I have read the other forums and I agree that something just did not feel like the previous years. I cant put my finger on it.
Was it the temperature?I don't know! cant control that. Some say the economy, which I do agree is a major issue in aviation and personal finances,and right now we cant really control that. It seems that there is a different attitude by EAA than previous years.
It appeared to be a carnival attitude especially when you ordered your tickets and paid for your camping over the phone with extremeTix. I came into the flight line and saw the Ferris wheel and the bouncy cage and it hit me! I realized it is just a carnival with airplanes. I came to Camp Scholler on Saturday before the show and left the following Sunday, and it was not as crowded as previous years. There are a few things that need improvement but as a whole I think it was just OK. I think we (EAA) needs to focus on what works and what doesn't work and in my opinion we do not need to be a carnival.
I think the trams seemed to work very well this year and I think that would be a major improvement if they used they same type of vehicles in the camp ground vs the buses. There seemed to be a lot of pedestrian and ATV/scooter traffic this year in the camp and it just a matter of time before there is a serious accident. I think there needs to be speed bumps to slow down some these ATVs and additional walk ways along the roads and that includes Lindbergh, it will take away a few camp sites along the road but it needs to be done. I also think there need to be more camp sites with at least electricity. it appeared that the were a lot of rental trailers ( as they all looked alike) in the Full Hook-up sites. Whats with that? I went to the Life Members dinner on Tuesday and the meal was a disappointment when compared with previous years according to other life and century club members but the program was very very good. It was nice to see Paul and Audrey and listen to the one on one with Paul about EAA history. I do enjoy the airshow but in moderation, you could record the last few years shows and its the same stuff. I would like to see more Military/war birds and a Lot more BIG airplane demos and have that included in the airshow and posted in a schedule. I think the show needs to actually start earlier in the day as it does interfere with evening activities with people preparing meals and trying to wind down a bit in the early evening. I could say I am not going to come back, but that is not true. I will come back, I just hope the old EAA comes back and they leave the carnival rides in the shopping center parking lots.

M.N. Wordell
ATP,A/P, F/E
EAA 779745