Integrity, Credibility, and the Future of the Aero-Verse

News, Opinion, Analysis by ANN CEO/Editor-In-Chief, Jim Campbell

The 2023 Sun ‘n Fun Aerospace Expo was a watershed event for us… We’ve never been asked to do as much in one week as we did at Sun ‘n Fun, and despite the ever-present possibility (maybe even a certainty), of things going wrong; the Aero-News and Airborne staff stepped up and performed like absolute magicians with our partners at SnF.

Indeed; if any descriptive word truly applied, "magic" might be it.

So, after beating ourselves senseless for over 26 years, it was one of the best weeks Aero-News ever had… Until late in the weekend.

I'd been spending time doing interviews, enjoying the compliments our product and our staff got over their work (ALWAYS appreciated), and digging the positive SnF Vibe when a fellow stepped up to me, introduced themselves, and politely explained that he was trying to launch a new aviation business. Early in the discussion, he asked me, point blank, how much it would cost to get articles placed on Aero-News. I stared at him for a second… Not quite comprehending what he was looking for… When he explained that Publication ‘A’, Publication ‘B’, and Publication ‘C’ had explained to him just how much it would cost to get what he was looking for -- this clearly denoting a prevalent "pay for play" mentality – which has (shamefully) become the modus operandi for what seems to be the vast majority of the aviation publication biz. This was just a few days after I had heard of another vendor, seemingly proud of his achievement, bragging about how many tens of thousands of dollars he spent to get to get his airplane placed on the cover of a fairly well-known aviation magazine.

This bothered me.

This bothered me a lot.

Over the years I have watched the virtual destruction of aviation journalism, at least as far as the actual word "journalism" is concerned… But I've never seen it get quite as bad as it is now.

Aero-News seems quite alone in having an attitude (and the commitment to go with it) that our editorial products are not for sale… And while we welcome sponsorship and advertising, like any publication has to in this day and age, especially if we want to maintain a free/non-subscription profile, our editorial integrity and credibility is sacrosanct. It cannot be bought. We, as a team dedicated to the advancement of aviation, cannot be bought. And Aero–News, Airborne, and the SportPlane Resource Guide, as well as all our associated efforts, cannot be bought.

But the problem with all this is that while one would expect such attitudes to be lauded, and even admired out there in the real world, it has caused us no end of trouble – even harassment.

When we have had to step out and say (honest, albeit painful) things that certain entities in the aviation industry didn’t/don't want to hear, we've often gotten clobbered for it… Whether it be the many falsehoods and destructive behaviors that we saw over the years from Icon Aircraft (One of whose associates published the false statement that I did not have a Pilot’s license in order to demean our work…huh?), the extraordinary anti-American, anti-free-speech actions of Cirrus Aircraft (and their ongoing attacks on Founder Alan Klapmeier), or other companies/persons that got caught doing something wrong, turning to slinging mud, personal attacks and direct threats of physical harm (The late ‘Aviation Criminal’ and Convicted Felon David Riggs foremost, who claimed to be working at the behest of some of our critics) rather than cleaning up their own act.

That's a tough way to do business, it's tough to deal with, it’s pretty disheartening, and over time, some damage has been done as you hear ignorant persons whisper one false rumor after another that has been propagated by complete and utter jackasses who not only do not care about the welfare of the aviation community, but seem way too  interested in silencing those who would try to correct them, or warn the aviation public about their weaknesses… or outright frauds.

The worst part of all this is that I think we’re about to see a real wave of what we politely call "advertorial" stories and features that are written not for their honesty, research, and credibility, but in an attempt to placate or kiss up to advertisers or sponsors. There have been some ongoing changes in the publication game and while some of those have me scratching my head, especially the acquisition of a so-called sport aviation entity that was reportedly known for its ‘pay for play’ mentality and a quality of ‘reporting’ that did not impress me -- but based on some other things we’re hearing, the pursuit of the advertising dollar is seemingly justifying decisions to abandon credibility and integrity for a better bank balance.

Thankfully, we are finding a number of honest companies that are not afraid of honest criticism… but there are still others, too many, who don’t exhibit that upstanding trait.

Look… It's a tough business out there and in the 26 years since Aero-News was the first online aviation news service of its kind, we have learned how tough it can be… And still is. But we’re STILL at it, and we do have our victories… Breaking amazing stories that MATTER to the aviation community. Helping to alert the Aero-Verse to hazardous situations. Partnering with great organizations that appreciate the credibility and integrity we bring to our processes from the partnerships we've had in the past with the AMA, AUVSI, SAFE, and of course the amazing work we've been doing over 15 years with AEA, and over several years with the Sun ‘n Fun Aerospace Expo (which for those of you who know the history of all this, this still makes me grin at the irony of it all).

So… The question is this...

How do we proceed from here, while still making certain that what we tell you, what we write, what we publish, what we produce via multimedia, is the God's honest truth as we know it?

This is particularly important with the efforts we’re undertaking with the new SportPlane Resource Guide. The amount of "Bravo Sierra" being transmitted in the sport aviation arena right now, is at an all-time high… Propagated by a number of ‘influencers’ who either don't know what they're talking about, don't care what they're talking about, or who are blatantly/shamefully for sale -- even to the point of demanding incredible fees for positive YouTube videos and ‘reviews’.

The SportPlane Resource Guide is gonna step over all that nonsense… And as you may recall in the 30 years of publishing those guides, we've utilized a "no prisoners" report card and evaluation criteria set that was not afraid to say that a company may not be living up to expectations, or in some cases were just simply not trustworthy, or that certain airplanes either weren't doing what the manufacturers promised, or exhibited tendencies that were either challenging or dangerous, or were simply just not airworthy.

The SportPlane Resource Guide, the new digital edition, is an extraordinarily powerful tool in that it will never grow out of date in the future, because we can update it electronically on the fly, at any time in a matter of minutes. So, when something is wrong, WE WILL TELL YOU—no matter who it pisses off. When something concerns us, WE WILL TELL YOU. When situations change for the better or for the worse, WE WILL TELL YOU. And we will do it no matter who we upset – so long as it is in the best interests of everyone who flies. And while that seems potentially self-destructive in today’s climate; you have to remember our record on this issue -- we took on a major Chinese government-owned aircraft company, canceled their ability to advertise with us, and withstood their incessant years-long attacks when every legal expert we consulted suggested we just back down, and not spend the time resources and megabucks that were required to defend ourselves. We took on a convicted felon undertaking a number of dangerous efforts, even though we were threatened constantly… and this went on until that fool got himself killed… along with an innocent passenger.

But we did the right thing… While the rest of the aviation world (including some of our ‘upstanding’ associations) ignored it. No one took up for us… apparently afraid to pass up the advertiser megabucks and most failing to even look into what was going on. They had no comment on the personal attacks, the affront to the US Constitution, the legal violation(s) and/or attempts to squelch our journalistic privileges, the vile rumors, and no one stepped up to even refute the racial attacks against my wife.

I mention this now for one reason… We've never backed down… We have no intention of ever backing down… And every time someone comes up to me and asks about the cost of our editorial, they will get the same answer I politely gave the gentleman at Sun ‘n Fun a few weeks ago… "Aero-News editorial has no cost… It is not for sale… If you have a newsworthy story, we will tell it – but we will do it in a way that is accurate, credible, and serves the best interest of aviation. And if that's okay with you, I love to hear what you're doing and see if it is, indeed, newsworthy."

As I said, I do not expect the editorial situation in aviation to improve much… But I ask all of you this… If honest, credible editorial, built with integrity, means anything to you… Please tell everyone you know to read us and view us, tell the companies that you do business with that you would like to see them support honest editorial at Aero-News, Airborne and the SportPlane Resource Guide, and please do let some of the associations know that what we’re doing is valuable and deserves their support rather than (in some cases) interference, harassment, or derision…

Right, AOPA?

One of the other efforts that means much to me and is closely related to the feelings I have about the subjects above is my having taken on the Executive Directorship, again, of the Bob Hoover Legacy Foundation.

Believe you me, I did not need another job, and please understand that we are funding the effort from Aero-News itself, for the time being, and at this point are receiving no outside operational funding… Though we are getting ready to start raising funds for the future benefit of the organization and the aviation world that Bob Hoover loved so greatly. At some time in the near future, I'm going to ask for all of your help to build up the foundation, its scholarship program (already given a magnificent boost by a large donation from ‘Lites’ Leenhouts, Gene Conrad, the Sun 'n Fun Aerospace Center for Excellence) and other important endeavors.

And within a similar timeframe, I feel a strong need to put together something that I link so closely with the demeanor, integrity, and professionalism that our dear friend, Bob Hoover, exhibited all his life – and while there are some wonderful associations within aviation that have neither the baggage, nor the arrogance, of some of the major alphabet associations in aviation, I would like to build something I call the ‘Hoover Society’ into a subset of our foundation that can help bring additional credibility, expertise, integrity, and value to the aviation world… And, yes, I’m still trying to figure out the best way to do all that and what it entails. If you have any bright ideas, please reach out -- I'm listening to everyone and am pleased to have the backing of some fine people that are allowing me to try and build an important, if not necessary, add on to the legacy of Robert Anderson Hoover.

Yeah… I just dropped a bunch of bombs on you and there's a lot of background detailed all this… but not nearly as much as I need to impart – over time.

I will try to step up and talk a bit more about all this and other issues as we go forward. On the Aero-News side, there are things that we can do better, we must do better, and we are working on it. The first is our flight test reports. As a longtime experienced test pilot and a graduate of the National Test Pilot School (short course), and as someone who has apparently flown more different types and variations of aircraft than anybody else I know, I can provide a unique background, honest expertise, and viewpoint that, frankly, I have not been using to best effect.

Really good, really credible, well-detailed, flight test reports are a lot of work, and of late, I've not had the chance to do the job I want to do. However; I am clearing the deck so that I can do this more often for Aero-News and the SportPlane Resource Guide, as well as other efforts… So when somebody is interested in an aircraft or product or a combination thereof, we can provide the kind of expert analysis that is undeterred by hyperbole and BS, and is strictly based on credible, even verifiable, test data.

And, again, I promise you that we are going to be stepping up efforts in this regard and in a really big way… But to those of you out there in the aviation world, who are unafraid of honest credible analysis and editorial, we are likely to be your best friend… And if not -- shame on you.

We will have much more to say as we go forward… We are recovering from last week's AEA live sessions, and right now, we are jumping back into Oshkosh prep… For which we expect to produce our most expansive, and feature-rich programming yet.

And please, if you have suggestions, please let me know… I've learned far more from you all than I've been able to teach, and I suppose that is as it should be. Please understand that we are trying our very best, to do our very best, for you and to protect your wallets, your safety, even your lives, from what may be known/ignored or hidden hazards, and that nothing is going to keep us from being honest with you…

There is no price for integrity, and we cannot be bought.

All the best… And blue skies!

James Richard Campbell, CEO/ Editor-In-Chief/Test Pilot/Occasional Pain In The Butt

FMI: jim@aero-news.net