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Zenith CH 650 featured in Playboy, October 2010
How did the CH 650 end up in Playboy magazine, you ask? Well, it's a short and interesting story:
A photo editor from Playboy magazine (from Chicago) was in Australia on vacation visiting his sister. While there, he was introduced to her neighbor, who happened to be completing a STOL CH 701 in his garage. Fascinated by the project, he learned that this was an airplane kit project shipped in all the way from the central United States. Upon his return to Chicago, he spoke of this DIY airplane project to an editor at Playboy, who thought it would make an interesting story for the magazine. The photo editor then contacted me about the article. I assumed he wanted to write about our STOL airplanes (since that's what the neighbor was building) but they ended up choosing to feature the CH 650 because it is sleeker and more photogenic (I think I've been told once or twice over the years that our STOL airplanes are not the prettiest...).
Playboy is a well known men's magazine, though their demographics show that more than 20% of its readers are women. My guess is that this statistic is higher than the percentage of women readers of Kitplanes, AOPA or Sport Aviation magazines. Playboy magazine has a monthly circulation of more than 2 million copies (that's more than three times the number of pilots in this country).
Comment
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Comment by Chris Aysen on September 27, 2010 at 1:15pm
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Talk about pioneering a different market?
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Comment by Juan Vega on September 27, 2010 at 12:42pm
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Did they ask Seb to centerfold on Play girl? INteresting!
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Comment by Tim Garrett on September 26, 2010 at 4:37pm
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Roger D missed out being in Playboy? Darn! I can't quite make out who the lucky pilot and passenger are?
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Comment by Dale Medendorp on September 26, 2010 at 2:46pm
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I don't see an image or a link to one. I'd buy the magazine, but there's no mention of which issue it's in or scheduled to be in.
I'm looking forward to telling my wife I need to buy a Playboy magazine for the airplane pictures!
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Comment by Jonathan Porter on September 26, 2010 at 12:32pm
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I have always wondered about the cowling systems and twin carbs - but this is must be a first - and great distraction for the readers. Only problem for Playboy is that the readers who get bitten by the bug will find airplane magazines more interesting... this could severely affect future sales of Playboy... and boost sales of aircraft mags!
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Comment by Mark LaPierre on September 26, 2010 at 10:17am
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Duh! That would be October 2010. That's what happens when you try to read the posting and talk to your family at the same time. Distracted reader.
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What year and month is this issue?
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Comment by Joseph F. Truncale on September 25, 2010 at 6:57pm
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Oh come on Sebastien, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. I fell in love with the 701 the first time I saw it in an ad (alright it was a 750 and I went for her older sister). And I wasn't looking for a plane - I was trying to find an airshow (exactly a year ago tomorrow). I saw the picture and that was it. I knew I was going to build one. And today I am happily engaged (in building the second wing).
Best,
Joe
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Comment by Craig Smith on September 25, 2010 at 5:39pm
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That's great "exposure" for Zenith. Ought to generate some interest in kitbuilding, and give your sales a bump. Nice. We need more builders and pilots to help stop the erosion of GA, and at the same time keep the costs of flying down.
Guess I'll have to go pick up the October issue.
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