gyromike
03-09-2006, 05:41 PM
I was going to write this in my other post in the 'airport' thread, but I decided to start a new thread to keep things separate.
I have read here that the magazine is lacking in content and that it could be better, like Sport Aviation or Kitplanes. As to the magazine quality, yeah I wish it were a little snappier, a little thicker. But Rick is only one person, and he can't be everywhere and write about everything.
I wish I could write stuff like Chuck, Doug, Greg, and the other knowledgeable people on this forum, but I don't have their experience or depth of knowledge. But I can write about what goes on in our little neck of the woods.
We at Chapter 20 try to write up articles about our fly-ins and send them in to Rick and so far he's printed all of them. Someone mentioned that they would hate to go to the trouble to write an article about their fly-in and it not get published. I think Rick would ecstatic if every chapter wrote one article about one fly-in that they hosted during the year. I counted 37 PRA chapters in the U.S., and 5 more in Canada, Germany, and Puerto Rico. If half of those chapters wrote up one fly-in article a year, we would have plenty of material for the year to supplant the more technical articles. And that's just fly-ins.
But imagine if someone from each chapter were to write a quick article about a recent completion of their own, or a member’s gyro.
Or a neat gizmo they've made to speed up construction on their gyro.
Or a cross-country flight they made to another fly-in.
And this doesn't include the PRA members who may not be affiliated with a local chapter.
Here on the Forum we 'oooh' and 'aaahh' when someone posts pictures of flying in the local area. Why not share? There are many people who don't use the Internet. I can think of a few in my chapter and I'm sure you can too. I'm sure they would be interested in just about anything to do with gyros, if someone would just type it up and email it to Rick. You don't have to be Hemingway either. Just have someone else proof it for you or circulate it amongst the chapter members for their input, and if you feel it needs a little peer review for technical content, I'm sure that any of our more technically minded people would be willing to help.
Most people now have, or have access to, a decent digital camera. As much as people like the articles, they also like pictures, especially if it's a gyro like what they're interested in. Or just club members sitting around having a good time at a fly-in. It lets them experience what may not be available in their area.
Take lots of pictures on the highest resolution setting on your camera.
Get your chapter members to send you their pictures too, and burn them all to CD along with the write-up and send it to Rick. Flood him with pictures! I'm pretty sure it won't break his heart to have to sift through them. :)
This Forum is populated with gyro enthusiasts from around the world. Any of whom could contribute something to the magazine. We all know our own areas and happenings better than any staff writer could.
Why not put it in the magazine?
(p.s. What you have just read is about 600 words, and with a handful of pictures would fill out 2-3 pages in the magazine ;) )
I have read here that the magazine is lacking in content and that it could be better, like Sport Aviation or Kitplanes. As to the magazine quality, yeah I wish it were a little snappier, a little thicker. But Rick is only one person, and he can't be everywhere and write about everything.
I wish I could write stuff like Chuck, Doug, Greg, and the other knowledgeable people on this forum, but I don't have their experience or depth of knowledge. But I can write about what goes on in our little neck of the woods.
We at Chapter 20 try to write up articles about our fly-ins and send them in to Rick and so far he's printed all of them. Someone mentioned that they would hate to go to the trouble to write an article about their fly-in and it not get published. I think Rick would ecstatic if every chapter wrote one article about one fly-in that they hosted during the year. I counted 37 PRA chapters in the U.S., and 5 more in Canada, Germany, and Puerto Rico. If half of those chapters wrote up one fly-in article a year, we would have plenty of material for the year to supplant the more technical articles. And that's just fly-ins.
But imagine if someone from each chapter were to write a quick article about a recent completion of their own, or a member’s gyro.
Or a neat gizmo they've made to speed up construction on their gyro.
Or a cross-country flight they made to another fly-in.
And this doesn't include the PRA members who may not be affiliated with a local chapter.
Here on the Forum we 'oooh' and 'aaahh' when someone posts pictures of flying in the local area. Why not share? There are many people who don't use the Internet. I can think of a few in my chapter and I'm sure you can too. I'm sure they would be interested in just about anything to do with gyros, if someone would just type it up and email it to Rick. You don't have to be Hemingway either. Just have someone else proof it for you or circulate it amongst the chapter members for their input, and if you feel it needs a little peer review for technical content, I'm sure that any of our more technically minded people would be willing to help.
Most people now have, or have access to, a decent digital camera. As much as people like the articles, they also like pictures, especially if it's a gyro like what they're interested in. Or just club members sitting around having a good time at a fly-in. It lets them experience what may not be available in their area.
Take lots of pictures on the highest resolution setting on your camera.
Get your chapter members to send you their pictures too, and burn them all to CD along with the write-up and send it to Rick. Flood him with pictures! I'm pretty sure it won't break his heart to have to sift through them. :)
This Forum is populated with gyro enthusiasts from around the world. Any of whom could contribute something to the magazine. We all know our own areas and happenings better than any staff writer could.
Why not put it in the magazine?
(p.s. What you have just read is about 600 words, and with a handful of pictures would fill out 2-3 pages in the magazine ;) )