Well it’s probably time that I comment on further developments a little bit. The short answer is that AvWeb and Kitplanes have been sister publications for decades, and they were both bought (along with Aviation Consumer, IFR, etc) two years ago by Firecrown, a new publishing collective with broad reach. They are budget-driven and trying to provide synergy between markets - but the bottom line is that they don’t understand speciality publishing, and the need for subject matter experts that can also write…. (BTW - the magazine has been base lined at 84 pages for as long as I can remember - it has never gone below that. Sometimes it goes above that to accommodate Buyer’s Guides. But the magazine is thinner because of thinner paper….)
Therefore, it is with great regret that I have to post that due to changes in management by the owners of the Kitplanes brand, the editorial staff has reluctantly had to take the position that we simply can’t produce the magazine at the level of quality and content that our readers have come to expect from the 41-year history of the publication. Because of this, the senior editors have all decided that the September issue will be their last under Firecrown, and are exploring for ways to continue providing the content our readers have come to expect in other venues. We have let our regular (and occasional) contributors know this, and most have said “tell us when we have a new outlet!” Because we all recognize the desire that builders and pilots have for this kind of material.
I have been with Kitplanes in some capacity or another for about fifteen years, and have enjoyed bringing together a great team of people to write about Experimental aviation. I’ll miss that if we can’t continue in some form!
Paul
