toto Posted July 27 Report Share Posted July 27 This year’s contest is pretty “meh” compared to last year. For 2024, they had a picture of an Icon A5, and if you won, you had your choice of an Icon, a Tecnam, or a pile of cash. Their communication and messaging was abysmal, but apparently they named the winner at Sun N Fun. Anyway - for 2025, the grand prize is $100k toward the purchase of an aircraft listed in the Flying airplane classifieds. So you pick any plane they have listed for sale, and they give you $100k towards that purchase. They also have a $50k cash option, in addition to smaller monthly prizes. I was excited about winning my Icon A5, and spent some time daydreaming about that win. It’s harder to daydream about winning a discount on a used aircraft purchase. https://www.flyingmag.com/news/flying-magazine-announces-2025-ultimate-flying-giveaway/ https://www.flyingmag.com/2025-ultimate-flying-giveaway-official-rules/ 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hank Posted July 27 Report Share Posted July 27 Circulation just be way, way down . . . . Digital subscriptions, too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeOH Posted July 27 Report Share Posted July 27 6 minutes ago, Hank said: Circulation just be way, way down . . . . Digital subscriptions, too. I quit lining the birdcage with that rag over a decade ago. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toto Posted July 27 Author Report Share Posted July 27 52 minutes ago, Hank said: Circulation just be way, way down . . . . Digital subscriptions, too. I subscribe to several of these magazines, all former Belvoir publications like Aviation Consumer. I’m not sure why they decided to start printing Flying on cardstock, but the magazine is strange now. They skipped a whole print run for the Belvoir set, saying instead that they would send everyone a magazine they didn’t want and didn’t ask for - an “Ultimate” issue of Flying that came wrapped in plastic and I never opened. They must be pretty confident that Flying is the future of the business, and the key revenue driver. I’ve always been very happy with Belvoir, but I let my Flying subscription lapse a long time ago, and haven’t seen any compelling reason to renew. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1980Mooney Posted July 27 Report Share Posted July 27 (edited) 12 hours ago, toto said: This year’s contest is pretty “meh” compared to last year. For 2024, they had a picture of an Icon A5, and if you won, you had your choice of an Icon, a Tecnam, or a pile of cash. Their communication and messaging was abysmal, but apparently they named the winner at Sun N Fun. Anyway - for 2025, the grand prize is $100k toward the purchase of an aircraft listed in the Flying airplane classifieds. So you pick any plane they have listed for sale, and they give you $100k towards that purchase. They also have a $50k cash option, in addition to smaller monthly prizes. I was excited about winning my Icon A5, and spent some time daydreaming about that win. It’s harder to daydream about winning a discount on a used aircraft purchase. https://www.flyingmag.com/news/flying-magazine-announces-2025-ultimate-flying-giveaway/ https://www.flyingmag.com/2025-ultimate-flying-giveaway-official-rules/ I think that they learned that most pilots, other than you, were not interested in winning a new Icon A5. The 2024 winner, when informed that he had won a new Icon A5 or new Tecnam Astore, replied "Not Interested". When informed that he could take cash, he opted for the $100,000 outright cash. https://www.flyingmag.com/news/missouri-pilot-opts-for-cash-in-ultimate-flying-giveaway/ 12 hours ago, Hank said: Circulation just be way, way down . . . . Digital subscriptions, too. You may be right. They cut the 2025 outright cash option prize in half from 2024 down to $50,000. Edited July 27 by 1980Mooney Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toto Posted July 27 Author Report Share Posted July 27 13 minutes ago, 1980Mooney said: I think that they learned that most pilots, other than you, were not interested in winning a new Icon A5. The 2024 winner, when informed that he had won a new Icon A5 or new Tecnam Astore, replied "Not Interested". When informed that he could take cash, he opted for the $100,000 outright cash. https://www.flyingmag.com/news/missouri-pilot-opts-for-cash-in-ultimate-flying-giveaway/ You may be right. They cut the 2025 outright cash option prize in half from 2024 down to $50,000. The Icon A5 was used, so probably 200k retail value. The 100k cash option was half that, and they’re tracking the same ratio for 2025 with 100k/50k. You either take the big prize or you take half the big prize in cash. It’s a little strange tbh, since the promotion is either driving subscription revenue adequate to cover the cost of the prizes or it’s not. If the promotion isn’t driving enough revenue then they shouldn’t continue for a second year. But cutting the prize in half definitely makes it less interesting for at least some of us, which presumably means fewer subscriptions and less revenue. I never understood how on earth King Schools and Sportys could give out a free new airplane every year, but I assume they stopped doing it when it stopped being profitable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toto Posted July 27 Author Report Share Posted July 27 28 minutes ago, 1980Mooney said: I think that they learned that most pilots, other than you, were not interested in winning a new Icon A5. Yeah I definitely wanted it I entered 11 times, and spent a lot of the year wondering whether I would be able to fit the Icon in the back of my hangar with the wings folded. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
201er Posted July 27 Report Share Posted July 27 Take the cash or discount and get a Mooney Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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