Commercial mag?

[alanmack]

It's a great line of thought.

At the last Aero Club awards dinner (next one in on 8 November if you want to go contact Alex Rudd 082 568 8635) I chatted to the largest SA selling avaiation magazine owners. Let them remain nameless. Crisply put, they said their magazine would not host microlight content to any great extent as it reduced their sales volumes. On the other hand African Pilot still run their microlight survey - the last was in the June 2008 issue. African Pilot is about 110 pages. With another 40 to 50 pages on trikes and light sport planes their magazine would change character. I have not approached them as I do not suspect that they would be interested. Actually, I'm just trying to get the 1st issue in production, getting scribes, quotes etc etc. I will approach the paragliders again - I liked the Go Fly Addition to our mag, maybe the model plane lads etc ie a magazine for the under represented. BUT .... if a large player is interested maybe we can retire again to enjoying a magazine without the politics!

fly safe

[RV4ker (RIP)]

I doubt any retirement is imminent... I was just interested to know why... or actually why not...

[alanmack]

Ok

You're become a diversion from sending out requests for companies to take ad space. Hats off to Dave Grosvenor (Dreamwings - Foxbat) who has just taken an ad in all four issues - At this time of night!!!!!

We used to include the power paragliders "Go Fly" - Anybody have any late night ideas on others that would be of interest to our members? What about model planes - Would you want to know where they go and when? etc

fly safe

[ZS-NEL]

If you just ask AP to quote on your requirements you don't have to work so late yourself. RC flyers, vitual aviation. Paragliders, Balloons, etc etc we have them all.

[John Boucher]

Without interfering....

Alan, have you sent Athol an e-mail or possibly discussed it with him of the possibility of incorporation?

[Stephan van Tonder]

I like models and flies RC myself. I think anybody in the microlight category has a passion for everything that flies and I like to read about paragliding etc.etc. so i'd say include them all...

[gertcoetzee]

Alan, have you sent Athol an e-mail or possibly discussed it with him of the possibility of incorporation?

Three years back when Athol attended the fly-in at Nieuwoudville I asked him why he does not include a permanent microlight section. My reasoning was same as mentioned above, infrastructure there, will immediately increase readership by 1000+ (microlighters) and who knows how many PNA/CNA/Exclusive Books lurkers who might buy when they see pictures of something more affordable and fun to fly than all those expensive bliks. He was keen on putting some articles in AP, but did not want to commit himself to a complete microlighters section.

Perhaps one of the reason African Skies flopped was because of this - you cannot rely on a limited market, ie subscriptions only. Perhaps the new Microflight should also be sold to non-members (dare I say like me), albeit at an increased price. Or latching onto an existing established magazine.

[John Boucher]

I took it on myself to send a small note to Athol and here is his reply... this should shed some light on the question at hand!

Hi John,

....... some lines of personal content intentionally removed ............

On the issue of a 'profitable' light flight aviation magazine I have the following to offer:

Over the past few years African Pilot has published many articles about the lighter side of flying:

*
Microlighting
*
Gyrocopters
*
Paragliding
*
Aircraft modelling
*
Virtual aviation
*
Gliding or soaring
*
Ballooning

In addition we have have tried to represent the interests of the Aero Club of South Africa. I have called for at least one article per month on any of the above. However, this is often like pulling teeth. Everyone agrees that there is a need for this type of coverage, but no one wants to take responsibility to ensure that the articles and pictures are sent to me for my perusal. You are probably aware that my company AFS Studio has produced the Aero Club's annual report for the past five years and even getting reports from the various sections has often been a problem.

The very reason why a 'club type' magazine will not work is the huge cost of printing. For example, African Pilot costs about R140 000 per month to print. Many clubs and sections of the Aero Club have chosen to rather produce on-line magazines because the cost of printing is avoided. Neil de Lange has also had a go at trying to produce an e-mail newsletter, but this is also sporadic due to the sheer pressure of his work as general manager of the Aero Club. The only successful aviation magazines that publish reguarly in South Africa are the three you have
mentioned: AP, SAF and AN. From my experience over the past eight years in this business I can confirm that the market is already saturated.

Why will a commercial 'light flight' magazine not succeed in South Africa? The main reason is that it will not impress the big advertisers who spend the money required to fund the costs of producing the magazine. All magazines work on a simple formulae: The advertising sales should cover all costs: printing, salaries, rent, computer equipment purchases, software purchases, IT support, legal fees, accounting fees, Website hosting, camera equipment, payments to contributors, licences, other professional fees, vehicle expenses, aircraft expenses, PAYE, UIF, VAT and all other government taxes. The sales of the magazine through distributors (we only receive 50%) and subscriptions make up the profit of the publication. African Pilot is a business, just like any other business that is required to deliver a return to its shareholders.
Historically, very few 'club type magazines' have worked in South Africa, because of the sheer volume of work and expertise required to make this type of enterprise profitable. Often an enthusiast will come forward to produce the publication, but he/she will eventually run out of steam especially when there is no reward for the considerable amount of work required. African Pilot provides full time employment for nine members of staff as well as three consultants (accountant, bookkeeper and IT professional).

I have discussed the idea of African Pilot becoming the Aero Club of South Africa's official publication on several occasions with Stan Oliver (chairman) and Neil de Lange (general manager). However, we decided that this would not work due to a variety of reasons, many of which are contained above.
The Aero Club believes that it does not wish to force its members into any particular commercial magazine (I agree with this sentiment). The Aero Club also does not wish to finance such a magazine - it has already burnt its fingers with another publication, which did not deliver as promised. African Pilot cannot afford to loose the advertising commitment from the large aviation companies and there is actually very little financial commitment that comes form the lighter side of flight when compared to the larger companies.

Solution:
African Pilot has made a commitment to the member sections of the Aero Club of South Africa that the magazine will carry at least two full articles on members sections, which includes aspects of the lighter side of flight in each edition. The November edition that is currently printing and will go into circulation from Friday will have an excellent Microlight story on the Numbi Cup by Marius Nel (marketing manager) as well as a story by me on the EAA's annual Sun 'n Fun held in Bloemfontein. There is also a story on the Sorrel - ultra light home-built aircraft.

The ball is firmly in the courts of the member sections of the Aero Club, because we encourage you the members to share your flying experiences with all the members of the aviation community. I have also made the commitment that either Marius, Divan or I will attend fly-ins, fly-aways, airshows, news worthy events and competition events. I would like to encourage ALL members of the Microlight pilot community to give consideration to what they would like to see in African Pilot on a monthly basis. I am more than happy to research and write articles that discuss topics that are suggested in future magazines.

This is a long reply, which you are free to circulate to all MISASA members as well as to place on Microlighters.

Regards,
Athol Franz
(CEO and editor African Pilot)

[ZS-NEL]

To attend all the fly-ins, competitions and other microlight events to write stories is the easy part of my job, but to find advertisers to support these stories is another story (and I’m talking about the lighter side of aviation). I have sympathy with Trix. My opinion is that the microlighters are the enemy and killers of their own magazines. It's like who's first the chicken or the egg. You need advertisers to fund the mag, but first you need subscribers / readers to draw the advertisers. To be honest with all the negativity around African skies I would not like to waste any money on advertising if everyone is moaning and bitching. If we want ANY magazine to work, stop moaning and support the mags weather you a reader or an advertiser. Thanks for those advertisers who support our microlight stories in African Pilot and also for those who buy and read them. Keep it coming.....as I will hate to stop writing.

See you all in Klerksdorp!

[alanmack]

All of the above debate has been incredibly useful. Thank you very much indeed.

Only this aftternoon I was chatting to Mark Bellingan (re paragliders) and I asked him to send me Gert Coetzee's telephone number. I was thinking of the bollocking he gave me about not having his permission to "even move a full stop" (chuckle) the other day when I sent a picture of him to the Aero Club for their next years annual report. Luckily they never asked me if he was a member.

So, here's the deal Gert - it's a public proposal. How about becoming a regular scribe for the Western Cape. It is the only region that is not signed up for targeted content. I will even not ask you to join MISASA and I definately will not be touching the full stops!

Back to the topic. Magazines are about volumes and the value they bring to readers. If we gave the whole job over to a commercial magazine would you value your MISASA membership more and go on a recruiting drive in your region?

This issue is a real one. Many feel we must do the magazine so that the members see value. I do not buy this and fully supported the move when we ceased publication at the end of 2006.

To be able to talk to a commercial magazine you have to have your ducks in a row! I have only had a couple of days. In this time I have approached other flying clubs including the model aeroplane, parachute, paragliders and the EAA. The people that I spoke to are to chat to their committees and will get back to me. So far, nobody said no. The plan is to firm up on how many pages and how many copies.

When I have the above detail I will be able to chat to a commercial magazine in more detail. This said, I have started the ball rolling in the right direction by supplying them (a commercial magazine) with the full MISASA magazine operational plan and I have asked what it will cost for the magazine to be a supplement, what will be the cost for them to print it for us etc etc. Oh the joys of not being in competition - no secrets. In fact, if any of you want to offer constructive comment I'm prepared to email it to you also. I just think that our chat should not become like the Hallmark Channel with the movies about movies spoiling the real show! Lets keep the content a surprise BUT for those that want to make our world a better place - it would be a pleasure.

Just imagine how good the Aero Club Annual Report would look with this picture! Just to show that I definitely have not moved even a full stop in the last 3 years.

Gert and ZU-DVE small.jpg (16.13 KiB) Viewed 1386 times

[alanmack]

Athol Franz: Editor of African Pilot - posted the following on this matter.

Aviation magazines in South Africa
I have been approached by several people who represent the ‘lighter side’ of flight in South Africa to produce a 'profitable' light flight aviation magazine. Over the past few years African Pilot has published many articles about the lighter side of flying including:
Microlighting, Gyrocopters, Paragliding, Aircraft Modelling, Virtual Aviation, Gliding or Soaring and Ballooning. In addition, the magazine has always strived to represent the interests of the Aero Club of South Africa. I have called for at least one article per month on any of the above. However, this is often like ‘pulling teeth.’ Everyone agrees that there is a need for coverage on the lighter side of aviation, but nobody wishes to take responsibility to ensure that the articles and pictures are sent to me for my perusal. Some of you may be aware that my company AFS Studio has produced the Aero Club's annual report for the past five years and even receiving reports from the various section chairmen has often been a problem.

The very reason why 'club type' magazines do not work is the huge cost of printing. For example, African Pilot costs about R140 000 per month to print. Many clubs and sections of the Aero Club have chosen to rather produce e-mail on-line magazines because the cost of printing is avoided. Neil de Lange has also had a go at trying to produce an e-mail newsletter, but this is also sporadic due to the sheer pressure of his work as general manager of the Aero Club. African Pilot is one of only three successful aviation magazines that publish regularly in South Africa and from my experience over the past eight years in this business I can confirm that the market is already saturated.

Why will a commercial 'light flight' magazine not succeed in South Africa? The main reason is that it will not impress the big advertisers who spend the money required to fund the costs of producing the magazine. All magazines work on a simple formula: The advertising sales should cover all costs: printing, salaries, rent, computer equipment purchases, software purchases, IT support, legal fees, accounting fees, website hosting, camera equipment, payments to contributors, licences, other professional fees, vehicle expenses, aircraft expenses, PAYE, UIF, VAT and all other government taxes. The sales of the magazine through distributors (we only receive 45% of the selling price) and subscriptions make up the profit of the publication.

African Pilot is a business, which is required to deliver a return to its shareholders, just as any other business. Historically, very few 'club type magazines' have worked in South Africa, because of the sheer volume of work and expertise required to make this type of enterprise profitable. Often an enthusiast will come forward to produce the publication, but he or she will eventually run out of steam especially when there is no reward for the considerable amount of work required. African Pilot provides full time employment for nine members of staff as well as four consultants (accountant, bookkeeper, IT professional and proof reader).

I have discussed the idea of African Pilot becoming the Aero Club of South Africa's official publication on several occasions with Chairman Stan Oliver and general manager Neil de Lange. However, we decided that this would not work due to a variety of reasons, many of which are contained above. The Aero Club believes that it does not wish to force its members into any particular commercial magazine, to which I concur. The Aero Club also does not wish to finance such a magazine. It has already burned its fingers with another publication, which failed to deliver as promised. African Pilot cannot afford to lose the advertising from the large aviation companies, whilst at the same time very little financial commitment is derived from the lighter side of flight.

My proposed solution to this problem is that African Pilot continues with its commitment to the member sections of the Aero Club of South Africa. The magazine will carry at least two full articles on members’ sections, which includes aspects of the lighter side of flight in each edition. The November edition that is about to enter circulation has an excellent Microlight story on the Numbi Cup by my marketing manager Marius Nel, as well as a story by me on the EAA's annual Sun 'n Fun held in Bloemfontein. There is also a story on the Sorrel - ultra light home-built aircraft.

The ball is firmly in the courts of the member sections of the Aero Club, because African Pilot wishes to encourage the members to share their flying experiences with all the members of the aviation community. I have also made the commitment that Marius (marketing manager), Divan Muller (assistant editor) or I and one of several free-lance reporters will attend fly-ins, fly-aways, airshows, news worthy events and competition events. I would like to encourage all members of the Aero Club of South Africa to give consideration to what they would like to see published in African Pilot on a monthly basis. I am more than happy to research and write articles that discuss topics that are suggested in future magazines. For further discussion on this subject please feel free to e-mail me at: editor@africanpilot.co.za.