Plane + Pilot - Big Changes

Lowflynjack

Lowflynjack

Final Approach
PoA Supporter
Joined
Oct 28, 2014
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Jack Fleetwood
I know a lot of us haven't been happy with the current owners of this magazine (and most of the flying magazines out there). I've mentioned before that I work with Cayla McLeod and she's someone you'll see do big things in aviation, a shot of new energy for the flying world. I've seen a preview of the new magazine and I like it.

Here's a link to her story about the changes: Clear Prop!

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Cool! There’s a lot of momentum there for a 26-year-old to overcome, but I like the direction and I’m hoping she succeeds.
 
The pitch is stories written by pilots for pilots. That superficially sounds like a format that uses unpaid contributors - kind of a repeat of the Air Facts Journal, albeit with a paper as well as an online edition. I hope that isn't the case. I miss the high quality writing skills of professional aviation journalists. Not many pilots have the ability to craft compelling stories, but those that can become treasures. I'm thinking of folks long gone like Richard Collins and Gordon Baxter. If "Clear Prop" just uses stories written by "Joe and Jane" pilot without any skilled story telling abilities then I won't be interested. If Clear Prop brings in a new cadre of actual aviation journalists that love flying and are able to write compellingly about it, I might renew my long lapsed subscription. The challenge with hiring real talent is that good story tellers are expensive and my impression is that the new media conglomerate that bought most of the aviation magazines wanted to cut costs to the bone by firing the best (and most expensive) of the existing staff and replacing them with AI and/or untrained and unskilled writers. I hope I'm wrong, but I'm not going to renew my subscription just hoping for a better outcome. The new endeavor will have to prove itself before I open my wallet.
 
I haven't seen a boring story from her yet. Backwoods flying, helicopters to pickup and relocate exotic animals, flying a Waco and learning in it...

I guess we can just keep whining that magazines have gone downhill or we can support someone young trying to change things. Most of the old writers are gone, or writing stories about a plane they flew once thirty years ago. We need new and energetic people who love aviation.
 
Flyhound said:
If Clear Prop brings in a new cadre of actual aviation journalists that love flying and are able to write compellingly about it, I might renew my long lapsed subscription.
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Sorry, to be clear, "Clear Prop" is just the name of the story I shared. It's a new look for the magazine, but I think they only renamed it from Plane&Pilot to Plane + PilotScreenshot 2026-01-09 at 12.00.02 PM.png
 
I wish her well. Proof will be in the pudding.

I went from getting one airplane related newsletter/magazine that I liked that went away - IFR - to now having several from belonging to AOPA, EAA, etc, that I frankly don't want.

Not sure what a 26 year old's lived experiences in flying would be of interest, but let's see what happens. Maybe the current plane owner and pilot cohort isn't her target. I'm not flying in the Rockies and back packing in Yukon. I like FBO's that have free cookies, courtesy cars, and plenty of open free tie down spots.

My spidey sense is up. I've seen more than a dozen marketing VP's in my life time also speak of " bold new logo, look". Her lead of "deliberately chosen color palette reflects the Earth below, the sky above," "Magnetic compass inspire logo" gives me a feeling she's had a bit of the marketing speak kool aid. Marketing is necessary, but not sufficient.

Let's see what happens!
 
WDD said:
Not sure what a 26 year old's lived experiences in flying would be of interest, but let's see what happens. Maybe the current plane owner and pilot cohort isn't her target. I'm not flying in the Rockies and back packing in Yukon. I like FBO's that have free cookies, courtesy cars, and plenty of open free tie down spots.
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I'm not flying into the Rockies or doing STOL either, but I do agree we don't need more stories about the latest features on a 182. As far as experience, I assure you just since I've met her she has more types of aviation experience than most of us. I'd never flown in a helicopter while someone darted an exotic animal until I teamed up with her and I have a lot of aviation experience! I fly a lot, but I can't say in the last year that I flew a GameBird, Waco, R44, R66, Cirrus, Cub on Floats, Carbon Cub, a 170, and who knows what else.

It probably won't be everyone's cup of tea, I just hope she does well and the magazine ends up being something different than all of the other brands. I agree, time will. From someone has worked with her, I think she'll do well. And hey, if you don't think she makes good choices, just ask her who her favorite photographer is! :biggrin:
 
New young talent can learn to be eloquent and skilled writers with time. Collins and the rest did not appear as experienced and polished writers, they developed those skills by writing and being edited.

What is important right now is that they are actual pilots, and flying. If they advance through the ratings, they will be reaching many people who do not even care if POA exists, but will identify with these writers, and possibly follow them.

How many of us are college age or less? That is the demographic that they need to reach in order for them to be relevant, and have a future.

Best wishes, even with that goofy bug eyed instructor. :cool:
 
Hopefully they don't screw it up like they did with Kitplanes, which is now filled with errors, bad editing, and AI drivel since Firecrown took over. But all the old Kitplanes people went to AvBrief's "Experimental Aviator", so not all is lost.
 
Lowflynjack said:
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WTF is going on in the back seat?! Call me a jerk (you'd be right), but if I went out to the airport to fly a little airplane, and some character showed up in that getup, I'd die laughing. At least he's not wearing a bag festooned with patches and grease pencils.

However, I do wish her, and P+P, much success. Aviation media could certainly use an injection of insightful journalism penned by folks who can really write.
 
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Roger Wilco said:
WTF is going on in the back seat?! Call me a jerk (you'd be right), but if I went out to the airport to fly a little airplane, and some character showed up in that getup, I'd die laughing. At least he's not wearing a bag festooned with patches and grease pencils.

However, I do wish her, and P+P, much success. Aviation media could certainly use an injection of insightful journalism penned by folks who can really write.
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Thank you for saying the quiet thing in my head out loud :D
 
We have a guy with an RV-7 at our airport who was still learning the plane (he didn’t build it) so he asked a buddy of ours (retired Marine pilot, Harrier and F-18) who flys an RV-8 to go fly with him. Anyway the Marine is waiting in the plane when the guy climbs in with a parachute strapped on and a helmet. The Marine stifles a laugh and tells the guy, “well if you jump out I guess I gotta land this thing.”
 
Roger Wilco said:
WTF is going on in the back seat?! Call me a jerk (you'd be right), but if I went out to the airport to fly a little airplane, and some character showed up in that getup, I'd die laughing. At least he's not wearing a bag festooned with patches and grease pencils.

However, I do wish her, and P+P, much success. Aviation media could certainly use an injection of insightful journalism penned by folks who can really write.
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"So, going as Ant Man to Comic Con?"
 
Roger Wilco said:
WTF is going on in the back seat?! Call me a jerk (you'd be right), but if I went out to the airport to fly a little airplane, and some character showed up in that getup, I'd die laughing. At least he's not wearing a bag festooned with patches and grease pencils.
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Could be fodder for an amusing thread, or perhaps a feature article in Plane + Pilot: Walter Mitty(s) and other Airport Poseurs.
 
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Am I the only one that thinks a helmet isnt that crazy. In reading accident reports it seems a helmet would help in a fair amount of them. Even when my late grandad wrecked his Mooney he was mostly fine except for head injury which a helmet would have prevented. I've worn helmets in aerobatic planes no real downside to them. Other than looks I guess.
 
That's what i wore when crop dusting. Sometimes I had to wear my bosses, depending on who we were flying for.
 
Helmets, the pros and cons thereof--worthy of its own thread (there may already be one hiding somewhere).
falconkidding said:
Am I the only one that thinks a helmet isnt that crazy. In reading accident reports it seems a helmet would help in a fair amount of them. Even when my late grandad wrecked his Mooney he was mostly fine except for head injury which a helmet would have prevented. I've worn helmets in aerobatic planes no real downside to them. Other than looks I guess.
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Keep in mind that in 2023, 47,026 people died in falls at home and at work, according to the NSC. That statistic puts slip/fall accidents at the #2 spot in causes of accidental deaths, right behind poisoning at #1. So when I see a guy walking down the street wearing a helmet, I think "well, there goes a guy who isn't that crazy."

On a more personal note, I read that slip/fall accidents in the bathroom are a leading cause of accidental death in the home. So to mitigate the risk I chose to stop bathing, rather than wear a helmet in the shower. In addition, I fly an open-cockpit airplane and wear a leather "Snoopy Cap" whenever I plan on getting all topsy-turvy. I feel like a dork doing so, but the cap keeps my headset, and my toupee, from flying off into space.

But seriously, back to P+P.
 
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falconkidding said:
Am I the only one that thinks a helmet isnt that crazy.
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I don't think a helmet is crazy at all, I have a couple and know how and when to use them*. I do think the difference in risk assessment between front and back seat is a huge disconnect. I don't know who was in what role in the pic, but if I were one of them I'd make sure I understood why my partner wanted either significantly more or less protection than I felt I needed.

Visors, even clear, also offer protection. Mirrored visors, OTOH, are laughable.

*Unfortunately my ^&$\%ing head is too big to wear a helmet in my RV.

Nauga,
with small brain in big box.
 
Roger Wilco said:
but the cap keeps my headset, and my toupee, from flying off into space.
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When I was giving Stearmans rides, we didn’t secure the chin strap on out passengers. One of them stuck his head out into the slipstream, and off came the cap, headset, and goggles.

Fortunately the plugs hung on, so I was able to reel it back in and hand it to him.
 
falconkidding said:
Am I the only one that thinks a helmet isnt that crazy. In reading accident reports it seems a helmet would help in a fair amount of them. Even when my late grandad wrecked his Mooney he was mostly fine except for head injury which a helmet would have prevented. I've worn helmets in aerobatic planes no real downside to them. Other than looks I guess.
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I don't think it's all that crazy. Nor do I think it's silly to wear gloves, or nomex, or wear some sort of survival vest with pockets full of things like PLBs and signal mirrors and such....
that said, there is something silly about us people about caring what others think about looks... We're lazy, vain, practical, risk-averse, and risk-seeking all at the same time. There's a balance in that idiocy somewhere

If I'm jumping on a bike to pedal around the neighborhood or a campground I'll do it with no helmet, no gloves, and with flip flops on my feet.... but if I'm going to ride as fast as I can go through a wooded single-track trail I'll kit up a little differently for sure.
But when I consider that I could slide over a pebble in my driveway and fall just wrong and knock the back of my head, then maybe I should be wearing a helmet....
 
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