Adios, Flight Club

"Paul Thompson" (flyingphotog) 01/09/2015 at 21:14 • Filed to: None

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I was contacted by the Jalopnik powers-that-be early this afternoon, and was informed that I would no longer be at the reins of Flight Club.

For those who read it, thank you. It has been a fun ride. I'd especially like to thank those who submitted personal "Plane Porn" photos. You can reach me at my personal email at paulthompson77@gmail.com or on Twitter at !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!!

Dusty Ventures > Paul Thompson 01/09/2015 at 21:15

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Bummer. I definitely enjoyed a lot of the stuff you put up. Are they axing the sub-blog entirely or is this an "under new management" kind of deal?

CB > Paul Thompson 01/09/2015 at 21:17

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Well that sucks to hear. I really enjoyed reading your stuff. Are you going to be posting things elsewhere?

Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire > Paul Thompson 01/09/2015 at 21:17

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Well that sucks, man. Good luck on what ever it is your future holds for you!

Paul Thompson > Dusty Ventures 01/09/2015 at 21:17

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I was told they want to go in another direction with less airline stuff. I think they're continuing the site, but I don't know who will be the writer or writers.

Spaceball-Two > Paul Thompson 01/09/2015 at 21:26

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That's very unfortunate. I really enjoyed your stuff. Best of luck on your next endeavor.

shop-teacher > Paul Thompson 01/09/2015 at 21:26

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I'm sorry to hear that. Good luck on whatever your next venture is.

Paul Thompson > CB 01/09/2015 at 21:30

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I'm glad to hear you enjoyed it! I know a lot of people in the industry, and there are some good opportunities to freelance on other sites. Following my Twitter would be the best way to keep up with my actions. Thanks again.

DasWauto > Paul Thompson 01/09/2015 at 21:30

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Dang, bummer. Don't be a stranger, feel free to indulge us if you have anything aerospace or automotive to share.

McMike > Paul Thompson 01/09/2015 at 21:31

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You just got a follower on Twitter.

I liked your stuff, man. Good luck!

Funktheduck > Paul Thompson 01/09/2015 at 21:31

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That sucks. Planes don't interest me nearly as much as cars but I always enjoyed your articles. Did you start flight club or were you brought on for articles?

Paul Thompson > DasWauto 01/09/2015 at 21:32

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Thank you, I'll definitely keep it in mind.

Paul Thompson > Funktheduck 01/09/2015 at 21:35

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I was recruited to write for Flight Club in early February. It didn't have a name then, but we settled on Flight Club shortly before launching it on March 1st.

S62B50daily > Paul Thompson 01/09/2015 at 21:38

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That sucks. Flight Club was definitely one of my favorite sub-blogs. Entertaining yet informative, I always learned something from your articles.

Farewell, and good luck in your next adventures!

Jcarr > Paul Thompson 01/09/2015 at 21:38

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That sucks, I like the airline stuff. Best of luck, hope you'll hang around Oppo and keep in touch. Maybe run into you in between those B-29s in Oshkosh this summer.

Paul Thompson > McMike 01/09/2015 at 21:38

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Thanks, Mike! I just got back from 4 days in Qatar, checking out the brand new Airbus A350. It's a shame that Flight Club won't get that story, but I'll still write about it soon on my personal site.

Paul Thompson > Jcarr 01/09/2015 at 21:39

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I hope to be there too. It will be quite a sight!

Paul Thompson > S62B50daily 01/09/2015 at 21:41

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Thank you so much.

$kaycog > Paul Thompson 01/09/2015 at 21:42

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You will be missed. Best of luck!

BKosher84 > Paul Thompson 01/09/2015 at 21:46

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what other direction can you go with a blog called "Flight Club"? God this blog site makes no damn sense half the time.

Manuél Ferrari > Paul Thompson 01/09/2015 at 21:49

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;(

Paul Thompson > BKosher84 01/09/2015 at 21:50

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Admittedly, I was always a bit confused when aviation posts would pop up on places like Gawker and Spolid, and even a sub-sub blog, Planelopnik. If it were me, I would have had everything posted to Flight Club first, then shared to other sites instead of pulling traffic away from Flight Club. But it wasn't me who got to make those decisions. Oh well. :)

Jonathan Harper > Paul Thompson 01/09/2015 at 21:54

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You will be missed Paul, thanks for some really great content. Good luck.

Jonathan Harper > Paul Thompson 01/09/2015 at 21:55

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That would make a lot more sense. Seems thats what they do with The Vane.

Paul Thompson > Jonathan Harper 01/09/2015 at 21:55

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Thanks for reading. While stressful at times, it was usually fun.

ttyymmnn > Paul Thompson 01/09/2015 at 21:55

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Any reason given? I think you've been doing a great job. I hope you land somewhere else.

Jonathan Harper > Paul Thompson 01/09/2015 at 21:57

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no wonder Matt wasn't interested in my JetBlue Mint Class review when I initially asked him :/ but I snuck it in on a weekend and Kat still FP'd it :D

ViperGuy21 > Paul Thompson 01/09/2015 at 21:59

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Sorry man! I really enjoyed your articles. Learned a ton from them and they were just entertaining as well. Can I expect to see them on Oppo in the future or if not, which site because I will definitely continue to read your stuff if I can.

Justin Hughes > Paul Thompson 01/09/2015 at 22:06

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Bummer. I liked it. Good luck, wherever you end up.

BKosher84 > Paul Thompson 01/09/2015 at 22:07

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Yeah. I love the community of these websites (different ones are definitely better than others). Just the decisions by the top make absolutely no sense. Like how there are 10 blog posts about a dude named Tim Craggs who apparently got the useless title of Editor In Chief (why the hell does the blog site need an EIC?).

Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. > Paul Thompson 01/09/2015 at 22:08

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:(

You done good man. I mean, i'm not really into fighter jets, and it's sad to see one of my favorite writers here leaving..

Flat Six > Paul Thompson 01/09/2015 at 22:26

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I've been enjoying it, too bad.

Funktheduck > Paul Thompson 01/09/2015 at 22:35

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Ah. I was hoping that was the case. I was a little afraid that you started it and then they started paying you like Doug and then they took the rights away since we don't own any of this stuff.

Gated Manual > Paul Thompson 01/09/2015 at 22:37

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Thats too bad. Best of luck in your future opportunities. I've enjoyed your flightclub posts over the past year.

dogisbadob > Paul Thompson 01/09/2015 at 22:38

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Sorry to hear that!

I guess that's what happens for breaking the first rule about flight club: you don't talk about flight club :p (sorry, I had to!)

Anyway, good luck

f86sabre > Paul Thompson 01/09/2015 at 22:41

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Also sorry to hear about this. I very much enjoyed what you posted. I would love to read your piece on the A350 as I will be getting a lot of up close and personal time with them starting in 2016. I really want/need to understand their philosophy for major composite repairs to the fuselage. It had best not be to just replace the panel. If you every find yourself in Atlanta and want to talk jets feel free to drop a line.

SonorousSpeedJoe > Paul Thompson 01/09/2015 at 22:43

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Yeah, I noticed that too. I would think that, with the sharing model in place, they would encourage cross-posting articles from smaller sub-blogs; Jalopnik 's the smallest of the main Gawker blogs and shares several posts from its larger sister blogs, but I don't think that the reverse happens anywhere near as frequently.

I wish you the best, Paul.

Coachrotte33 > Paul Thompson 01/09/2015 at 23:36

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Good luck moving forward. Loved reading your stuff.

Hellowsailor > Paul Thompson 01/10/2015 at 10:33

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damn, this was my favorite site.

Paul Thompson > Hellowsailor 01/10/2015 at 13:14

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Thank you so much!

Paul Thompson > ViperGuy21 01/10/2015 at 13:16

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I'm not sure I'll be posting anything substantial to Oppo, because it would allow the Jalopnik guys to get my work for free. I know that sounds a little vain, but right now the wound is still open. :-/

Tetrisaurus > Paul Thompson 01/10/2015 at 14:43

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I really enjoy your content, and will most certainly be keeping up with your escapades elsewhere sir. Godspeed and good luck

DasWauto > Paul Thompson 01/10/2015 at 15:19

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You could try sharing posts on here in the style that Racer, C&D and R&T employ with Ninja where they post part of the article with a link to the full post at the bottom. It could help bring exposure to your site or other places your work may be featured (especially if the Jalopnik editors share them) and I would enjoy continuing to read your work around these parts.

Jcarr > ttyymmnn 01/10/2015 at 15:37

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I notice that the username of the leader of the Planelopnik sub blog has been changed to what I presume is his real name and that he has been curiously silent on this post. Cause for speculation...

ttyymmnn > Jcarr 01/10/2015 at 17:20

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That was my thought too, though I hadn't noticed that change. I like what Paul was writing, but I think Shifts has captured the Gawker tone a little better. His angle is also a bit more inclusive of all types of flying, while Paul's was more on airlines and the airline industry. I can't see them keeping the Planelopnik title, though. I'd like to see that continue as a tag for smaller, off-topic shares.

ViperGuy21 > Paul Thompson 01/10/2015 at 17:22

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I totally understand that. You say you will beposting to your personal site then, which site would that be exactly..?

Jcarr > ttyymmnn 01/10/2015 at 18:08

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Yep, I think you've hit the nail on the head. Maybe he can give some of us others admin rights to Planelopnik so we can keep using it.

Chris Clarke > Jcarr 01/10/2015 at 18:13

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I was asked several days ago if I'd like to contribute to flight club. Of course I jumped at the opportunity. I figured that I would supplement Paul's articles with some more eclectic general aviation peices, much like Tavarish and Tom share the Car Buying duties. I was completely shocked to hear that Paul would be leaving. I did not actively pursue writing with Jalopnik but was approached by the staff. I was not asked to run flight club, but just to fill in some gaps as an occasional contributor. I wish Paul all the best and I'm rather disappointed not to be working with him, but excited to be able to add my skill and passion toward the aviation side of Jalopnik.

Jcarr > Chris Clarke 01/10/2015 at 18:19

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I figured they'd reached out to you, given the amount of resharing they've been doing lately. You definitely deserve it. Sad to see Paul go as I think you guys could have provided unique perspectives, but it will be in good hands with you.

Any idea what will become of Planelopnik?

Chris Clarke > Jcarr 01/10/2015 at 18:49

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I'll still post to and share to planelopnik. It might not get as much attention since articles I might have posted there might now show up on flight club. Thanks for the encouragement.

ttyymmnn > Jcarr 01/10/2015 at 18:55

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The original Planelopnik tag still works. Chris' version of it looks like this: http://planelopnik.kinja.com/ The original version is http://kinja.com/tag/plane-lopn…

If I do a post, I still tag it with "planelopnik" and it still goes to the tag site. So, there will always be a repository for those who wish to share aviation stuff that is aside from the official Flight Club, or whatever it is going to become. At least, I hope that tag doesn't go away.

Paul Thompson > Chris Clarke 01/11/2015 at 01:16

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I wish you the best, Chris. I always thought we'd make a great team. It was a lot to be asked of me to launch this thing and cover EVERYTHING, (on an almost completely solo basis) but I tried like hell. Email me anytime. paulthompson77@gmail.com

SlaughtrHousJak > Paul Thompson 01/11/2015 at 05:36

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best of luck man. godspeed.

Turbo-Prop > Paul Thompson 01/11/2015 at 09:34

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Wow, major bummer. I don't know what I'm more aggravated over, the loss of regular flight club posts or the fact that I have to go get a twitter, now.

oglocc > Paul Thompson 01/12/2015 at 19:52

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Bummer.

For Sweden > Paul Thompson 01/13/2015 at 12:39

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Less airline stuff? ._.

Why you do this Gawker Media? ;_;

Nick drives Stick (not Stig) > Paul Thompson 01/13/2015 at 20:57

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Hey Paul,

I was just made aware of this... really sorry to see you go! Flight Club was my favorite sub site of Jalopnik. Please share where you end up so we/I can still follow your work.

DutchRudder > Paul Thompson 01/14/2015 at 15:00

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How does a guy like Chris Perkins still have a job if they're letting guys like Paul go?

Vizzini > Paul Thompson 01/14/2015 at 15:14

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Sorry you have been given the "buh-bye."

You have now picked up another follower on Twitter. Best of luck; I look forward to your future articles.

Known As E > Paul Thompson 01/14/2015 at 16:38

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That's all I read. I'm a frequent traveler and enjoyed them quite a bit...

Scrape > Paul Thompson 01/14/2015 at 20:38

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Booooooo. Your stuff was always a good read.

llll > Paul Thompson 01/14/2015 at 23:11

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Thanks for the posts , thompson

Leon711 > Paul Thompson 01/15/2015 at 06:14

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I wish you all the best Paul, I loved your articles. I missed this post last week, you also got a new follower.

SetTheRayToJerry > Paul Thompson 01/15/2015 at 09:19

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Hey Paul,

What is your personal site? I hate Twitter but will miss you on this site.

Ben C > Paul Thompson 01/15/2015 at 11:51

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Sorry to hear that you're leaving.

I only had a passing interest in aviation before I came across this place. Thanks so much for your informative articles that helped to pique my interest further.

All the best.

Paul Thompson > SetTheRayToJerry 01/15/2015 at 12:33

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I just purchased the domain planegeek.com yesterday, but I don't have it up and running. Currently, you can find my personal blog at paulthompson.wordpress.com There isn't much recent content in it though, since I was writing everything for Flight Club. Thanks!

ItshouldahadaV8 > Paul Thompson 01/15/2015 at 12:52

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Im a little late to finding this post.

Paul Im sad to see you go, Flight Club quickly became my favorite part of Jalopnik. I enjoyed reading each one of your posts, I hope FC will still get a good amount of commercial aircraft related articles, Im not holding out hope though. Im definitely going to be checking your personal site quite often, I wish you the best.

SetTheRayToJerry > Paul Thompson 01/15/2015 at 12:58

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I'll keep my eye on planegeek. All the best.

Paul Thompson > ItshouldahadaV8 01/15/2015 at 14:35

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I appreciate your reply. Numbers-wise, the commercial stuff always got the most traffic. Early on, I was given a certain traffic goal - which I met right off the bat. A few months later, it was raised, and I still met it. It was raised a third time, a few months ago. It was a little harder to meet that goal (600,000 unique US visitors a month) but I was usually close. In December, Flight Club had a record month, with almost 800,000 "uniques" and they let me go.

Porschephile > Paul Thompson 01/19/2015 at 04:50

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Paul, your posts here have been truly first rate, I've enjoyed them hugely. This is a real shame - I can't see how you could have done any better.

I hope your next adventure is even better!

Spacegrass > Paul Thompson 01/19/2015 at 18:16

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Damn, Paul, I'm very sorry to hear. I enjoyed all of your columns on Flight Club. I had noticed over the last week you weren't around, but chocked it up to a much needed vacation.

Best of luck to you in wherever you go next!

jariten1781 > Paul Thompson 01/20/2015 at 15:30

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Couple weeks late but just noticed. Best of luck out there.

NeutronStar73 > Paul Thompson 01/21/2015 at 08:57

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Good luck, Dude! You had good stuff on this site and I hope you inform us where you will be next!