Aviation Writer J Mac McClellan

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woxof

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woxof
Being a long time Flying Magazine reader, I used to enjoy reading his articles and if I remember correctly, he was editor of Flying Magazine for a while. I found him to be quite knowledgeable. I think he owned a Beech Baron and was definitely into the turbine stuff. Not sure what his background was or if he is still writing for another publication.

What is your opinion.
 
I quit reading him when I realized he didn’t read the POH for his Baron.
 
I thought he was fine as the editor of Flying. Then he transitioned to being the editor of Sport Aviation, and that was a horrible fit. He had absolutely no clue about that segment of aviation and used his role to turn Sport Aviation into something much more akin to Flying.
 
He seemed a hopeless snob to me, missing the point of why the majority are involved in aviation in favor of his own very expensive and somewhat boring world view. I stopped buying Flying after reading some of his views, as it seemed to be focused on an ‘aspirational’ reader, most of whom would not be doing the kind of flying the magazine covered, if they were pilots at all.

For sure the worst possible choice for EAA.
 
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I remember wiping oil drips off the floor from under his Baron…. that’s about all the interaction you got from him at the EAA.
 
Different writers are different fits for different magazines. I definitely liked his articles at flying and his writing is there to sell a magazine. Flying may sell a lot of subscriptions to aspirational pilots. Not sure why he left Flying but would be interested to know.

I do read EAA Sport Aviation and very much like it in addition to Flying but there is no doubt that it is a different segment. But I didn't read it when he was writing for that magazine and lost track of him. I did a search and it looks like he is at Air Facts Journal now(possibly no longer a print publication). My problem is that I have too many aviation magazines to read and am hopelessly behind.
 
woxof said:
Different writers are different fits for different magazines. I definitely liked his articles at flying and his writing is there to sell a magazine. Flying may sell a lot of subscriptions to aspirational pilots. Not sure why he left Flying but would be interested to know.

I do read EAA Sport Aviation and very much like it in addition to Flying but there is no doubt that it is a different segment. But I didn't read it when he was writing for that magazine and lost track of him. I did a search and it looks like he is at Air Facts Journal now(possibly no longer a print publication). My problem is that I have too many aviation magazines to read and am hopelessly behind.
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I remember him saying it was a disagreement in Bonnier’s policies after they took over publishing. Specifically, they required a lead time of like 6 months out to submit articles. He found that unreasonable and left. I’m sure there were other things though.
 
Velocity173 said:
I remember him saying it was a disagreement in Bonnier’s policies after they took over publishing. Specifically, they required a lead time of like 6 months out to submit articles. He found that unreasonable and left. I’m sure there were other things though.
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Flying Magazine turned into complete crap after J Mac left.
 
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