Originally published at: New Editor Seeks to Broaden Aviation Consumer Audience
In the long run, we plan to be a regular destination for pilots, as well as those pursuing flight training or anyone with even the slightest interest in learning to fly.
Dear Editor Welsh, I hope you will have more integrity than the staff over at Kitplanes who have just given this month’s cover, lead story, and their last shred of credibility to the Aeromarine Merlin and Chip Erwin. IMHO it is a 100% puff piece either without ANY research and reporting balance or deliberately hiding inconvenient truths. They wax poetic at Erwin’s experience in marketing and design at CZAW without mentioning allegations he drove it into bankruptcy and left the UK builders high and dry with falsified certification testing. My recollection is he and his favorite industry PR shill once claimed the CZAW Mermaid was in production, staged factory photographs pretending that, and took hundreds of deposits a la Jim Bede [who at least was an authentic aeronautical engineer with breakthrough ideas] on aircraft kits never delivered. Hasn’t the Merlin followed that same pattern thusfar? Did the story mention how many have actually been delivered vs how many depositers have been waiting years for components? No. How many are registered? What happened to the CZAW Parrot flown by said shill departing for SunNFun decades ago while Erwin and his lead importer watched? Didn’t Jabiru refuse to do business with them? Why did Piper bail on the Sport Cruiser? In less than a year? Article boasts of that marriage. Never mentions the urgent divorce/annulment. Kitplanes owes its readers an apology to be published immediately in AvWeb and here’s hoping you don’t get sucked into this miasma. The Merlin may eventually succeed but failing to honestly describe the history of the principals and present reality of the “fleet” is a disservice to readers and consumers. Aviation consumers.
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Sounds interesting. I’ve thrown in the towel at 76, but Flying was a great hobby while it lasted. Strictly VFR for me, and occasional Aerobatics. That was fun too! Keep up the outreach!
It’s all very interesting, but unless Avweb has something to do with Kitfox, you are posting in the wrong place.