At Avionics Magazine, we strive to be the avionics industry’s go-to source for information regarding aviation electronics, not an easy task in this exciting and dynamic industry. Staying in touch with our readers to take stock of how we’re doing is a big part of maintaining the high editorial standards we’ve set for ourselves. Some of you participated in an online survey we conducted in February, and I’d like to share those results with you.
The survey, which was similar to one we conducted last year, aimed to see which sections of the magazine our readers find the most helpful, and which topics our readers would like to see more of in these pages. And boy, did you respond. Hundreds of our readers filled out the survey to tell us what they thought of the magazine, the Website, our digital edition and other associated products.
According to the survey, 65 percent of respondents read the magazine online. (It was an online survey, after all.) Almost 39 percent of respondents read the magazine in print. Here at Avionics Magazine, we have expanded and continue to diversify our offerings beyond the traditional print. Our digital edition features rich media, videos and digital-only exclusive features. Our digital brand further includes Webinars on relevant industry topics, and a robust social media campaign aimed at increasing audience engagement and discussions. If you haven’t already done so, I encourage you to visit www.avionicstoday.com, sign up for our digital edition, and/or find us on social media (@AvionicsMag or @EmilyFeliz1 on Twitter.)
Nearly 42 percent of you ranked print publications as most important, and we will continue to provide with top-notch coverage of the industry in our print edition. We’re not abandoning print; we’re just using a variety of new multimedia tools across our brand to tell great stories in a new way.
The sections of the magazine that proved to be the most popular are the New Products section and feature stories. (Sadly, the Editor’s Note columns scored near the bottom. I’m trying not to take it personally!) Look for expanded versions of your favorite sections in the coming months.
The survey provided valuable insight into the technological priorities and industry trends that you, our readers, are interested in. For example, not surprisingly, 56 percent of respondents want to see more coverage of NextGen, SESAR and other airspace modernization initiatives; and 64 percent want to see more stories on new cockpit display systems. Avionics software ranked high too — more than 52 percent want to see more stories devoted to this topic.
Spending priorities for the coming year were a mixed bag. For the question, “which products/services do you anticipate your company will have the need for product and technology updates in the next 24 months,” about 52 percent said cockpit display systems; nearly 41 percent responded avionics/instrument testing and repair services and equipment in the coming year; and almost 44 percent selected NextGen-enabled equipment. (Ahead of a mandate! Ha!) Electronic flight bags, lighting technologies, wire and cable systems, real-time operating systems, and unmanned aircraft systems also figured prominently for this question as well.
Based on this survey, there seems to be small slivers of optimism about the growth in this industry. Only 7.8 percent of readers expect their funding to decrease, down from 12 percent last year. Forty-two percent of respondents expect their funding levels to increase in 2013.
So the bottom line is this: the staff at Avionics Magazine takes this information very seriously, and regardless of how you receive your Avionics information whether online or print we will strive to cover the topics, trends and technologies that our readership finds the most pertinent to their businesses.
As I’ve mentioned numerous times in this space, I love reader feedback. Please do not wait for our annual survey in 2014 to share with me your thoughts on the magazine and/or the industries we cover. Got a story idea to pitch? Got a topic/technology/product launch to tell me about? Want to complain about a story we’ve written? I welcome any and all comments. Please call (301-354-1820), e-mail ([email protected]), snail mail or stop me at a trade show. Thanks for reading!
The staff of Avionics Magazine will strive to cover the topics, trends and technologies that our readershiop finds the most pertinent.