Plane & Pilot Year 2023 Magazine Back Issues

No one could possibly have guessed what would happen to the lightplane industry in 1965 when Plane & Pilot magazine coincidentally published its first issue. For that matter, few could have imagined that Plane & Pilot would be one of only three national aviation publications to survive the economic upheaval that would infect the magazine business and the aviation industry over the next 50 years. Titles such as Air Progress, Private Pilot, Airways, and a half-dozen other magazines have come and gone, but Plane & Pilot has continued to soldier on, never missing an issue for some 550 months. During that time, they've watched the industry improve and adjust, and they've monitored the changes to Plane & Pilot, as well. It's a very different world from December 1965 when the first issue of P&P hit the newsstands. The people on staff have changed progressively, even as the mission of the magazine has remained constant—to keep pilots of piston and turboprop aircraft apprised of the latest happenings in the world of aviation. More recently, Plane & Pilot has expanded its coverage to include light jets such as the Cessna Mustang and M2, Eclipse 550 and the Phenom 100. They've even done stories slightly farther afield, covering such exotic subjects as the Apollo Moon missions, Space Shuttle and the Mars Rover missions. Plane & Pilot magazine was the brainchild of Don Werner, a publishing executive who was already active in other motorsport magazines—four-wheel drive vehicles, motorcycles, pickups, off-road ATVs and hot rods. Werner felt P&P would be an excellent fit to his already burgeoning publishing empire. Don had the good fortune to grow up in Winona, Minnesota, where he befriended a local pilot who was to become famous. “In our early years, we acquired a love of flight and of aircraft,” Werner wrote. “And the airport that we began to visit was in the custody of a fixed-base operator, then rather new in the business, by the name of Max Conrad! Max was phasing out his pair of large biplane Spartan trainers for the new and unique Taylorcrafts of the day. So we got a taste of the old before we were introduced to the new.” Werner learned to fly with Conrad and went on to become lifelong friends with the personable aviator. For his part, Conrad was to gain fame, if not fortune, as a world record-setting ferry pilot. Conrad flew just under 200 international deliveries, most for Piper Aircraft, delivering everything from Cherokees to Aztecs across both oceans. Don Werner dedicated the launch of Plane & Pilot magazine to Conrad in the premier issue. Werner’s editorial column, “Memo From the Publisher,” read, “We are deeply moved that the first news we can carry in this first issue is the award of aviation’s greatest honor to the greatest aviator of our time.” Werner was referring to the 1965 Harmon Trophy awarded to Conrad. “As the founding publisher, we hereby dedicate Plane & Pilot magazine, this issue and all future issues, to Max Conrad.” In Werner’s words, “Max holds so many aviation records, they are too numerous to mention. Some of them probably will never be erased.” Conrad gained fame for making solo endurance flights as long as 60 hours, and he held nine world records, three of which still stood in 2013. Conrad flew some truly impressive nonstop flights, including from Morocco To Los Angeles and south Africa to Miami. In later years, Conrad became a sporadic columnist for Plane & Pilot, answering questions from readers in his popular column, “Ask Max.” Conrad gained fame for making solo endurance flights as long as 60 hours, and he held nine world records, three of which still stood in 2013. Conrad flew some truly impressive nonstop flights, including from Casablanca, Morocco, to Los Angeles and Johannesburg, South Africa, to Miami.