[RCSE] Death to RCR

[George Voss]

I have it from a source that I trust that RCM has breathed its last.  Unless additional funding is procured, there won’t be another issue published.  There are a few die-hard employees that are trying to continue to make it happen, but the truth is, it looks like it’s going the way of Model Builder.   If I was a gambling man, I would have thought that Flying Models would have been the magazine to fold.  RCM has/had probably the most ads, there for it should have been the one with the funds to succeed.  Such was not the case.   I filled out my questionnaire for one of the “slicks’ the other day.   After filling in all of their little blanks, in which they wanted to know how many people look at my magazine besides me, how much money I spend on the hobby etc., they leave four lines, approximately two inches long, with 1/4" between the lines for me to write my comments.  They didn't leave nearly enough room to write what I have in mind!   I took the issue of the magazine that the survey was in and started from the cover counting full page ads.  When I got to page 80, I'd counted 40 full page ads.  This count didn't include any pages with ads of less than a full page.  I'd venture to guess that the magazine contained 75% advertisements or more!  When I arrived at approximately the last quarter of the magazine, the mag contained only advertising until the second to the last page.   Needless to say, the four short lines they left weren't enough to put my comments.  In an effort to keep this short and printable, I wrote to the editors that they had excellent photos, nice paper stock, but little in the way of text that educated the modeler.  If we don't educate modelers as to how things in this hobby work, we will regress to the point that the hobby will disappear.  Sure ARF's are nice, but if a modeler can't apply a plastic film covering, or make a minor repair, new modeler will buy the ARF, break it and not know how to repair it, and quit the hobby.  Modelers still need the basics even in an ARF world.   My closing comments to the editor were this: "If I weren't getting the magazine for $13.50 a year, I wouldn't subscribe!"  On the other hand, I like what RC Report puts out.  B. Baker and I disagree on this point as he doesn’t like RCR because it doesn’t contain certain things ‘he’ considers vital to a magazine.  Personally, I like giant scale, SCALE planes and how they get those finishes.  I don’t care if they have construction articles or not because I don’t care for ‘sport’ designs.  I like scale planes, giant’s sailplanes and electrics.  RCR is short on the last two, but RC Groups and RCSE fill that void.  This doesn’t make either of us right or wrong.  It just shows that you can’t please everyone.   Whatever the guys in the NW are calling their magazine this week is also of no interest of me due to what I consider “questionable” editorial policies.  They seem to cater to advertisers instead of readers.  I hear the soaring guys complain about the lack of soaring articles, focusing on high-end sailplanes and having too much electric stuff.  Personally I wouldn’t subscribe regardless of what they print unless they get a new editor and change editorial policy.  Again, you can’t please everyone.     gv