FLYER: The Thrill of Flying for Britain's Pilots
FLYER is a British monthly magazine for the general aviation community, published from Bath in Somerset by Seager Publishing. Founded in 1990, it has spent more than three decades championing private flying in Britain under the strapline "The thrill of flying". Alongside its print and digital editions, the magazine runs the well-known Flyer Forums, one of the busiest online discussion communities for British general aviation, and the FLYER Club membership scheme, making it a central hub for the country's community of private pilots.
Founding and Seager Publishing
FLYER was founded in 1990 and is published by Seager Publishing, an independent publisher based in Bath. The company's publisher, Ian Seager, has been a visible figure in the world of general aviation for decades, engaging directly with readers on the magazine's forums under the banner of "Seager Towers". The magazine carries the ISSN 0957-7645 and is edited by Ed Hicks.
As an independent publisher rather than part of a large media group, Seager Publishing has been able to keep FLYER closely attuned to its readership of private pilots and flying enthusiasts. That independence is part of the title's identity: it presents itself as a magazine written by and for people who actually fly, rather than a corporate product imposed from above.
"The Thrill of Flying"
The strapline under the masthead — "The thrill of flying" — captures the magazine's editorial philosophy. Where some aviation titles lean towards technical density or industry coverage, FLYER has always emphasised the joy and adventure of private flight. Its pages celebrate the freedom of flying a light aircraft on a fine day, the camaraderie of the airfield and the challenge of learning new skills.
That spirit runs through the magazine's mix of news, features and humour. Regular pages with playful titles — including columns such as "I get paid for this", "Unusual attitude" and "That worst day" — give the magazine a light-hearted, clubbable tone that has won it a loyal following among Britain's private pilots. A 2019 survey of the title described it as making general aviation seem "actually exciting and enjoyable", full of information from people who know what they are talking about.
News and Features
Each monthly issue opens with "Take-off", a compact section of news pages covering developments in the British and international general aviation world: regulatory changes, new aircraft, airfield news and industry announcements. The news is followed by features that come thick and fast, including airshow reports and flying adventure pieces that take readers on journeys to airfields and destinations across Britain and Europe.
The magazine's adventure writing is one of its signature strengths. FLYER's contributors — many of them experienced private pilots themselves — write first-hand accounts of flying trips, from weekend jaunts to challenging expeditions, conveying both the practical detail and the sheer pleasure of the experience. Show reports, meanwhile, keep readers up to date with the airshow season, one of the high points of the British aviation calendar.
Regular Columns
Beyond news and features, FLYER carries a roster of regular columns that give the magazine its character. "I get paid for this" profiles people who earn their living in aviation, while "Unusual attitude" and "That worst day" trade in the anecdotes, mishaps and lessons-learned stories that are the currency of any flying club bar. These pages have become a distinctive part of the FLYER voice: self-deprecating, honest and rooted in real flying experience.
The magazine's editorial pages are deliberately concise, and the contents spread is praised for its clarity. The overall effect is a magazine that feels like a conversation with fellow pilots rather than a lecture — approachable for newcomers to aviation while still rewarding for veterans with thousands of hours in their logbooks.
Equipment Tests and Classifieds
FLYER's practical content includes equipment tests, in which the team puts aviation kit — headsets, navigation tools, avionics and accessories — through its paces. The reviews examine what the magazine believes to be each product's most important points, giving readers an informed basis for purchasing decisions. The magazine also runs vouchers for free landings at participating airfields — worth a reported £86 in one issue surveyed in 2019 — a tangible benefit for subscribers who fly.
The classified section is another important part of the package. In the world of general aviation, where aircraft, shares in aircraft, hangarage and equipment change hands through community networks, a well-read classified section is a genuine service. FLYER's classifieds connect buyers and sellers across the British GA community, reinforcing the magazine's role as the community's marketplace as well as its chronicler.
The Flyer Forums
FLYER is perhaps best known in the wider aviation world for the Flyer Forums, its online discussion forum focused on the general aviation community. The forums have become one of the liveliest gathering places for British private pilots online, hosting debates on everything from aircraft types and flight training to regulation, airfield politics and the eternal question of which magazine to read.
The publisher himself has long been an active participant in the forums, a hands-on approach that blurs the line between the magazine and its readership. Discussions on the forums have occasionally made their way into the magazine's pages, and the relationship between the two has helped FLYER build one of the most engaged audiences in British specialist publishing.
FLYER Club and Digital Editions
The magazine has embraced digital publishing through the FLYER Club, a membership scheme offering savings on subscriptions and other benefits, and through free-to-download digital editions available worldwide from flyer.co.uk. The digital edition mirrors the print magazine, allowing readers anywhere in the world to read FLYER on the day of release.
The magazine's website at flyer.co.uk is a busy hub of news, features and community content, supported by active social media channels. The combination of print, digital and community platforms gives FLYER a presence across the formats its readers use, while the monthly print edition — 84 pages in the July 2019 issue surveyed, printed on quality gloss paper with a heavyweight perfect-bound cover — remains the flagship product.
Competition in the GA Magazine Market
FLYER has long competed with Pilot magazine, Britain's other great general aviation monthly, for the attention of the country's private pilots. The rivalry is friendly but real: pilots have debated the relative merits of the two titles on forums since the earliest days of the internet, with Pilot often seen as the more comprehensive and establishment title and FLYER as the livelier, more independent alternative. An advertising-based freesheet, Loop, has also competed for the same readership.
FLYER's arrival on the scene in 1990 shook up a market that Pilot had long dominated. Veteran forum commentators have noted that competition from FLYER prompted Pilot to raise its game, and the two titles have pushed each other to improve ever since. For readers, the result has been a healthy choice of quality aviation journalism.
Circulation and Format
The magazine's media pack recorded a print circulation of 10,453 copies per issue, a strong figure for an independent specialist monthly. Cover price was £4.99 for the 2019 issue surveyed, reflecting the quality of the paper and production values. Published monthly from Bath, the magazine is sold in newsagents and by subscription, with the digital edition extending its reach far beyond Britain.
The Bath headquarters place FLYER in one of England's most beautiful cities, but the magazine's heart is on the airfields: its content is written for the grass strips and flying clubs where British general aviation actually happens.
Legacy
For more than thirty years, FLYER has been the voice of the enthusiast pilot in Britain. It has chronicled the highs and lows of general aviation — from regulatory battles to the simple joy of a summer evening flight — and built a community that extends from the printed page to the forums and the FLYER Club. Under the enduring strapline "The thrill of flying", it remains what it has always been: a magazine by flyers, for flyers.
