Is that declaration (to continue despite loss of the team) written up somewhere by the publishers where we can read it?
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Thanks, Paul. I wish you luck, and have always enjoyed your articles and stewardship of the magazine.
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A public declaration? None of which I'm aware.
Awww, everything is going to be OK. Firecrown is advertising (under careers) for "Kitplanes Lead Editor, Aviation" for $80K / yr. That and AI will bring us everything we were used to with the "old" Kitplanes editor(s), staff and contributors (NOT! Tongue firmly in cheek)
My concern is access to the past issues for all the awesome info. Heck, I have old paper copies of RVator I still reference.
I have the digital issues saved from before 2021. Was going to renew to get the missing issues but NOT at the price Firecrown wants and all the OLD people that made it the way it was GONE!
Here's a bit of reality.
Yes, Kitplanes will go on and maybe unchanged till content runs out and they start running AI content. The Internet doesn't know everything. Folks that contributed were and are the knowledge. Those tips and tricks are not found on the web.
Case and point.
This week I was asked to help on a brake job. The owner is a dedicated You Tuber. I could tell him the secret to success and he wouldn't believe it. Caliper bolt head was stripped. Ok, I tried a few things then tossed his tools and grabbed mine. Couple hits with a hammer and it's loose. How did you do that? Six point sockets. How many sides on a bolt head? So why does everyone buy 12 point sockets.
Then he starts fighting the other wheel lugs 1/2 a turn at a time. I tell him to put the lug wrench on and I kick the tire around. Duh! Where do you find these tricks? Old guys! Find an Old Guy and stick to him like glue. Learn everything. My first mentor taught me all I know about cars. Sadly he is in a memory care facility. I visit, but all that knowledge is lost.
My airplane mentor (Dave Paule, not an old guy. Super smart guy.) taught me all I know about airplanes. I need to figure out how to get a data download.
Internet is just a backup and usually wrong. So be very careful of what AI writes
Sadly, that was my son. Someday, all that knowledge will be lost and an entire generation will fumble around like lost sheep.
Yes, Kitplanes will go on and maybe unchanged till content runs out and they start running AI content. The Internet doesn't know everything. Folks that contributed were and are the knowledge. Those tips and tricks are not found on the web.
Case and point.
This week I was asked to help on a brake job. The owner is a dedicated You Tuber. I could tell him the secret to success and he wouldn't believe it. Caliper bolt head was stripped. Ok, I tried a few things then tossed his tools and grabbed mine. Couple hits with a hammer and it's loose. How did you do that? Six point sockets. How many sides on a bolt head? So why does everyone buy 12 point sockets.
Then he starts fighting the other wheel lugs 1/2 a turn at a time. I tell him to put the lug wrench on and I kick the tire around. Duh! Where do you find these tricks? Old guys! Find an Old Guy and stick to him like glue. Learn everything. My first mentor taught me all I know about cars. Sadly he is in a memory care facility. I visit, but all that knowledge is lost.
My airplane mentor (Dave Paule, not an old guy. Super smart guy.) taught me all I know about airplanes. I need to figure out how to get a data download.
Internet is just a backup and usually wrong. So be very careful of what AI writes
Sadly, that was my son. Someday, all that knowledge will be lost and an entire generation will fumble around like lost sheep.
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Totally agree with Larry.
I used to play with old cars, most had Weber twin 40 carbs on them. You can’t find a rolling road anywhere nowadays that can rejet a carb. If a kid can’t plug a laptop in they’re not interested. And all that knowledge, that wasn’t on the internet, is now lost to time.
And this is where I’m firmly in the AI is “bull” camp. How is AI going to come out to my garage and rejet my carbs? How is it going to do a compression test on my -360? It’s a glorified search engine. I remember the .com frenzy of the early 2000s. This smells the same.
I used to play with old cars, most had Weber twin 40 carbs on them. You can’t find a rolling road anywhere nowadays that can rejet a carb. If a kid can’t plug a laptop in they’re not interested. And all that knowledge, that wasn’t on the internet, is now lost to time.
And this is where I’m firmly in the AI is “bull” camp. How is AI going to come out to my garage and rejet my carbs? How is it going to do a compression test on my -360? It’s a glorified search engine. I remember the .com frenzy of the early 2000s. This smells the same.
briand
Well Known Member
To rejet Weber twin 40 carbs, you need to remove the carburetors from the engine, then access the main jets and air corrector jets by unscrewing them from the carb body. Replace the jets with the desired sizes, ensuring they are securely fastened before reassembling and reinstalling the carbs.
https://duckduckgo.com/?t=h_&q=how+do+you+rejet+a+Weber+twin+40+carbs&ia=web&assist=true
---- snip ----
More than 60-years ago, my father had me by his side for everything he did mechanically and my job was just to watch.
Looking back, I learned how to do a lot of things that I now take for granted and wonder why others do not know how to do it.
From my experience, I must say that Larry is giving a HUGE tip for others to follow.
Funny. I think it's like the Dr in the commercial correcting folks from growing up like their parents. Next generation is different.
I was watching a windshield guy removing one. I hear a chattering sound. I couldn't resist. Had to ask.
He had a home brew blade. Very thin. Looked like a BBQ Spatula. Attached to a sawzall. He slipped it into the space below the dash and just cut the Sika. He said the traditional knives or Kevlar string don't work along the forward edge because there are often two beads of Sika.
I'll happily be my Dad any day. He passed when I was 24 before I got a chance to get the Dad Data Dump.
I was watching a windshield guy removing one. I hear a chattering sound. I couldn't resist. Had to ask.
He had a home brew blade. Very thin. Looked like a BBQ Spatula. Attached to a sawzall. He slipped it into the space below the dash and just cut the Sika. He said the traditional knives or Kevlar string don't work along the forward edge because there are often two beads of Sika.
I'll happily be my Dad any day. He passed when I was 24 before I got a chance to get the Dad Data Dump.
Getting the message first, then the latest magazine accents how much we are losing. Your articles are such a key part of Kit Planes that cannot be replaced.
I am grateful for all the things I have learned from Paul and Vic and others over the years.
Firecrown Aviation Group Names New Editors for KITPLANES and AVweb - KITPLANES
Firecrown Media’s Aviation Group has appointed two new editorial leaders as the company continues to expand and invest in its family of publications. KITPLANES Randall Brink has been named Lead Editor of KITPLANES Magazine, bringing decades of experience as an author, editor, and pilot. Brink is...
www.kitplanes.com
Submit them to the Wayback Machine ( internet Archive - archive.org ) so they're always available.
That's a great idea..... Just like this one submitted by....
August 12, 2020
[ed. <grin>. v/r,dr]
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briand
Well Known Member
The Experimental Aviator Launches - AvBrief.com
AvBrief is creating a new home for the wealth of homebuilder information available to us and it's called Experimental Aviator.
avbrief.com
It’s encouraging to see folks capturing the “knowledge” and hopefully protecting it for future generations.
An AP buddy that signs off my Bucker was working with me to get it done a couple days ago. We were lamenting about our mentors as another one passed on. We gained knowledge by “doing” while being supported by “local” legends. The WWII test pilot. The airport owner who met Lindbergh and still owned a Jenny. Mechanics that could rebuild a Wrignt radial, the guy that built 14 RV4’s. They’re gone.
Then, he said something that really hit me. “We are the Old Guys now”.
Keeping the knowledge chain alive will continue to be a challenge. It’s good to see this effort being made here in an appropriate media for these times. We may be the Old Guys but we’re still capable of adapting, sharing, and mentoring. It’s just a bit different.
An AP buddy that signs off my Bucker was working with me to get it done a couple days ago. We were lamenting about our mentors as another one passed on. We gained knowledge by “doing” while being supported by “local” legends. The WWII test pilot. The airport owner who met Lindbergh and still owned a Jenny. Mechanics that could rebuild a Wrignt radial, the guy that built 14 RV4’s. They’re gone.
Then, he said something that really hit me. “We are the Old Guys now”.
Keeping the knowledge chain alive will continue to be a challenge. It’s good to see this effort being made here in an appropriate media for these times. We may be the Old Guys but we’re still capable of adapting, sharing, and mentoring. It’s just a bit different.
I have it on good authority that Dave Paule is actually old.
Dave
P.S. He's not very bright, either.
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Sorry to beat a dead horse here, but I thought this was both disturbing and hilarious at the same time.
Kitplanes published an article on September 2 claiming to have hired a new editor:
www.kitplanes.com
So I for one am thrilled to meet our new... Wait... Who? Randall Brink? Um... Ok....
<googles a bit>
Is Randall Brink a real person? I have my doubts...
He has the same pics across several sites including the one linked from Kitplanes.com:
The LinkedIn profile claims that he's an author and screenwriter. Also that he was the CEO of Western Air LLC from 2002 to 2020. The X profile claims that he's a "Constitutional Law Analyst and Commentator" and "Political Scientist" as well as a former "Airline CEO and Captain". Muck Rack has essentially the same.
Just because I really hate being lied to, I took a few minutes and dug into the LinkedIn profile and as far as I can tell everything on it is made up.
The education links are nonsense. There is no "University of the State of New York". Click the link and it takes you to a search for those words on LinkedIn. No such school. Also, a BA in American Government and Politics after studying from January of 1979 to June of 1980? Seriously?
A search for "Western Air LLC" in Washington state's database shows that a company by that name existed from 2011 to 2014 and was "ADMINISTRATIVELY DISSOLVED". The resume shows him as CEO from 2002 to 2020. Odd, eh?
Both the article announcing his hiring and his online profile mentions that he's "an FAA Airline Transport Pilot (ATP)" so he should be in the FAA Pilot registry, right? I checked and as far as I can tell there does not seem to be any pilot with the name Randall Brink.
Many (possibly all?) of the articles linked from his Muck Rack profile are AI generated stuff in SimpleFlying which itself seems to be a largely AI generated site with a few part-time contributors listed as Editors.
All the books attributed to or associated with Randall Brink - the ones listed in the article - are about 30 years old. Some much older than that. None of them appear to have been in print in recent decades. The guy in the pic isn't a kid, but he's not 75+ which is about where you would probably be to have written for Air Progress and published the Buying and Restoring a Light Plane on a Budget.
The only really live Randall Brink stuff I was able to find were 21,200 Twitter (X) posts, generated between 2011 and today. The posts in the account seem very... bot-like? (Not getting political, they literally just seem like the kind of slightly-off / weird messages that bots post.)
I think Randall is something made up. I can't prove it, but I'm pretty well convinced.
If I'm right, the Firecrown gang has just tried to pass off an internet construct as its new editor. I don't know if that rises to the level of fraud, but it sure doesn't inspire me to renew my subscription or my advertising.
Kitplanes published an article on September 2 claiming to have hired a new editor:
Firecrown Aviation Group Names New Editors for KITPLANES and AVweb - KITPLANES
Firecrown Media’s Aviation Group has appointed two new editorial leaders as the company continues to expand and invest in its family of publications. KITPLANES Randall Brink has been named Lead Editor of KITPLANES Magazine, bringing decades of experience as an author, editor, and pilot. Brink is...
www.kitplanes.com
So I for one am thrilled to meet our new... Wait... Who? Randall Brink? Um... Ok....
<googles a bit>
Is Randall Brink a real person? I have my doubts...
He has the same pics across several sites including the one linked from Kitplanes.com:
The LinkedIn profile claims that he's an author and screenwriter. Also that he was the CEO of Western Air LLC from 2002 to 2020. The X profile claims that he's a "Constitutional Law Analyst and Commentator" and "Political Scientist" as well as a former "Airline CEO and Captain". Muck Rack has essentially the same.
Just because I really hate being lied to, I took a few minutes and dug into the LinkedIn profile and as far as I can tell everything on it is made up.
The education links are nonsense. There is no "University of the State of New York". Click the link and it takes you to a search for those words on LinkedIn. No such school. Also, a BA in American Government and Politics after studying from January of 1979 to June of 1980? Seriously?
A search for "Western Air LLC" in Washington state's database shows that a company by that name existed from 2011 to 2014 and was "ADMINISTRATIVELY DISSOLVED". The resume shows him as CEO from 2002 to 2020. Odd, eh?
Both the article announcing his hiring and his online profile mentions that he's "an FAA Airline Transport Pilot (ATP)" so he should be in the FAA Pilot registry, right? I checked and as far as I can tell there does not seem to be any pilot with the name Randall Brink.
Many (possibly all?) of the articles linked from his Muck Rack profile are AI generated stuff in SimpleFlying which itself seems to be a largely AI generated site with a few part-time contributors listed as Editors.
All the books attributed to or associated with Randall Brink - the ones listed in the article - are about 30 years old. Some much older than that. None of them appear to have been in print in recent decades. The guy in the pic isn't a kid, but he's not 75+ which is about where you would probably be to have written for Air Progress and published the Buying and Restoring a Light Plane on a Budget.
The only really live Randall Brink stuff I was able to find were 21,200 Twitter (X) posts, generated between 2011 and today. The posts in the account seem very... bot-like? (Not getting political, they literally just seem like the kind of slightly-off / weird messages that bots post.)
I think Randall is something made up. I can't prove it, but I'm pretty well convinced.
If I'm right, the Firecrown gang has just tried to pass off an internet construct as its new editor. I don't know if that rises to the level of fraud, but it sure doesn't inspire me to renew my subscription or my advertising.
Is there a Tyler Durden in the FAA Airmen database? (Sarcasm font!)
Randall W Brink is a real live guy. I haven't seen him in 49 years but he signed me off for solo on Aug 8 1975. Funny how life tends to circle back on itself now and then.
We have been communicating a bit of late and Randy invited me a couple of days ago to make a submission for the next edition of Kitplanes that he is working on.
I was technically on medical leave when the legacy KP team imploded, but I told Randy that I would have walked when they walked, and that I have made a commitment to be a part of whatever new venture may emerge from the legacy KP team.
I am proud of the legacy of Kitplanes and AvWeb and my small part of it, and I wish them well, but want nothing to do with Firecrown/Fuller.
Myron Nelson
We have been communicating a bit of late and Randy invited me a couple of days ago to make a submission for the next edition of Kitplanes that he is working on.
I was technically on medical leave when the legacy KP team imploded, but I told Randy that I would have walked when they walked, and that I have made a commitment to be a part of whatever new venture may emerge from the legacy KP team.
I am proud of the legacy of Kitplanes and AvWeb and my small part of it, and I wish them well, but want nothing to do with Firecrown/Fuller.
Myron Nelson
Huh. Ok.
Is he actually an ATP, screenwriter, former airline executive, and constitutional scholar, as well as an aviation writer?
If so, I offer my apologies.
Ok, I found Randall in the actual FAA online registry portal and he does indeed hold an ATP so apologies on that count. I should have tried that first.
To be fair, the internet and AI can be a funny place to search for people - if you search “Craig Fuller” (founder and owner of Firecrown, the company that owns pretty much ALL of the aviation print publications now), you’ll find that not only does he own Firecrown, he was also a musician who founded “Pure Prairie League”….. somehow, I think that AI tends to conflate people with the same name….
briand
Well Known Member
A Note From The New Editor - KITPLANES
The primary focus of a new editor at a magazine like Kitplanes is where the work happens—not in an office, but in a garage, backyard shop, a hangar, a space cleared to make room for a bench for a set of plans and tools. Kitplanes has always been written for that space and for the […]
www.kitplanes.com
mgroleau2125
Member
A lot of talk, time will tell if they actually follow through with it and live up to the articles of the past.A Note From The New Editor - KITPLANES
The primary focus of a new editor at a magazine like Kitplanes is where the work happens—not in an office, but in a garage, backyard shop, a hangar, a space cleared to make room for a bench for a set of plans and tools. Kitplanes has always been written for that space and for the […]
So he is somewhere between 70 and 80?
You should be. No disrespect to my other friends, but your writing was certainly among the best.
Sam Buchanan
been here awhile
He might be, here is his byline from an editor's note this morning:
Randall Brink began flying before he was in his teens. His first airplane was an Aeronca 7AC. He discovered ultralights and kit planes when they became wildly popular. He has worked in aviation for fifty years and has held positions ranging from aviation gas boy and plane washer to Chairman, President, and Chief Executive Officer. Along the way, he served as writer, contributing editor, and editor.
4th paragraph is so good, Randall included it twice. Nice editing.A Note From The New Editor - KITPLANES
The primary focus of a new editor at a magazine like Kitplanes is where the work happens—not in an office, but in a garage, backyard shop, a hangar, a space cleared to make room for a bench for a set of plans and tools. Kitplanes has always been written for that space and for the […]
Ouch. That's odd. He would have to copy and paste the paragraph.
briand
Well Known Member
AI glitch.
“AI Text Generation and Repetition
“AI Text Generation and Repetition
Common Issues with AI Writing
AI-generated content can often exhibit repetitive patterns, including the repetition of entire paragraphs. This occurs due to the way AI models are trained, relying on learned patterns from vast datasets. Here are some key points regarding this issue:- Repetitive Phrasing: AI tends to repeat phrases or ideas because it predicts the next word based on probabilities. This can lead to redundancy in the text.
- Paragraph Repetition: In some cases, AI may generate similar or identical paragraphs, especially if the prompts are vague or if the model is unsure how to expand on a topic.”
That is really sad.
I’m done with Kitplanes. Too many people I respect burned by them. Time for a new magazine with real writers that know airplanes.
mgroleau2125
Member
Personally I would love to see what Avbrief turns into, would love to see it like the old kitplane builder articles. Seems like they are off to a good start
Aside from the great folks that were kicked to the curb. I received a "special" offer from KITPLANES a day or so ago to renew my subscription for a bargain price of $45.95. I guess I'll just have to borrow my next door neighbor's copy. I realize it is a specialty publication, but I won't justify the cost. Just my 2 pennies...
It's a key part of the Firecrown business model. Mr. Fuller did the same with Flying, and explained it on a business podcast.
In the good old days publishers pushed for subscriber numbers by discounting subscriptions, because that sold well with advertisers. However, printing and distribution are major costs. In the new model, triple the subscription price, winnow down to 1/3 the subscribers, and net the same revenue with 1/3 the cost. As for advertisers, you insist your salespeople point out that having bought all the magazines in a particular market segment, you control all the print reaching those enthusiasts, and the subscribers who remain are the ones who will spend money.
I'm writing this myself.
I routinely add some grok info to posts, but it is ALWAYS identified as such. I find it interesting because it sometimes supports, sometimes refutes, and sometimes doesn't know what the heck it's talking about.
You may want to scan the content, and keep the salt shaker handy.
That should be amusing. Somebody ask it.
I plan to finish the series, still figuring out where to publish it. And I need to go work on my plane this coming month….
- Tenley and N2165U, “Second Chance Six”My vote would be to take advantage of the "My Project" section here on VAF. In any event, please let us know where you finally do put it. -- Thanks!
Dave
Dave
Sam Buchanan
been here awhile
Unfortunately VAF doesn't pay for journalistic content like KitPlanes did, Tenley will lose a revenue stream if she doesn't find a mainline publication for her material.
I doubt any of us did it for the money.
We did it to help others.
All it did was increase my IRS taxes.
The new kitplanes editor says that way back when, he was the editor of a competing magazine. Anybody know what magazine he's referring to?
Sam Buchanan
been here awhile
I understand that point, I had several articles published in KitPlanes and never submitted them for the purpose of generating income. I was just pointing out a difference in publishing in a non-revenue media.
I didn't realize there were contributors who depended on the revenue. I hope they find another publisher. The industry is missing an opportunity here. I sure miss the old Kitplanes.
Interesting tool I was introduced to recently …. GPTzero.me …. Apparently teachers are using it to detect when students are submitting AI generated work. Run some of the latest posts on Kitplanes.com through it to see how they are doing……
