The Aviation Consumer?

Run-Around

Run-Around

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Run-Around
Just got another ad in the mail for Aviation Consumer. I'm considering it, but can anyone with experience tell me if it's worth the subscription? Seems like a good one, but I'm sick of signing up for more junk mail. :dunno:
 
I had a subscription for years,I thought it was worth the money ,has some good information .Of course this forum can sometimes give you the info you need.
 
Not worthless at all. But a digital subscription might be cheaper if that's offered.
 
I had it for one year. I think it cost too much and a waste of money.


Run-Around said:
Just got another ad in the mail for Aviation Consumer. I'm considering it, but can anyone with experience tell me if it's worth the subscription? Seems like a good one, but I'm sick of signing up for more junk mail. :dunno:
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If they would get rid of Paul Bertarelli I would consider resubscribing. That guy is just a blow hard. So much so that he makes Donald Trump look humble ! For a guy with as little REAL experience as Bertarelli to pontificate on and on is beyond annoying.
 
I always enjoyed it. Plus having the subscription gives you access to all past issues and reviews of planes, avionics, etc, etc, etc.
 
Art VanDelay said:
If they would get rid of Paul Bertarelli I would consider resubscribing. That guy is just a blow hard. So much so that he makes Donald Trump look humble ! For a guy with as little REAL experience as Bertarelli to pontificate on and on is beyond annoying.
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He's not THAT bad. Annoying, yes; but still not THAT bad ...
 
Run-Around said:
... I'm sick of signing up for more junk mail.
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Well, you might want to consider this:

Maybe ten years ago I subscribed to Aviation Consumer, giving our lake home address. At that time we received about one letter, typically local junk mail, per week. I used that address because I thought it would be kind of nice to anticipate something new to read as we drove to the lake.

Almost instantly, the mailbox was filled with junk mail. AOPA (of course!), credit card offers, God knows what else. Multiple pieces every day. They whored out their mailing list and my address to anyone who would buy. YMMV but that is what happened to me. It's taken most of the intervening ten years for the flood of junk to abate.

That left a bad taste in my mouth for Belvoir. This was reinforced a couple of times when I stopped by their publication-laden booth at Oshkosh, interested in picking up a free sample issue. Nope! No free samples. You can look while you're standing at the booth and that's it. Incredible cheapskates! Those magazines, two color on uncoated stock, cost pennies to print. But never mind, the cheapskates wouldn't consider doing what Trade-a-Plane has been doing for years -- giving samples to show visitors.

It's kind of too bad, really, that the publisher is so obnoxious. I've always liked reading the publications but I have never again considered subscribing because of the junk mail consequences.

When I was working on my instrument rating, also years ago, I was buying packages of 12 or more past issues of IFR Refresher on eBay. That was great; the information was fairly timeless and I avoided Belvoir completely.
 
airdale said:
Well, you might want to consider this:

Maybe ten years ago I subscribed to Aviation Consumer, giving our lake home address. At that time we received about one letter, typically local junk mail, per week. I used that address because I thought it would be kind of nice to anticipate something new to read as we drove to the lake.

Almost instantly, the mailbox was filled with junk mail. AOPA (of course!), credit card offers, God knows what else. Multiple pieces every day. They whored out their mailing list and my address to anyone who would buy. YMMV but that is what happened to me. It's taken most of the intervening ten years for the flood of junk to abate.

That left a bad taste in my mouth for Belvoir. This was reinforced a couple of times when I stopped by their publication-laden booth at Oshkosh, interested in picking up a free sample issue. Nope! No free samples. You can look while you're standing at the booth and that's it. Incredible cheapskates! Those magazines, two color on uncoated stock, cost pennies to print. But never mind, the cheapskates wouldn't consider doing what Trade-a-Plane has been doing for years -- giving samples to show visitors.

It's kind of too bad, really, that the publisher is so obnoxious. I've always liked reading the publications but I have never again considered subscribing because of the junk mail consequences.

When I was working on my instrument rating, also years ago, I was buying packages of 12 or more past issues of IFR Refresher on eBay. That was great; the information was fairly timeless and I avoided Belvoir completely.
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Ha, I like your idea of having something to look forward to upon arrival! Sorry to hear that you got inundated... that's precisely what I'm trying to avoid.

As Frfly suggests, POA can probably render as fair a consensus (on aviation related products/services) as can be had anywhere else. Thanks pilots.
 
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I subscribed from 1979 to 1998 when I took a break for grad school. When I bought a plane in 2005, Aviation Consumer is the first magazine I subscribed to and continue to this day. It always has some useful information, without worrying whether they **** off an advertiser.
 
I'm a long term subscriber and think it offers good value. I think the writers attempt to avoid bias in their articles and perform appropriate comparison testing. Even better, when they publish test results, they are objective and are not hesitant to identify the products which tested better or worse than the others. Unlike ad-funded publications in which all products are incredibly good ;-), but some might be a little better than others.
 
Aviation Consumer and Aviation Safety are only periodicals I subscribe to anymore. First has well designed, timely reviews and comparisons without glaring editorial bias. Look at a few advertisement supported mags and all you'll find is reviews of those products advertised - pretty transparent IMHO.
Safety is a worthwhile read just about every month - wide range of articles from basic flight training issues to IFR details. Seem to have a finger on the pulse of the FAA and PBOR as well. Compendium of NTSB reports qMonth as well

Highly recommended.

(...and I don't see an increase in my junk mail)
 
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I subbed to Aviation Consumer for one year. I enjoyed the reviews and info, but it wasn't of much value to me since I'm a VFR pilot flying simple airplanes, and that's all I'll ever aspire to be. I have mostly steam gauges and portable GPS and will not be in the market for much of the stuff I saw reviewed.
 
oldShar said:
He's not THAT bad. Annoying, yes; but still not THAT bad ...
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He's absolutely THAT bad. Opinions as strong as his are only credible when they come from someone with some real experience. Now if that guy that used to write the "Pelicans Perch" column was still writing for them it would balance out blow hards like Scooter-belly.
 
The best thing Bertoreli ever did was the "multiplying dork board stripes" video. That... was funny.

His reviews of avionics and user interfaces are cringeworthy, however.
 
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