roadrunner20

roadrunner20

Well Known Member
i just received my 2nd issue of KitPlanes.
I gotta tell ya, this is one great publication. It was loaded with very useful information the past 2 months. If this is any indication of their usual content, I highly recommend it. This month's issue had features on engine monitoring systems.
I have no financial interest in the mag, just wanted to pass on a good product.
 
I agree. Marc and staff are doing a great job at Kitplanes with interesting, informative content. I think this magazine gets many people into our sport/ hobby which can only be good. I like their line "dream it, build it, fly it".

With interest in the engines and redrive compilation this month, I know they do their best to report what manufacturers tell them but clearly some are stretching the truth on weights, hp and numbers delivered. It was good to see their cautions about some engines still being in development and recommendations to check things out before signing the check on any new designs.

Some plunge into these things with eyes wide shut and brains full of sugar plumb propaganda, not fact.
 
Thanks for the comments.

The data in the engine directory, as with the kit- and plansbuilt directories, comes from the manufacturers. We report what they tell us, which sometimes isn't quite correct and in other cases is sometimes quite far from the truth. We simply don't have the resources to go and test each engine design, or even go and weigh them. Wish we did...

--Marc
 
IO-375

The latest issue also made mention of an IO-375 from Aerosport. I emailed them about it and it is real. It may be an option for many of us.

205 HP
375 CI
IO-360 Parallel weight and size
Longer stroke than IO-360
9.5:1 CR
Starting in the mid 20's.

Happy Building/Dreaming
 
Has the quality of the articles improved? I used to subscribe 10 years ago, but there were so many articles with obvious factual errors, I opted not to resubscribe.
 
Kyle Boatright said:
Has the quality of the articles improved? I used to subscribe 10 years ago, but there were so many articles with obvious factual errors, I opted not to resubscribe.
Click to expand...
I dropped it 10 years ago also because of the obvious factual errors and too many articles about DREAMS . Dreams that never came to be.
 
I would say the depth of the articles is way better than 10 years ago. Icing is no longer applied to all product reviews and the flight tests tell things like they are. Maybe this ruffles a few feathers and even loses a few advertisers but is a real service to readers. This is what I pay for, not sugar coating that everything is wonderful. Kitplanes seems to be up on the latest technology too and has good how to articles like those from our own Dan C. and Walter A. Reno coverage is good too, especially on the Sport Class.

Now if Marc could get some more content like the now defunct "Experimental Aircraft Technology" had, it would be even better. If any VAF'ers have interesting stories with good photos, run them by him. Good content comes from good submissions.

The web doesn't reach everyone, a printed media is still an important way to inform.
 
I too gave up on Kitplanes about 10 years ago. But, things have changed. The quality of the articles has improved dramatically in the last couple of years. It's worth another look. I now purchase most issues.
 
Kitplanes Magazine

I decided to subscribe last year - and have enjoyed many of the articles. I do hope to see more tests like that seen recently of the Jabiru planes. Seemed to be honest and straightforward. (My wife had liked the J250 seen in Palm Springs - so we were disappointed in some of the comments about the flying qualities - but glad for the honesty in the write-up)

(Which reminds me... I DO wish Van's would do a high-wing!)

Anyway - like the magazine... Keep it up and I'll keep subscribing.

dj
 
Ditto what Kevin Horton said.

And last time the subject of Kitplanes came up on these forums, I badmouthed it, for what was good reason in my experience.

Under Marc's leadership, the magazine has changed and the articles are no longer an alternative form of advertising for it's advertisers.

I actually wish I had resubscribed a few months earlier.

Richard Scott
 
I enjoyed the engine monitor articles this month. but I wish they'd been more of a critical review to help me decide what to look for in engine monitors. And a price comparison where some prices included probes and some didn't (and I don't know what probes cost) didn't help me much in that category.

In fact, I'm befuddled by the price you have listed for the Grand Rapids EIS-4000 ($995). Why is it so much less than the others?

I enjoy the mag, though I think not having online access for print subscribers is weird.

Also, rather than put in the print edition "for links to the products" go to kitplanes.com, why not just put the URL for the product in the article somewhere.
 
Bob:

Excellent points, thanks.

I wish we could do much more in-depth coverage in stories like this, but it's difficult without a lot of actual flight experience with the units. In fact, the very best way to test engine monitors would be to have them all in the same airplane at the same time, and compare features and functions in real time. That's not really feasible, so the next best thing would be having them installed in the same airplane serially, also a daunting task and one that could take so much time as to be irrelevant by the time the matrix is completed because the technology marches on.

The remaining options, as I see them, are:

1. Knock off the reviews one by one, including some long-term stories such as the one Dan did on his Dynon D10. (And that's great from a longevity standpoint, but getting close to irrelevant in terms of features, as his is a straight 10, and the D10A that I now have as a backup does a lot more.) I have, for example, 180 hours with a Dynon D100/D120 combo so I could easly evaluate in detail. I'm looking forward to getting more time with the new AFS units as well.

2. Ask for outside reviews of particular units. This is workable, but the writing skills and critical acumen of builders is all over the map. How do we know if we're getting an honest and representative evaluation? (I knew we'd get one from Dan because he's a reasonable, thoughtful guy.)

3. Conduct a user survey. Find out from owners who have certain units what they like and dislike about them. I think I prefer this tactic because it tends to average out responses that are highly critical or overly fawning. I think I like this angle the best.

I agree that not listing the probe prices hurt the utility of the table, but I tried it with all the permutations and had to make it in 4-point type. I suppose we could have included a magnifying glass in that issue...

Online access is an interesting issue. I've been lobbying to get subscribers access for free or a greatly reduced price for some time. I think I'm making headway...

Hope this helps.

--Marc
 
Anecdotal stories of products (a single article on a product), as Dan did with the Dynon are always interesting to me but that's just me, of course. Still, that's what I like about your series on the Sportsman. It focuses on your choices and what the consequences are and the advantages and things you'd do differently of course.

Don't get me wrong, the article was helpful to me as an introduction to engine monitors. Very helpful. To the point where I'm anxious to learn more.

Being in the online news business, I feel for you on the Web site stuff. I think the answer is probably setting up some sort of premium content section for ADDITIONAL content to enhance the dead-tree version. How exactly to do that, however, escapes me at the moment.

Keep up the good work.

B
 
To get "Consumer Reports" style side-by-side comparisons requires Consumer Reports style budgets - which I doubt would be obtainable. I really do like the idea of the satisfaction survey though. You could devote a page a month to various specific surveys, then post or print the results some months later after a good number of responses come in.
 
I get a lot of aviation magazines, but as an Experimental flyer this is the very best in my opinion for my Experimental world. Even EAA doesn't have the same value for what I need to learn and understand for operating, modifying and maintaining my aircraft (which is a sad commentary on the EAA). When I recently lost an issue that had important articles I needed, Marc replaced the data within hours of a request - what more could you possibly ask for in a key source of information for your passion? :D
Great magazine and great resource for our Experimental world.
Thank you Marc. Keep up the great work.
DV
 
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