Airventure: Good, Bad, and Ugly

[Airmutt]

12,000+ units registered. Would be interested to see the breakdown of tents vs RVs/trailers.

[Bill Berson]

The color of the tram is designated by a tiny flag on the rear that you might only notice after it passes by.

[tnathan]

EAA has purchased land south of the UL area on both sides of Knapp. Demolition of the existing buildings has occurred and the land prep is in work but it’s all part of a multi year project. Building a new building for the ULs came in cheaper than moving the UL Red Barn. I think it’s great that EAA is willing to invest in the UL and Light Sport community. Unfortunately it’s gonna make the hike down to that area very looong!!! I’m assuming that vintage guys will inherit the area once the jump is made. Actually the DC-3 attempted to takeoff without the tail wheel locked. Does that qualify as a ground loop or just loss of directional control?

I think that’s a good point too. I a surprised in the investment eaa makes for an event that is fOr 1 week only. Lots of land and buildings that get used for 7 days,


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[tnathan]

I for one had a blast this year. 5th year at Airventure and first year to volunteer. Was able to snag a spot on the Flight Line Ops team and man I had a blast and learned a lot about what goes on behind the scenes to keep things moving. Volunteers were in short supply in many areas it seems but everyone seemed to keep things in stride and it worked out well. Only complaint (probably not a lot that can be done about it) is that Camp Scholler filled up FAAAAAST this year. Got there Sunday at 3P and was a long way out! Busses and trams were there, but confusing - the maps were color coded, but the Busses and Trams didn't have corresponding colors to match the maps (unless I missed it).

Maybe something to consider next year - If the Bus is following the YELLOW route - Put a Sign that says 'YELLOW'. I got on a bus to 'Scholler' and they dropped us off at the Bus park... lol.

Love Love Love Airventure though - great job as always EAA!

Not high on my personal lists of issues. But must of the awnings had blue trim but you had to look for the little flag to figure out if it was the red, blue, or yellow route.


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[Mark17]

He seems to be doing well. I had a rapid antigen test today and came back negative and I probably spent more time in that office than anybody. Many of the others who worked at the same time have reported negative tests.
I've got a PCR test result pending as I'm scheduled to visit elderly relatives this weekend.

That’s great news Ron! Happy to hear that you and the others have come back negative as well! Keep us posted on any new developments but that’s so great to hear for now anyway! You guys do such a great job putting this event on every year and put in so much of your personal time and effort to do so. So thank you so much- It’s greatly appreciated by all who attend Oshkosh!

[CHICAGORANDY]

"The color of the tram is designated by a tiny flag on the rear that you might only notice after it passes by"

There is also a colored pennant on the tractor to indicate which route. Both the front and rear pennants are mounted on long wooden dowels so that any tram can easily and quickly be put into service on any route as the need arises.

For all practical purposes there are only three 'main' routes - Red to the North, Yellow in the middle, and Blue to the South. While on the route a tram is pretty much always going in the direction the tractor is facing (easier on the tires that way) so there really can't be all that much confusion. And at the two main terminals Blue-Yellow and Red-Yellow there is almost always tram staff available to assist the lost, plus that conductor at the rear DOES have a microphone to annnounce such info as needed.

[Ronald Franck]

I don't want to start a new thread for just one topic so I'll post this here under the "Good, Bad and Ugly" banner.
Friday evening after the airshow I was headed northbound on 41 from 26, (southwest of the convention grounds).
In the sky over 41 were two powered parachutes crusing directly over the median of the highway at less than 500 feet.
I didn't think traffic from the Fun Fly Zone were permitted that far west of the field. Correct me if I'm wrong.
In any case, if there had been a mishap it would have reflected poorly on the aviation community. When it comes to public relations we need to avoid stunts like this.
OK, that's my rant. back to work.

[skyfixer8]

The color of the tram is designated by a tiny flag on the rear that you might only notice after it passes by.

There is also a flag on the front of the tractor

[tnathan]

"The color of the tram is designated by a tiny flag on the rear that you might only notice after it passes by"

There is also a colored pennant on the tractor to indicate which route. Both the front and rear pennants are mounted on long wooden dowels so that any tram can easily and quickly be put into service on any route as the need arises.

For all practical purposes there are only three 'main' routes - Red to the North, Yellow in the middle, and Blue to the South. While on the route a tram is pretty much always going in the direction the tractor is facing (easier on the tires that way) so there really can't be all that much confusion. And at the two main terminals Blue-Yellow and Red-Yellow there is almost always tram staff available to assist the lost, plus that conductor at the rear DOES have a microphone to annnounce such info as needed.

That true too. There really isn’t much overlap. And for seasoned folks it’s hard to screw up based on where they park etc. I know where it’s going. And the volunteers are super at offering help. But I could, and did see, newbies get confused at the terminals. Is the blue tram the one with the blue awning and little almost unnoticeable yellow flag or the blue awning and the little almost unnoticeable blue flag? Not the biggest issue facing eaa. But a bigger sign seems like a simple fix.


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[FlyingMN]

The good: Good for me at least was the Viper Demo teams last high speed pass during the Thursday day air show. I have never experienced an aircraft breaking the sound barrier so I am no expert but pretty sure it happened on the very north end. I would love to hear opinions from anybody who experienced it or knows more details on it. I was right on the flight line north of the forum buildings and the Vans booth. First sound we heard was a double boom that was like two lightning strikes right next to us. The compression was like somebody punched you left right in the chest. I heard reports it took some people off their feet. This probably falls in the bad or ugly category for some others. Hope the pilot didnt get in too much trouble. It certainly is the highlight of my nearly decade of attending.

Not really a bad as we arrived to camp Tuesday so that has got to be the worst possible time to show up. As expected we were in the far SW corner and there wasnt much room left either.

The Ugly: post Airventure depression. Another year and I still dont own an airplane darn it. Next year.