IFR Refresher magazine any good?

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aranpura

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Stoic's post about aviation magazines got me thinking about this one... I recently got a subscription offer in the mail. It looks interesting, but the website is appalling and I can't really tell if it's going to be worth reading. Has anyone here looked at it?
 
I subscribed to it once......let's just say that I did not renew. The quality of it was on par with the website.
 
The same organization puts out "IFR Refresher" and "IFR Magazine". When I last looked (about 5 years ago) "Refresher" was geared to reviewing the material one learned during IFR training while "Magazine" went beyond that to cover new technologies, how ATC works behind the scenes, and explains a lot of the theory (both physical and regulatory) behind instrument procedures. After trying both, I found there was sufficient overlap between the two that it didn't make sense to subscribe to both. "IFR Magazine" was more intellectually stimulating to me, so that's the one I kept. YMMV. If you can, get your hands on a recent sample issue or two from both (or buy a couple of back issues) and make up your own mind.

That being said, the best series of IFR articles ever written were Wally Robert's series in IFR Refresher. Sadly, Wally hung up the pen years ago. But the articles are still available and the fundamentals are unchanged: http://www.terps.com/
 
I'm about half way through my first subscribtion to AOPA. I got a magazine in the mail the other day called "FAA Safety Briefing." Is it worth a dam or like the others?
 
IFR Refresher recently got a new editor, Rick Durden, whom I know from conversations in various places and working on the CFI podcast project. I think you can expect better of them in coming months.
 
No kidding? I know Rick from other venues - that is outstanding news!
 
I liked IFR and IFR Refresher. The articles and the quizzes made me think, which is a good thing.
 
I read both IFR Refresher and IFR. They aren't literary works of art and don't have pretty pictures of glass cockpits. They are very nuts and bolts and I do find them enjoyable and always learn something. Worth the money. PS. They come punched for a 3-ring binder. I have 2+ years worth and frequently review the old issues.
 
I gave up the IFR Refresher for Aviation Safety, but kept the sub to IFR magazine. Good articles, and the "Killer Quiz" is a real thought-provoker. Besides, you gotta love the snippets from "On The Air" - humorous items heard on frequencies.
 
I get both IFR and IFRR. I prefer the latter; it has more articles and useful information for private pilots, I think. IFR may be better for pros. Nevertheless, I keep telling myself that I don't need both, but I can't really give up either. Someone else mentioned Aviation Safety. It was given as a gift for a year by my first insurer, and I still get it...on my nickel, now. Frankly, I think it is the best overall magazine I get. It covers instrument and visual flight issues, but is really very good.
 
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