Yep, the Word is Out: New Concepts, New Aircraft, More
(Gulp...) Editors
by ANN Senior Correspondent Kevin R.C. "Hognose"
O'Brien
There comes a time in
flight where the PIC shakes the stick and says, "Here, you take
over." (Usually when you're upside down, nothing on the clock, and
still climbing, but that's another story...). And that has happened
recently with the SportPlane Resource Guide, the beloved, and
accursed, monstrosity that weighs down coffee tables nationwide --
but contains more information on sport and experimental airplane
types than anything else, ever. Jim Campbell has handed a fair
amount of it over to me with the anxious look of a young mother
whose baby is about to be put in the hands of the babysitter for
the first time. And who has just found out that the sitter is a New
Age follower of Carthaginian religion...
Jim will not be relinquishing oversight of the new guide, and
he'll still be the primary contributor. You will still get his Zoom
Report on the planes he knows -- the majority of them. We'll still
be the only guys who rate the risk of a particular design or
vendor. We'll still have more detail on more types than anybody in
the business.
It'll still be heavy, I'm afraid. Don't let your daughter put it
in her book bag or the grade school will turn you in for child
abuse.
One much-requested change that you will be seeing: we WILL
include a section on out-of-production, but widely available, kits
and plans. We always are getting questions about plans and projects
that people are buying on the secondary market. Some of these are
GREAT planes and are unavailable for reasons having nothing to do
with their quality, the definitive example being Rutan's composite
canard aircraft. Some of them are turkeys and went off the market
due to design flaws or business irrationality and our readers
deserve to know about them, too.
It's a strange thing in this business, but availability over a
period of decades doesn't guarantee a good design, and a quick
failure doesn't mean a bad machine.
We'll be trying some other new ideas with this edition; we don't
want to mention them just yet. Some might not work out; some might
prejudice you. Instead, we'd like you to drop us a line (sprg@aero-news.net)
and let us know what you like, or don't, about the last (1998) and
previous editions of the guide, and what you'd like us to change. I
can't guarantee we'll do what you prefer, but we will listen to
what you say.
You can always go straight to my email (hognose@aero-news.net)
or right to the boss (publisher@aero-news.net)
but the SPRG account is for the, well, I won't insult your
intelligence by pointing it out.
If you're a vendor with a Light Sport, kit, or plans-built
aircraft of any kind, drop us a line and make sure that I have your
information. If you have a beef with coverage in the previous
edition, we'll give you a fair hearing (as we always have). If we
missed something or got it wrong, now is the time to get it
right.
Come by and see us at the shows, too! We'll be there.
Bolen Gives Congress a Rare Thumbs-Up
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