For example, dodgy handling problems, bugs / issues in avionics, etc.
For the avoidance of doubt, it would probably be good to be open about whether “you” have the hardware in question.
Yes, of course! I see no reason why it should not. I would maybe hesitate to discuss it if they gave me any of that stuff for free …
I would maybe hesitate to discuss it if they gave me any of that stuff for free …
Here speaks the journo….. 
Seriously – yes, of course. We all learn from each other, even if the topic in question isn’t immediately pertinent to the a/c we fly or our ‘mission profile’. Somewhere in the back of our minds we store that info and it comes in handy the next time a ‘WTF is it doing now?’ moment arises.
Even as a journalist (not really active at the moment) I was never corrupt. I did get some interesting discounts on some hardware, but I always made it clear that that would a) enable me to understand the stuff better but that b) I would not hesitate to be critical about it.
It is not really a problem, because there’s not really much junk in certified avionics. And also as a journalist i could only make superficial tests in real life (I do not have an electronics lab, and if i had one i would not know how to use it) … and the special interest magazines i worked for were not interested in much depth either …
I agree with Peter that most of the printer media is pretty useless, because they will not be very critical about the products of their advertising customers. But I also remember how the advertising manager of “fliegermagazin” wanted me to delete a paragraph about the bad performance of the Thielert TAE125-powered C172 – and I refused. The company threatened us that they would never book an ad in the magazin, but my standpoint was that we could forget the magazine altogether if we became completely dependent on the advertising customers. I guess every editor handles this matter differently – but i must say that I hate lying for money.
But it’s really everywhere. In my main business (Mercedes truck dealership in the Czech Republic) I get these offers from magazines all the time: “Book an ad and we will write something nice about your company and even sell you the cover page” Now that thing with the cover page is really a Czech thing, a german magazine wouldn’t go that far.
I refuse 100% to buy an ad in such a magazine and my standard response is: If I want to print a brochure I don’t need your magazine for it. I don’t like that kind of journalism, not even if they write something nice about my company. I rather sponsor the local soccer club, a jazz band or give old computers to schools …
Okay, that was a bit off-topic – but that’s the kind of stuff I was confronted with as an aviation journalist too.
Now that thing with the cover page is really a Czech thing, a german magazine wouldn’t go that far.
Being Czech myself, I smile at that. There’s nobody more crafty than a communist converted to capitalism 
Actually I see this almost every day in my business (industrial electronics) right here in the UK. Most of the industry rags are “for sale” from cover to cover and everything in between. Adverts are 100% tied to “editorials”… though you get the same in all aviation mags where a vendor buys an advert right next to an article reviewing his product, so clearly there was “prior co-operation” there.
It’s good that we have the internet…
It’s good that we have the Internet…
… which of course is totally independent of advertising customers. Have you seen what happens if someone posts anything negative about Ryanair on proon? ;-)
Yes, but we know why: Ryanair threaten to sue.
To be honest, if Ryanair threatened to sue EuroGA, we would probably just remove the “offending” comments because life is too short already, and everybody who is going to form an opinion about Ryanair can do so by using, ahem, their own brain and in the absence of such an organ they can use, ahem, google… If you are going to do a Jan Palach then you ought to pick something at least slightly worthwhile. But proon has set itself up to be (primarily) an airline pilots’ rumour site, and with their their moderation policy it’s very much a case of “if you live by the sword you die by the sword”. I won’t say any more because our Guidelines say you should not disparage other forums
“When I want to hear from an arsehole I’ll fart” in response to a worthless and puerile comment. What would be the view of readers and moderators here?
Mine – LOL !!!
Gotta remember that one….
What would be the view of readers and moderators here?
As a mod, I’d say it depends on the context. The Guidelines here say you should not post stuff intended to annoy people. Yes I do know perfectly well that we have a small percentage of such posts here, from particular people… hopefully they will eventually realise that people are not responding to them.
By itself, it’s obviously very funny. It could be one of those Czech rhymes centred on taking the micky out of human (usually communist) stupidity which don’t translate into English …
Do have a read of the Guidelines – I think they are concise (I didn’t write them ) and there isn’t much point in me re-posting them here.
The problem with filling a forum with non-informational posts is that the intelligent posters (who do take time to write stuff) will clear off – exactly what has happened on most European aviation forums.
