I think a lot of people might have seen this coming. Sad for those who paid up front for hard copies I suppose.Question now is whether things will get better, or whether Computer Pilot has fallen from the frying pan into the proverbial fire. Not sure that even matters that much anymore in this digital age with a shrinking printing industry, within a limited hobby community, further isolated and restricted by a negative editorial policy against Microsoft and it's efforts at inovation. Looks like "All aback full!" into the diminishing past.Is this a formula for fresh renewal and growth into tomorrow's world? If not, then in a little while, who'll care? Still hope for and wish for better days to come, but maybe not too excited about the prospects for a new and improved direction while saddled with fiercely entrenched yesterdayism. Of course this is just my own personal opinion from viewing from the sidelines as announcements have unfolded so far.Notwithstanding all that, I do hope Computer Pilot can pull it out, level off and climb above, but right now I am very glad I don't have a ticket to ride.Kind regards,

Editor-in-Chief is François A. Dumas. Had wondered what he was getting up to in rescent times. Now I know. Hope it works for him.

I think a lot of people might have seen this coming. Sad for those who paid up front for hard copies I suppose.

Stephen, I am not sure hard copies will no longer be availablebecause in the email I received I foundOur first new issue will be the June/July issue, published in print end May 22nd.

Stephen, I am not sure hard copies will no longer be availablebecause in the email I received I foundOur first new issue will be the June/July issue, published in print end May 22nd.

Did any of the January/Februray issues get printed and delivered? If not, they must hope to limit the magazine's shut down to just under half a year. Will those subscribers and advertisers that already paid, or prepaid the former publisher be compensated for lost issues by extending their subscriptions and advertising into an equal number of future editions from the new publisher?If so, how can a fresh new positive cash flow be established? If not how can they possibly convince the very same people to anti up a second time, for what they already did not recieve once already? Even if that kind of sleigh of hand movement magically maintains the faithful, where are committed new subscribers and advertisers going to come from to fund growth?Since the last publisher had difficulty convincing the general FS community to support them, what has now changed so drastically that might now gain our attention and confidence? New faces? New direction? New groundbreaking news and editorials? What? Maybe it will all pan out, if indeed there is still enough gold left in them thar hills. However, a lot of people might think the vein has already played out.Time will tell, but not real quick, several months yet.Kind regards,

Because its a magazine that is about FSX, and FS9 XPLANE, but its still has FSX stuff in it.

So, to revive this topic regarding the cash flow and cash infusion. Who here is going to pay the invoice for the "future" issues? I always loved my CP issue and found a lot of great articles to read for the times when I wasn't sitting at my simulator.

 

I am however finding it difficult to pay for another subscription since I had a year + remaining on my previous subscription. How about at minimum produce at least one issue of CP and let me see how it's going to work out. Until then, I can't really in good faith throw money at a subscription that I have absolutely no idea if issue 1 would ever be delivered.

 

 

Any one else?

 

Benjamin

I'm of a similar view.

 

I had been a long term subscriber to CP, but ceased my subscriptions for a couple of years when they switched mainly to FSX articles (I stayed with FS9 at that time). I maintained my PCP subs though.

A few months ago, I renewed my CP subscription (I'm now converted to FSX) after constant reminders and offers from CP. Unfortunately, I received one copy and nothing since. I'm still hopeful of receiving later copies that I have paid for, but I have some doubts.

After my experiences, it is unlikely that I'll be renewing again.

 

Warren

Has anyone else been getting invoices/demands from MDV Direkt in Dusseldorf ? I think they have been appointed publishers or distribution agents for the 'new' Computer Pilot magazine, but they don't have a clue. I got the first 'invoice' from them back in April. I think it was supposed to be an invitation to take out a subscription, but it sure didn't look like that. Then I got another one in June, much the same, but with a 'reminder' fee added to it. Today I received a hardcopy version with an additional 'dunning fee' added. Huh ? So they're adding late payment charges to a subscription for a product I've yet to receive ?????

 

All of these invoices/demands are meaningless to me. They have a bunch of bank/account numbers which may work in Germany/Austria, but have no meaning in UK. My bank tells me I can transfer money to them,but it will cost me 10 GBP per transfer. For a bill of 38 Euros ? Yeah right. They say they accept Visa etc, but don't say how.

 

I'd really like to subscribe to Computer Pilot if/when it resurfaces, but not this way.

 

Anyone else having this problem ?

Check this link out : http://www.computerpilot.com/apologies-from-the-publisher/

 

Kinda cryptic actually...talks about receiving money and such from previous subscribers...Looks like kind of a mess in migrating all the subscription data.

 

This is kind of discouraging though:

...We will honor most of the existing PC Aviator subscriptions although there are certain limits to what we can do...

As noted on the Computer Pilot forum, if you have a question about subscriptions, your best bet is to contact them at service(at)computerpilot.com (change the (at) with an @).

 

Jeff

They tried to bill me... and I haven't had a subscription since around FS '95.

Thanks guys. I checked out the links and the subscription situation appears to be an absolute shambles. But I see there is now a way to subscribe on the CP website using credit cards or PayPal.

 

What bothers me about all the bills from MZV Direkt is that it wouldn't surprise me if I've been flagged on some credit database as a late/non payer.

I notice FSBreak podcast (No 112) has an interview with François Dumas, current Editor in Chief of Computer Pilot Magazine.

 

http://www.fsbreak.net/podcast/?currentPage=2

 

gb.

^{Editor-in-Chief is François A. Dumas. Had wondered what he was getting up to in rescent times. Now I know. Hope it works for him.}

 

 

 

^{From the frying pan into the fire, glad I stopped my sub years ago}

What bothers me about all the bills from MZV Direkt is that it wouldn't surprise me if I've been flagged on some credit database as a late/non payer.

 

Hi folks, Tom alerted me to this thread and although I am on vacation and don't have a lot of time --- *cough* ---- let me reply to at least the above statement.

 

Nope, you have not been blacklisted anywhere.

 

As a matter of fact, yes, the subscriber transfer, and more in specific the transfer from PC Aviator's own subscription service to the 'outsourced' service by MZV Direkt in germany, is a mess. Blame it to the inexperience of the new owner and the German company in doing business in the US. Whatever the reason (and no, nobody is trying to cheat on anybody) it remains a mess for now and that is not good for us as a business, nor for our readers.

 

You may read all the news on our new website, but let me lay it out real quick here, just factual, not looking for excuses:

 

- Marc Goergen bought the ailing CPM fro PC Aviator and thought to easily integrate operations with his very successful German FS magazine Flight!

 

- He asked yours truly to take on over the website

 

- Flight!'s subscription and distribution is handled by this MZV Direkt company, which is a large publisher in Germany. Marc thought they could handle CPM too, using the subscriber files he got from PC Aviator. Well, that went belly-up. It took them ages to get that spreadsheet into their own database..... and frankly, we're not sure they did it right.

 

- While we were getting the first new printed issue ready - and manageing new and existing contributors, trying to get advertisers and setting up a new website - MZV Direkt took the file they received and started sending invoices, unbeknown to the 'American' staff. This is the way that things are usually done and accepted in Germany.

But not elsewhere of course.

 

- What they should have done is send out Renewal Notices....... nothing more. They didn't.

 

- They also KEPT sending these invoices AFTER they were told not to. But, somewhere along the line, the communication between English, German.... and American, German went down the drain.

 

- On top of everything else...... yes, disasters always occur in threesome's ..... Marc had not counted on now distributing the magazine from Europe into the US...... and not being able to use the old contract with UPS for that anymore. Oops.

I believe he is STILL trying to get a new contract finalized - I will report on the website when I get confiormation that the magazines have left the warehouse. They've been printed early June already !!

 

So in short, while we were building a new website, a new team and a new magazine in record time...... everything else kind of collapsed behind our backs causing major annoyance (which is an understatement) with not only the (mostly American) customers, but also with the magazine staff AND its owner.

 

 

Needless to say we are NOT happy with this situation at all. Also needless to say we are all working our butts off, as far as that helps, trying to get things right. Unfortunately the majority of our time has gone into customer service calls and replying to complaints.

 

Frankly, I fully understand all the complaints and confusion, and I would be pretty annoyed myself too.

 

 

So there you have it in a nutshell. First issue has been produced, printed and all, but not yet shipped.

Second issue is in the workd, albeit it with a further delay because of all the misery above.

The new team is still in place, but needs reassurance that we cvan pull this off

All subscriptions have been 'adopted' by the new owner and we intend to honor those old contracts with PC Aviator

A nwe shipping contract is said to be signed... but I am aiting for conformation

And MZV Direkt now promised to no longer send invoices but leave the choice to the customer, as I demanded

 

Any questions, don't hesitate to ask me. Any questions about subscriptions, please email Pam at [email protected]

 

Hope this helps explain what happened thes past months. This is as open as I can be.

 

Best regards,

Francois