He also just seemed like an interesting guy.
 
woxof said:
Who knows how many hours he actually put on his C210 and how many years he wrote for Flying Magazine.

He was one of the main aviation writers when I started flying. Had a focus on weather analysis.

I liked his writing, did you?
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I always liked his articles - and even got to hear him speak in person once. I don't remember what he said, but the meeting was memorable because it took place in a tent at Oshkosh - in the
middle of one of those horrendous Midwest Downpours that OSH is known for. It rained so hard that I needed to use my umbrella inside the tent. But the show went on!

Dave
 
I was a fan of his writing,always learned something from his articles.
 
I began to read Flying in 1973 and still have the original copy. Always enjoyed reading articles by RC, Baxter and Garrison. Those were the heydays of Flying magazine and couldn’t wait for the next issue to arrive in the mail. The photo below is the first article I read by RC and it was about the C210. I really enjoyed his style of writing and his experiences. Flying doesn’t seem to have the same caliber of writers these days (no longer a subscriber) so the newest readers have no idea what they are missing. Old ladies flying under bridges does not compete.
 

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Brad Smith said:
Flying doesn’t seem to have the same caliber of writers these days (no longer a subscriber) so the newest readers have no idea what they are missing. Old ladies flying under bridges does not compete.
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To be fair, they did recently have David Mamet writing a column. Honestly the content wan't THAT compelling, but it was still David Freakin' Mamet!

C.
 
woxof said:
Who knows how many hours he actually put on his C210 and how many years he wrote for Flying Magazine.

He was one of the main aviation writers when I started flying. Had a focus on weather analysis.

I liked his writing, did you?
Click to expand...
Richard Collins and Gordon Baxter were my favorite! Totally fueled my obsession with aviation and were the first two articles I would go to when I got my hands on an article. I started reading Flying when I was 12

I do miss the old Flying Mag. I was briefly optimistic with the new ownership a few years ago but eventually bailed on my subscription and am not a fan of Ben Younger. The first article that hit me "wrong" was the one about the Bonanza accident. Almost seemed like he was bragging about it in a weird way, with an elitist closer of "I purchased another airplane this past weekend.." okay buddy.

https://www.flyingmag.com/leading-edge-hard-lessons-thin-air/

If you can get past the millennial-esq "look at me look at me, I'm rich and have an awesome life that I think is better than yours probably" then you're rewarded with amateurish writing style with short first person sentences. See for yourself below if you don't want to reward them with a click.

"
I totaled my airplane on May 27, 2018, at 10:30 in the morning.

I was departing Telluride Airport in Colorado. It was a Sunday. She was a V-tail.

I loved her. She was fast and strong and easily the most exotic thing I have ever owned. And I killed her. They say it’s better to have loved and lost than … yeah, not ready to hear that. I had a passenger with me. And my dog. No one was injured. My friend says she’d go up with me again. The dog says no chance in hell.
"

Give me a break.


Brad Smith said:
Flying doesn’t seem to have the same caliber of writers these days (no longer a subscriber) so the newest readers have no idea what they are missing.
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You nailed it. The other article that was the nail in the coffin was this one https://www.flyingmag.com/in-aircraft-and-in-life-craftsmanship-counts/ a pure "I love myself fest, look how cool I am!!" with a weird ode of Marxist ideology

Even though aviation is an expensive hobby and most who get to play in it are "well off" that doesn't have to be so apparent in the writing. Cirrus folks are often the butt of jokes but the COPA mag is a pleasure to read, involves real flying stories, adventures, things to learn about, tips and tricks. Flying Magazine instead somehow became Ben Younger's playground to brag about his life.
 
The new owner of Flying Magazine is Craig Fuller, he's kind of a genius that developed a system based on data for tracking freight as it relates to rates, the economy and multiple other things that companies large and small use to plan for the future.

The company has been wildly successful, and he predicted all the chaos in the logistics scene well before anybody else. He also predicted the crash in rates for ocean and trucking when the CEO's of their companies called him a wack job. Well, he was right.

I've met him once, a good guy. I subscribe to his service, and it's saved me tens of thousands of dollars as it predicted when are the best times to ship stuff by ocean or rail.

As a young entrepreneur, he knew when his company (FreightWaves) became so successful, that he as the CEO would only hamper it's future growth. So he hired a CEO and took on Flying as a passion project. He is very open to suggestions, as he loved the old days as well, and wants the magazine to be a success. Email him, I bet he will respond. Or tweet him at @FreightAlley
 
cowtowner said:
The new owner of Flying Magazine is Craig Fuller, he's kind of a genius that developed a system based on data for tracking freight as it relates to rates, the economy and multiple other things that companies large and small use to plan for the future.

The company has been wildly successful, and he predicted all the chaos in the logistics scene well before anybody else. He also predicted the crash in rates for ocean and trucking when the CEO's of their companies called him a wack job. Well, he was right.

I've met him once, a good guy. I subscribe to his service, and it's saved me tens of thousands of dollars as it predicted when are the best times to ship stuff by ocean or rail.

As a young entrepreneur, he knew when his company (FreightWaves) became so successful, that he as the CEO would only hamper it's future growth. So he hired a CEO and took on Flying as a passion project. He is very open to suggestions, as he loved the old days as well, and wants the magazine to be a success. Email him, I bet he will respond. Or tweet him at @FreightAlley
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Thanks! Honestly it's just Ben lol. Thanks for the background though! Earnest Gann was a great writer, and there are many others for the pure passion for aviation comes through the lines and the words
 
Tantalum said:
Richard Collins and Gordon Baxter were my favorite! Even though aviation is an expensive hobby and most who get to play in it are "well off" that doesn't have to be so apparent in the writing. Cirrus folks are often the butt of jokes but the COPA mag is a pleasure to read, involves real flying stories, adventures, things to learn about, tips and tricks. Flying Magazine instead somehow became Ben Younger's playground to brag about his life.
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Gordon Baxter was a poet of the sky in the tradition of Saint Exupery; a humble genius, and we miss him.
 
cowtowner said:
The new owner of Flying Magazine is Craig Fuller, he's kind of a genius that developed a system based on data for tracking freight as it relates to rates, the economy and multiple other things that companies large and small use to plan for the future.

The company has been wildly successful, and he predicted all the chaos in the logistics scene well before anybody else. He also predicted the crash in rates for ocean and trucking when the CEO's of their companies called him a wack job. Well, he was right.

I've met him once, a good guy. I subscribe to his service, and it's saved me tens of thousands of dollars as it predicted when are the best times to ship stuff by ocean or rail.

As a young entrepreneur, he knew when his company (FreightWaves) became so successful, that he as the CEO would only hamper it's future growth. So he hired a CEO and took on Flying as a passion project. He is very open to suggestions, as he loved the old days as well, and wants the magazine to be a success. Email him, I bet he will respond. Or tweet him at @FreightAlley
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I came across Craig Fuller following a "what's going on in shipping" YouTube channel. Is he in any way related to former AOPA head Craig Fuller (famous for the AOPA wine club)? I thought it was an interesting coincidence that some dude with the same name bought a GA magazine publication.
 
There are eight airmen with that name according to the FAA search tool. I'd guess they're not all related.
 
Piperonca said:
Surprised he didn't set it on fire just to make sure. Somebody should have nominated Mr. Collins for membership in the Society of Experimental Test Pilots (SETP). Ford alternator, indeed!
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I suspect there are a lot more Ford alternators (and voltage regulators) flying on aircraft than anyone will ever admit too.
 
I started reading Flying Magazine with the March 1963 issue, then went to my school library to read cover-to-cover all earlier issues back to September 1959. I finally gave up on the magazine in the mid-1990s when it had become a Business-Commercial Aviation clone.

When I think of the golden years of Flying, the names that come to mind are Gill Robb Wilson, Frank Kingston Smith, James Gilbert, George C. Larson, Richard Bach, Richard L. Collins, Gordon Baxter, Bob Blodget, Stephan Wilkinson, Len Morgan, with guest shots by Ernest Gann, William Peter Blatty, and many others.
 
idahoflier said:
While I wouldn't consider myself a hardcore fan, I enjoyed his writing. Not sure if your questions regarding his C210 were rhetorical, but if not this can answer your questions: https://airfactsjournal.com/2014/09/logbooks-long-wonderful-flight-beginning-turbulence/
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Pardon me if I change from RC/Flying Mag to the 210. I found the article detailing his relationship with N40RC very interesting. The 210 is one of my favorite airplanes with the 210R coming out on top. The straight 210 and the T210 were awesome airplanes to fly however I really disliked the P210. I felt like I was in a submarine. It didn’t climb very well and it was pretty heavy on the controls. I have 1300+ hours flying checks (remember that job) and charters in 210s. I would love to fly one again someday. Fly Safely!
 
Early on after my IFR rating, I felt Collin’s “Flying Ifr “ really set me up to what to expect.
 
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