Negativity?

[Kiwi ZK-CKE]

Hi everyone, I am only a newbie to EAA and the forum, and from the far side of the planet, but I thought I might just raise this with you.
I joined EAA primarily because I am planning to visit Oshkosh in 2013. As a result I have hovered around these threads picking up tidbits and pointers about the Oshkosh experience. Pardon me for saying this as an "outsider", but anyone reading these threads would have to ask why anyone would want to attend Oshkosh at all.
I seem to see moaning about admission prices, Aircraft marshalling and parking, chairs, too much warbird content, not enough warbird content etc, not to mention minor wars over air racing!. Any event will have problems, and its good to discuss them, but to a newbie looking for info on the event, it is actually harming your organisation. Maybe a little a little care about how things are phrased? just a suggestion :)

Am I still keen to come to Oshkosh? You Betcha!

[rv8bldr]

Stuff deleted....

Am I still keen to come to Oshkosh? You Betcha!

And you should be! It is a blast and you will overdose on airplanes. The grounds and facilities are top notch, and in my opinion, worth the cost. The camping there is great. A bunch of us go every year and camp together.

You will have a great time. Trust me.

Cheers

[Hal Bryan]

You will have a great time. Trust me.

Hi Kiwi, and welcome to EAA and to our forums! First off, I second Mark's comments: you will have a great time! I had so much fun coming here every year that I decided to stay year 'round! ;)

As for the tone of a few of the forum threads, I think you make a very valid point, and that all of us can benefit from an extra infusion of optimism around here! That being said, I come to work every day to make sure that we have channels like these available so that all of us can voice our opinions about our organization, with an ongoing good-faith commitment to keeping communications as open and as transparent as possible.

Regardless, I hate to tell you this, but you are officially *not* an "outsider" as of now. :) Thanks for a great first post and a thoughtful reminder, and again, welcome! I look forward to seeing you next year!

- Hal

[FlyingRon]

It's an outlet for them to bitch to people they perceive either are kindred spirits or are EAA or Airventure staff that can listen to their complaints.

Frankly, I've been going to Oshkosh (I refuse to succumb to the Airventure name, to everybody in the WORLD outside of Wisconsin it's just Oshkosh. To the locals it's "The EAA.") for twenty years. I've volunteered there for 12. My experience is 90% positive. Certainly I have made my gripes, and either I griped to the right people or they were just well founded enough that they fixed them anyway, but things have improved.

Oddly, I've never found anybody on the EAA staff or the volunteer staff that was unwilling (at the appropriate time) to listen to suggestions/complaints. Of course, some of it is purely one person's view. It may not be practical to act on them or they may be counter to other people's ideas of the way things should run, but I don't get the feeling that nobody is listening or the show as some systemic defect.

Yeah, I'm not the biggest warbird fan, but I don't dislike them. I hate the stupid "Masters of Destruction" / JetPowered Portolet type acts, but it's a big attraction as well. A lot of people find the acrobatic acts boring. The good thing is that there is enough of everything at Oshkosh to appease everybody. It's hard to say there's "too much" other than for the first few years you go, you're going to come away with the feeling that you "didn't see it all."

[Bill Greenwood]

Kiwi ,

If you like aviation, most any kind, but especially the fun side of airplanes, by that I mean to do it mostly for fun, not business, then you will enjoy Oshkosh.
Just watch out for ethanol in your fuel and the witch of the north 40 parking area if you go there. Most of the rest of it is pretty good, as are most of the people, and the town.

And why in hello are you waiting till 2013 to come to EAA. Get over now, its about 2 months plus away? Who knows what will be there over a year from now.

[Hangar10]

Yep, I agree that you will have a blast! This will only be my family's third year, but we look forward to this trip all year. If this event is anything like our last two, we are in for a great time.

[steveinindy]

It's an outlet for them to bitch to people they perceive either are kindred spirits or are EAA or Airventure staff that can listen to their complaints.

We're pilots. We bitch. It's what we do when not flying. It's like the old joke about Jews (such as myself, before anyone gets upset with me): "Where there are two Jews, there are three opinions." Substitute 'pilot' for 'Jew' and you've got it almost spot on why there is so much grousing and whining. The trick is trying to keep everyone doing so in a productive manner which is a lot like herding cats the vast majority of the time.


You will have a great time. Trust me.

Seriously. It's the most fun you can have with your clothes on or without leaving the ground as an airplane geek. I'm missing Oshkosh this year because of a family wedding but AirVenture is such the highlight of my year that it took my fiancee's mother promising Kat and I a free cruise to the Caribbean later in the year to get me to agree to not "scurry off to Wisconsin for that airshow" (her words). LOL

[malexander]

Everyone has their opinion on what could be better, or worse. The fact is, if you go to Oshkosh (I can't seem to get into the "Airventure" thing either), I'm 100000000% sure you'll find SOMETHING you like and worth far more than the price. My family has been going to OSH for the past 10 years, my daughters, ages 17 & 22, start counting the days til next year as we're leaving for home. They simply love the place. I can't think of any park, fun place, or venue of any kind where your kids (my little girls, used to be) can walk from the campground (Sleepy Hollow) by themselves. It's a different caliber of people all together.
Anyway hope you make it, and I know you'll enjoy it.

[Treetop_Flyer]

As with everything on the internet, there's a vocal minority who like to get their rocks off by griping about everything under the sun and stirring the pot.

The vast majority of us find Oshkosh to be a great experience and I can almost guarantee you will too! Everybody I have ever interacted with at Oshkosh has been friendly and ready to bond over anything aviation. Heck, last year I was camped about 20 or so rows from the flight-line and was running towards the flight-line with my D-SLR to get a shot of the 787 as it landed. Two American Airlines pilots in a golf cart pulled up and told me to hop on so I could get there and set up to get pictures before the 787 landed. Talk about service with a smile! Those guys were awesome. I didn't catch their names, but without them I never would have got the shots I wanted. Thanks to whoever you guys were.

Anyway, my point is that AT Oshkosh, you'll find the vast majority of people to be completely friendly and just downright awesome. On here...well...the vocal minority is...vocal. :P

[Mattmutz2]

I decided to stay year 'round!

Hal, do you have a residence here in Oshkosh? How many of the "leaders" do? From Hightower on down... It seems like people are using Oshkosh as an ATM.

[FlyingRon]

Hey, and it's not just the people on site. I've had countless great experiences with the locals when I have gone in to town. Cab drivers have bent over backwards for us. We've been offered rides back to the field )(including a guy who walked to his house and returned with his car to take us) when we were in town. The owner of the Granary (alas now out of business) gave me a restaurant staff shirt when I got soaked in a downpour on the way to the restaurant. I had a bus driver who was going out of service and found we wanted to go somewhere other than the dorms (her last stop) just drive us to direct to the front door of our destination. It goes on and on. We get there early, and it's always a cheery smile when they realize that "The EAA" has arrived.

[Kiwi ZK-CKE]

Thanks for your welcome guys, its good to know that the big picture and spirit of Osh is still alive and well. I would love to get over this year, but having just got my new plane flying, I am somewhat poor at the moment! One thing a long term project has taught me however is to set goals, and if its important enough, you can find ways to make it happen. I'm really looking forward to it!

[Bill Greenwood]

Kiwi, if you can find a way to get there this year, don't wait. Who knows, global warming might melt the glaciers and submerge your island, or it may be found that cheese is bad for you and Wisconsin withdraw from the union.
Beg, borrow, or steal whatever you can to get there in two months.
Do you know any group like a museum or club that is going?
Or do you have anything to sell, perhaps an old car or motorcycle laying around, or rides in your plane; or an extra kid that you could rent out?

[RV8505]

Some people don't know how to converse without complaining.. If you meet up with any at Oskksoh ditch them over at Jerry's One Man Band and join me at one of the many the party tents! . :thumbsup::thumbsup:

[martymayes]

Some people don't know how to converse without complaining.. If you meet up with any at Oskksoh ditch them over at Jerry's One Man Band and join me at one of the many the party tents! . :thumbsup::thumbsup:

I have Jerry's latest 8-track downloaded on my Ipod. I can listen to his music and hit the party tends at the same time. ;)

[MEdwards]

Kiwi, I think I remember an earlier thread where you were looking for accommodation for 2013. If you're interested in a University of Wisconsin at Oshkosh dorm room, the first day to reserve that is Monday, 2 July, at 8am, Central time. If you call or fax them on that day you're almost certain to get a reservation. But don't wait too long. Sometimes the Aussies and Kiwis flock over here and take all the dorm rooms! They do sell out, especially the air conditioned rooms. And it is hot in Oshkosh in July.

http://gcc.housing.uwosh.edu/guests/eaa

[Lindberg]

I've done my share of "bitching" about AirVenture, but I am a member nearly 30 years and each of those years I flew to Oshkosh during AirVenture and at other times. I have spent a lot on money at AirVenture and Oshkosh over the years, so I get to "bitch" all I want too. I'll be spending some more this July. (I wonder if the ice cream cones will be $3.00 this year.) Some are so enamored with EAA and AirVenture that they cannot grasp the concept of complaining about EAA, but I have heard a few upper-level EAA officials do a lot of "bitching" so my complaints of not enough drinking water fountains and perhaps the flood fiasco of 2010 are not acts of treason.

I'll be bock..... again and again (I hope) with a bag full of money that I will grumpily and reluctanty spend. ........just be sure the beer tents are accessible when they "honor" the jap attack at Tora, Tora, Tora. At that time I will honor Col.Paul Tibbets mother's name: Enola Gay........................

[steveinindy]

Hey, and it's not just the people on site. I've had countless great experiences with the locals when I have gone in to town. Cab drivers have bent over backwards for us. We've been offered rides back to the field )(including a guy who walked to his house and returned with his car to take us) when we were in town. The owner of the Granary (alas now out of business) gave me a restaurant staff shirt when I got soaked in a downpour on the way to the restaurant. I had a bus driver who was going out of service and found we wanted to go somewhere other than the dorms (her last stop) just drive us to direct to the front door of our destination. It goes on and on. We get there early, and it's always a cheery smile when they realize that "The EAA" has arrived.

I've also had similar experiences. The people in Wisconsin in general- with the exception of some parts of Milwaukee- are among the nicest of anywhere I have been. Oshkosh is just exceptional even above and beyond that. I grew up in a tourist trap and we used to have bumper stickers that said "If it's tourist season, why can't we shoot them?". It just makes the welcoming attitude of the Oshkosh residents all the more amazing in my mind.

[AlexC]

I'm another 'outsider' although I'm from the other side of the pond, not Down Under. I've been to Oshkosh for the past three years now, and I can say for sure that there's nothing else like it at least not in the UK, and I'd suspect nothing like it anywhere else in the world for that matter. I visit mainly to take photos which takes me about six months to up-load to airliners.net each year! As has already been said the natives are very friendy, although obviously not natives I have to say that I do find the Aussies a bit 'boisterous' at the Uni at times, but perhaps that's just in their nature! Anyway, I'm sure that you will have a great time whenever you manage to get there.