What was good and bad about OSH2011...

[Antique Tower]

Sorry guys - I'm late to this new forum so forgive me for resurrecting an old thread. But I have to respond:

The only bad experience that I <strong><u>ever</u></strong> had in 15+ years at OSH happened on Friday at the Childrens Activity Center. My 3 year old and 1+ year were playing at one of the play tables and my 1+ year old moved a play hangar from one side of the table to the other side of the table, not on the floor, not to another table,but the other side of the table. One of the staff (Carroll?) came over, moved the plastic hangar back to the original spot and demanded to know who said that my little guy could come in and play. She said that we needed to leave because he was too small to be there and she will have to talk to the people who said it was OK for him to enter. Now I understand if he was making a mess moving things to other tables or throwing things but he was doing what a kids do; PLAYING. My wife and I take pride in how our children act in public and make sure
that they do not run wild, make messes for others to clean up, or cause
problems. I really feel that if you can not comprehend that a child is going to move toys around a table in a PLAY AREA you have no business being in charge of the kids play area and you need to find some other place to volunteer. As we were leaving we had a short conversation with another parent who saw what happened and shared our thoughts on the matter. <br><br>I suppose there will always be one bad apple but the crappy attitude and crass comments are a big disappointment to me. This is not what this place is about and not a good way to promote the future of aviation and EAA. I hope that others who might have come to OSH for the first time did not have similar experiences and instead experience all the great friendly volunteers that make OSH such a great place to be.<br><br>To the other staff members at the Childrens Activity Center and everyone else Thanks for all that you do!!!!!

This is almost EXACTLY the experience my wife and I had about ten years ago, the first time we brought a preschooler to Oshkosh. I literally could not believe how rude these people were to us, how nasty they were to my son. And I have heard similar stories from other parents. I have no idea how these people are allowed to continue year after year - definitely the worst experience we have had at Airventure.

On the flip side, I HIGHLY RECOMMEND the Kiddie Cockpit play area that is put on by Vintage, behind the Vintage Red Barn. And of course, Kidventure is the very best thing about Oshkosh. It is amazing and is run by some dedicated, loving people who are true teachers.

Sorry for your bad experience. You are not alone.

[MEdwards]

I have always felt the poppies [Protect Our Planes] have been pretty ineffective.

POP duty has to be a pretty thankless job. So, Thanks to those who sign up to do it. I only saw one all week, who very nicely reminded me to stow my folding chair before leaving the campsite for the day. I appreciated his message and the way he delivered it.

[MEdwards]

Only one complaint, and it's about parking in Vintage.

Arrived Saturday before the show and was directed to park in the next available row, in the first slot next to the road. There were already two planes in the same row in the two slots next to the runway. When queried (nicely, respectfully, and with sincere expressions of appreciation for their service!) the volunteers said the unnamed powers that be had directed them to park planes west to east in each row. They said the two parked next to the runway were there illegally and would hear about it from the management.

Of course parking is by row, and where you park in the row is luck of the draw, but it seems to me spaces near the runway are preferable to those next to the road (and we were next to a tram stop to boot, so there was huge traffic within 10 feet of the plane all week), so it seems they should park east to west to give preference to earlier arrivals. I can see that might slow up parking a few seconds if several planes arrived for the same row at the same time, but things were never that frenzied that I observed.

There was one additional "feature" of our parking location: We were right under a webcam, so the folks back home could watch our every move. That could be an advantage or a disadvantage, depending!

I and my visiting friend from Australia (who came over specifically to go to Oshkosh) had a great time at AirVenture Oshkosh 2011.

Mike E

[Antique Tower]

Mike you touched on a controversial subject this year. I park planes for Vintage, and yes this situation occurred to a few folks.

In years past, the only aircraft parked on the east end out of turn were twins, as they are too wide to bring down a normal aisle, especially if they leave early.

I assure you it will be addressed next year.

Also, if you see a better spot open up during the week you can move. Just grab the nearest vintage volunteer.

[TMann]

I was glad to see the Navy display. My dad flew the Helldiver off of the USS Bunker Hill in WWII.
This is the first time I've been able to see one up close (much less flying.)

I thought the cancelled Canard fly-over was a bust. They seem to have tried to reschedule it for Friday but it doesn't do much good if you don't know about it.

The Rutan celebration was a big reason I made the trip.

[s51flyer]

Point of reference:
Camped the entire week in Camp Scholler - 22nd thru 30th,

Good:
- Being able to totally immerse oneself in anything aviation for a week. Beats the best day at the office or golf course.
- The variety of aircraft, vendors, exhibitors, etc., etc. all in one place - very efficient way of covering a lot of ground if one needs to.
- Friday airshow was AWESOME. My 13 year old son and I were right on the Flight line with the B29 coming straight at us for the Wall of Fire. The whole front row said "Whoa" when you felt the heat from 300 yds away. So cool!
- Enjoyed REO. It was great to just to get off our feet and hear some good music. Great weather, etc..

Opportunities:
- WiFi access, speed needs to be improved throughout Camp Scholler. I've seen other posts that don't think WiFi access is a big issue. I disagree. I've exchanged email with John Carrier too. He's got a tough logistical problem. That said, if you are going to publish information about Airventure on the web (schedules, forum attendence planning, Airventure feedback columns, etc.) and hope people are going to be able to access it, some improvement needs to be made. WiFi is no longer "complimentary". Any big business conference ensures WiFi access to participants. I had issues accessing WiFi from Monday afternoon thru Saturday. I either couldn't get on or the signal was so weak it was not useable. I understand the cost and logistical issues for a one week event. However, that can be said for anything related to Airventure. Maybe I just need to get a 3G iPAD, and this has just been good practice for convincing my wife.
- MUD! I hope EAA continues to improve the road network and drainage in the Camp Ground. It was pretty much a mess all week. We love camping at EAA, and we love the shower facilities. We've been camping for the past 10+ years. Keep up the great work!
- SLOW DOWN THE CAMP SCHOLLER VEHICLE TRAFFIC. Speed bumps, stop signs, anything to slow the speed of traffic. I'd hate to wait 'til someone gets seriously injured to see a significant change made. Speed limit signs seems to be suggestions vs. enforced. If folks can be cited for drunk driving on EAA grounds, then maybe they need to be cited for speeding too.
- GET KIDS LESS THAN THE LEGAL DRIVING AGE OFF MOTORIZED VEHICLES. Again, seems this rule is just a suggestion. BTW, I got stopped for not having a Camp Scholler Bike tag on my Bike, yet kids are driving motorized vehicles all over the place, sometimes while illegally carrying 2 or 3 hangers on. Hmmm...


Keep up the great work! Love the event, and love it more 'cuz it's only <90 minutes away.

[Aegidius]

I was impressed by the Android app I downloaded that had the map and daily forums in it. I don't know if it was EAA or Sportys that sponsored the app but it was very helpful to keep that vs carrying a paper map with me all day. It could be so much more though. Keep the smartphone apps and info coming!

[Jeff Point]

Mike,I can't address your concerns specifically, as I don't volunteer in A/C, but I do handle parking in the homebuilt area so I can address your general concern. The problem is, not everyone has the same idea of what a "good" parking spot is. You want to be next to the runway. Someone else might not want to be there, and would rather have your spot. For example, someone with a plane for sale and wanted max visibility, or someone who didn't want their planes next to the flight line with the airshow crowds banging into their plane.

As they say, there's no pleasing everyone. As was mentioned, if you see a better spot open up and would like to move, just ask a volunteer. We aim to please (but not everyone

[flyingriki]

If EAA pays any attention to this thread:
$3 water in those conditions is ridiculous. Not all of us are "used" to it...and $18 - $24 a day for, other than hose, water, please!
$4.50 for a mini-hot dog equates to $1 a bite - are you kidding? It isn't even a fancy hot dog.
A zillion motorized vehicles zipping around an equal number of pedestrians, whose idea was that?
The VERY, or almost, worst facilities are provided for the group of people that built the organization - HBC.......go figure.

Hey new guy, Mr. P. created a fabulous organization. Pobi Jr. grew an airshow/fly-in.
What are you going to do?

PS: the Android App was never updated so the forum listings were 50/50 accurate.

[mazdaP5]

The good:
Variety of rare warbirds this year, from the Dauntless, to the Helldiver, to the FW 190, zero, lots of rare birds I've never seen fly before.
All of the commemorative Navy birds, interesting and cool.
Great attitude of any volunteer I came across, very inviting.
Food options are getting better all the time.
Jerry's one man band. I've seen him a million times, can see him a million more.

The Bad:
Vehicle traffic in pedestrian areas. I remember when I was a kid, the only vehicle traffic on convention grounds were chopped bugs. Now you always seem to be in the way of somebody too important to walk. Some of them drive way too fast also. It's about the paying guests and members, not the vip's.
Closing the Eagle Hangar for the week. I want to see the 1/72nd scale Enterprise. I want to see the oldest Mustang. I have access to the museum, I want to see the whole museum. I don't get the opportunity to go Oshkosh but once a year, I'd like to make the most of it.
The mud was a p.i.t.a, but thats the weathers fault, so I'm not that upset about it.
The programs said tune to a.m. whatever station for Airventure info and such, but I could never get it to tune in, even in camp sholler.

All in all, a great experience, but the vehicle overcrowding has been a real big issue for me the last few years, and really does take away from the experience. It's Oshkosh, I shouldn't be annoyed all the time.