EAA ditches air racing?

[MEdwards]

EAA's statement is disengenuous. It starts in the middle of the story by saying the race organizers, not EAA, cancelled the race. But even Chad admits that something came before. He says, "I just wish Eric wouldn't have canceled it because of this." It appears that "this" in this context was EAA's withdrawing its support or its connection with the race. The statement ignores that fact, and is therefore deceptive.

I'm not arguing EAA's right to associate or disassociate itself as it sees fit. It's possible it was the best business decision for the association. But EAA's spin doctors seem to be working overtime again, and that leaves a very bad taste in my mouth.

[Chad Jensen]

No deception...I just haven't had a chance to post the "because of this" here. It goes back to the AV cup webmaster putting EAA's logo and staff names on their website without permission. EAA objected, and he said he would cancel the race if he had to remove it. That is the back-story that no one saw because the email I sent to him, which is now all over the place, didn't cover that because it was already said in another string of emails. In the context it was written, and who it was written to, it made sense.

[Burtles]

when EAA got sued and lost from a crash that killed a guy years ago, EAA got out of the regional fly-in sponsorship's. It's been that way for a while.

Chad, this is incorrect on two counts. First, EAA won that court case. Second, EAA removed its name from the regional fly-ins but maintained its support through sponsorship agreements that included marketing support and financial contributions. These were in place for several years but have now been canceled by EAA. Removing all EAA support is a serious blow to these grassroots events (all of which were started by EAA).It seems the focus is on O$hko$h.

[steveinindy]

Better update this website with a banner across the top. Something along the lines of "We are running from the lawyers with our tail between our legs, RACES CANCELLED!!!!"http://www.airventurecup.com/

There is/was a race involving Oshkosh? Hmmmm.....this is the first I've ever heard about it. That said, there are better things to spend that event's budget on such as the Young Eagles St cetera.

[Burtles]

EAA's spin doctors seem to be working overtime again, and that leaves a very bad taste in my mouth.

I couldn't agree more. An EAA representative wrote to the the AirVenture Cup chairman as follows: "With direction set from the top, and in light of the general public concern for anything related to air racing, EAA will no longer be associated with air racing in any form going forward."

The spin doctors are doing all they can to divert attention from this statement. Why? Because it's very damaging. As a member I expect EAA to stand up for my aviation interests, to educate and inform "public concern" if it exists. I do NOT expect EAA to roll over and disassociate itself from whatever part of aviation is under scrutiny!

[Chad Jensen]

Guys, no one is trying to put a spin on that statement. I won't comment any further on the race itself until we have a teleconference with the organizers, but I will comment on the statement you quote because it's mine.

My email to Eric was in the context of AirVenture only. It was not necessary to restate everything that went back and forth for the last three weeks. That's why all of this makes no sense to anyone. Everyone in the world that read that email (which should have never happened) had no background to go from, and why would they? Private emails posted with no context or background are worthless. Air racing won't happen at AirVenture is all.

[rwanttaja]

Chad, this is incorrect on two counts. First, EAA won that court case.

*Eventually*. EAA and the fly-in lost the initial judgement (IIRC, it was for $8,000,000), but got it overturned on appeal. The case was dismissed on its merits; there was no decision that EAA national was NOT responsible. So basically the precedent was set that EAA's level of support made them a partner and thus liable for the actions of the fly-in.

Wanna bet it cost EAA a bundle of bucks to defend against the original lawsuit and then file and win the appeal?

Removing all EAA support is a serious blow to these grassroots events (all of which were started by EAA).

Say what? You're saying, for instance, that Arlington was started by EAA national? Bull. They were started by individual EAA chapters.

The issue boils down to how liable EAA should be for the actions of its individual chapters. If EAA Chapter XXX holds a fly-out to a nearby airport and one of its members crashes, should EAA national be a co-defendant in the resultant suit?

The answer is "no," but the fact is, it will be. This is why EAA extends its insurance to cover certain chapter events *as long as given criteria are met*. They'll cover a chapter fly-out, but prohibit certain activities as part of it (flour bombing, etc.).

The fly-in problem is just an extension of that. Big public events like these can generate lawsuits quite easily (volunteers getting hit while parking cars, someone breaking a tooth on a food item, etc). EAA has established policies to minimize the chance of the national organization being named as a co-defendant at events where EAA national has no control. One way to do this is to ensure EAA's name isn't included in the event publicity or documentation.

Ron Wanttaja

[steveinindy]

Wanna bet it cost EAA a bundle of bucks to defend against the original lawsuit and then file and win the appeal?

Probably more than the original verdict to be honest...

[Bill Greenwood]

The accident at Reno, was much more than "every little burp in life".
It was a major disaster, to those of us who knew Jimmy and to those who knew any of the 10 killed and dozens severely wounded. It reminds me of some of the times in auto racing where a car has gone into a crowd.
We all love high performance planes like a race Mustang, but not more than the human life.

And whether we like it or not, liablity is a real factor to be considered by EAA or any other organization. Racing has been a small part of EAA, it can't be the dominant thing.

[steveinindy]

The accident at Reno, was much more than "every little burp in life".
It was a major disaster, to those of us who knew Jimmy and to those who knew any of the 10 killed and dozens severely wounded.

Thank you for pointing that out. Several of my friends were among the folks who responded to that debacle and they will forever be scarred by what they witnessed that day.

We all love high performance planes like a race Mustang

Those things are only a Mustang in the same way that Dale Senior's car was my mom's Monte Carlo.