J. Mac McClellan @ EAA

Disagree. Everybody in aviation has access to numerous places to flock together. Websites, type clubs, and forums abound. If I were running EAA, I'd look at the non-builder pilots as my most-likely group of prospects and try to make room in the tent for everyone.

Does anybody think the OSH event should be limited to home builders and their home-built (even though many of them are home-built in name only) airplanes?

OTOH, if you're looking for a group that is inclined to be exclusionary and close-minded, GA is a target-rich environment. For example, I'm a member of the Cessna 180 club that has been in existence for 40-some years. Other than gear placement, 182's and 180's are virtually identical and many 182's have been converted to 180 configuration via STC's. Only recently has the governing body of our club voted to accept owners of the converted airplanes to be accepted as members of the club.



zaitcev said:
The problem with another Flying is how the Sport aviators have no other place. Heck, even not being Sport-minded pilot, I have little interest in most of what those mags publish. And those guys already have publications like Twin And Turbine at their disposal, why do they have to crowd out everyone else?

A month or two ago I tried to pick up InFlight USA, which used to be pretty awesome, but guess what - they had a ridiculously dumb article about Shuttle retirement, worse than the thread at PoA. Put it right down.
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wabower said:
How long did the doctor say it would take for your thumb to heal? The one you use to flip by articles you don't want to read.
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Brilliant. Why didn't I think of that? Instead of objectively discussing the issue, let's just make personal attacks.
 
Great idea. Is self-righteous indignation your normal strategy for such intellectual discussions?

kyleb said:
Brilliant. Why didn't I think of that? Instead of objectively discussing the issue, let's just make personal attacks.
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Just glanced at the online new SA. Mac does a pilot report on the new Socata Turbine! What the hell does a Socata TBM have to do with sport flying. Obvious where EAA is heading now with the new regime. I just renewed so I'll give it one more year before I decide to renew after over 30 years. Don
 
My complaint of AOPA is that they seem to pander to the high end users at the expense of, well, me. If EAA does likewise, it is likely to be a disaster. However, I doubt that will be the case. I suspect they are just making the tent that much bigger, not a bad thing. I suspect focusing on home-builders and experimentals is the wrong tact. It is sort of like Mooney focusing on one airframe. Anyone want to take bets on Mooney's longevity?
 
Why doesn't Mac do a Pirep on a Lancair Evolution Turbine instead. Much more appropriate for Sport Flying Magazine. Don
 
steingar said:
My complaint of AOPA is that they seem to pander to the high end users at the expense of, well, me. If EAA does likewise, it is likely to be a disaster. However, I doubt that will be the case. I suspect they are just making the tent that much bigger, not a bad thing. I suspect focusing on home-builders and experimentals is the wrong tact. It is sort of like Mooney focusing on one airframe. Anyone want to take bets on Mooney's longevity?
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They need to focus on *interesting* aviation. Homebuilts, antiques, and warbirds, their owners and their stories. Yet another article (given all the AOPA and Flying articles over the years) on the TBM is a bad joke, and there is nothing sporty, fun, or interesting about it. It is completely out of place.

Sport Aviation is EAA's monthly touchstone with its membership. The direction the publication is taking is an epic fail, right up there with "New Coke". Based on what I see here, in other forums, and at the airport, it appears that many people are having WTF moments when they open recent issues of Sport Aviation.
 

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yakdriver said:
Just glanced at the online new SA. Mac does a pilot report on the new Socata Turbine!
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I took a look, and you're right.

The November issue also has his Left Seat column, which is mostly about the technical issue of heading vs. ground track, which is something of interest to any pilot, so that's okay. But in the same column he also mentions something telling: after he moved to Michigan last winter, he doesn't have to fly as far to get to his destinations, which are mostly GA manufacturers in the Midwest. Except for visiting Oshkosh, it seems that his destinations are the certificated factories, the same as when he was at Flying. He doesn't mention visiting any homebuilders, just the certificated factories. So it's no wonder that he write about the same stuff as when he was at Flying -- he continues to expose himself to exactly the same stuff as when he was there, so that's what he writes about.
 
I don't have a clock on how long he has been there. But I don't mind giving people a little time to transition in to a new job. Maybe he is writing now about what he knows about. Didn't he just take the reins at SA recently? A little work out between him and the staff and who knows what we might see.

I just received a EAA poll in my email. Maybe other EAA members have also. Hopefully some input can help figure out what we want to see. I know they have put a lot of technical content online in the last couple of years. It has to be tough to keep things interesting and fresh in a magazine that a lot of experienced pilots read. That being said a turbine means nothing to me unless someone figured out how to put one in an RV-8!
 
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