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E&QFI Mag


EssexBOF

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Like Austin I'm not surprised about E&QFI but it's still a sad loss, especially thinking back to the early QFIs, which were great stuff.

Should the BARCS forum be looking to make up for lost magazines by encouraging more longer and more substantial posts / articles? There are already some really good contest reports here but scope for - say - in depth reviews and surveys (like the excellent run-down on F3J machines Neil Jones did a few year ago); instructional stuff (maybe tactics and setup for intermediate pilots as well as beginners' material); interviews with top pilots. No doubt lots of other directions longer pieces could go in too.

Not knocking the usual chat and queries, which are always  going to be the backbone of forum discussion. But room for more magazine-like content too?

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On 2 November 2015 at 14:55:18, pete beadle said:

Why is just about everything called progress when it STOPS doing something these days

Because whatever it is that is done by the things that are stopped can be done better, faster and/or cheaper by other means. I can't remember the last time I wrote a cheque. And I certainly don't miss the experience.

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Fact is, I wrote a cheque last week and was happy about still being able to do that. The loss of magazines is retrograde for many reasons, it's good to get a fix of hard-copy aeromodelling reading when you can't get the internet... Which happens at all the most inconvenient moments at home, or when travelling by air anywhere, which is when I am most likely to read one, as we no longer get free entertainment on the trips I make.

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Well theres folks selling old copies of Aeromodeller & RCM&E over on fleabay - I even recognise some of the covers !

wont be able to pay by cheque though

Phil.

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The mag was never quite the same from when Dave Jones started in the early 1990's, then it had articles of interest to all many of a technical nature.

The growth of ARTF then electric power coming in, blurred the two options of silent flight & powered flight. Now F5j has been taken up by a large number of those flying F3j and the ordinary glider flyer using bungee launch techniquies, needing less hassle.

So we are left with slope soaring being the only real silent flight left.

There are as Pete said options available on the net like RC Soaring Digest, if you want to get an idea as too how it used to be. Pete recounted to me that a reader of his column in the now extinct RC Model Flyer berated him over the length of his articles, as being to long for him to read in the news agents without bying the mag. Says it all really

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Nick, 

19 hours ago, Nick Jackson said:

Like Austin I'm not surprised about E&QFI but it's still a sad loss, especially thinking back to the early QFIs, which were great stuff.

Should the BARCS forum be looking to make up for lost magazines by encouraging more longer and more substantial posts / articles? There are already some really good contest reports here but scope for - say - in depth reviews and surveys (like the excellent run-down on F3J machines Neil Jones did a few year ago); instructional stuff (maybe tactics and setup for intermediate pilots as well as beginners' material); interviews with top pilots. No doubt lots of other directions longer pieces could go in too.

Not knocking the usual chat and queries, which are always  going to be the backbone of forum discussion. But room for more magazine-like content too?

My ramble

I subscribe to

RCME both hard copy and digital but likely to drop the former next year.

The FREE RC Soaring Digest http://www.rcsoaringdigest.com/ also on Yahoo Groups and Facebook

and also go to the Aufwind site http://www.aufwind-magazin.de/ to see the few articles each month from their high quality Magazine which I used to buy when in Europe. They closed UK subscriptions do to lack of buyers (it wasn't that cheap from memory) 

I swap (I give 1 and get back 3!) other magazines with a friend and browse (without apparent conscience) them in the usual shops. The latter must cost the publishers a lot of money and I find it surprising that only a few publishers have "covers" on them. (yes, in some shops these even get ripped off)  

When it comes to "Club" Mags it is always very difficult to extract anything from members on a regular basis and it ends up with the usual few who are willing to spend their precious time doing it. (I have experience with 2 magazines and 1 website of this) BARCS Soarer being an example

I suppose it's perceived value that dictates where we spend our money and the modern attitude that we don't want to pay for something we can "rob" from someone.

The Forums that I'm subscribed to was in order of viewing frequency 

Flyquiet (now defunct), RCMF  South East Flyers Forum, BARCS, Esoaring, Scale Soaring, RC Universe, RC Groups RC Model Reviews and....

BARCS has now moved to number 1

No wonder I don't have time or inclination to build or repair I've got my priorities wrong!

 

               

 

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I write very few business cheques any more. I think they still have their place, but bacs and "faster payments" are a lot more convenient, especially with repeat payments, and less open to fraud. If nothing else I save money not buying stamps which are about £7.50 each last time checked (pun intended). 

 

Print media is generally suffering. And lets be realistic we are definitely experiencing a possibly terminal decline in numbers of people soaring, and probably numbers in "traditional" model flying as well.  Magazine output will reflect these situations.

 

It is a good job barcs has slope soaring/f3f to keep the forum going as by the far the majority of posts seems to be along those lines, although the recent influx of dlg/f3k pilots is good. 

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4 hours ago, satinet said:

And lets be realistic we are definitely experiencing a possibly terminal decline in numbers of people soaring,

Tom

When you are involved in a thriving local thermal soaring league (as I am) with gently increasing numbers of participants (The Bartletts Series), and are participating in upcoming F-class electric soaring leagues, and go to Old Warden and see the place rammed with people enjoying flying rc and free-flight models of ALL descriptions, and go to events at Ivinghoe and see hoards of fliers.... all outside enjoying theirselves and their flying models, I guess it gives me a rather blinkered view of the obviously dire overall situation! 

It has been dire for years and years, it's amazing that anyone can still be bothered to fly a model at all, let alone run league competitions, for the almost non-existent soaring community. 

Tongue firmly in cheek.

See you Wednesday if the weather doesn't put the mockers on it!

Jef

 

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