Hightower Resigns as EAA President/CEO

[Jim Heffelfinger]

The question I have about that is "What do the people who say that the headquarters is 'out of touch' with the chapters actually want from headquarters in terms of involvement?". It's one thing to say that they aren't doing what we want them to do but it's a far more practical one to actually say "You know, I would like to see X, Y and Z". Remember that when you gripe about that sort of thing, it's not directly accusing the CEO or others who get a lot of the blame of not doing but rather you're basically insulting Hal, Trevor and Chad who we all know bust their behinds. That's why I think a "Can we get you to do X and Y? Z sometimes would also be helpful" would be much better than just a general complaint of disenfranchisement. Complaining in a vague way may make us feel better but doing so with specific points is much more likely to garner benefit or other constructive input.

The issues with Sport Aviation, etc have been laid out repeatedly but I have yet to hear anyone spell out what exactly this disconnect between the folks in Oshkosh and the local chapters is exactly. This is a serious question as I have not seen much change since I first become involved to varying degrees with local chapters back in the 1980s and 1990s. If we can improve things to make it even better, I'm all for that so let's hear it.

I whole heartily agree. I once worked for a guy that ALWAYS wanted 2-3 solutions - when you went in with a problem

But this is off topic again

[steveinindy]

I whole heartily agree. I once worked for a guy that ALWAYS wanted 2-3 solutions - when you went in with a problem

I used to do that to my EMTs, medics and firefighters. The working rule was that if you couldn't come up with a reasonable solution or two to a problem, you probably hadn't thought about it long or hard enough yet to come to the supervisor(s) for a ruling or permission to proceed.

[RV8505]

I used to do that to my EMTs, medics and firefighters. The working rule was that if you couldn't come up with a reasonable solution or two to a problem, you probably hadn't thought about it long or hard enough yet to come to the supervisor(s) for a ruling or permission to proceed.

Steve, Chill! Go outside and enjoy the day today! Unless, your sitting around the fire house at work. This stuff will make you sick 24 X 7 ! Enjoy the day!

[steveinindy]

Steve, Chill! Go outside and enjoy the day today! Unless, your sitting around the fire house at work. This stuff will make you sick 24 X 7 ! Enjoy the day!

LOL I'm working at home today and this is a nice relaxing break from engineering analysis for the design project. *twitch* LOL

[phavriluk]

Having no facts to support my comments, I think that a large portion of the members' pushback to EAA management was anger at disenfranchisement. Folks who identified themselves as the folks whose time and effort and participation built the organization went to the convention, for example, to find the event imitating a carnival, not a members' annual convention, and whose purpose was to attract as many bodies through the turnstiles as could be persuaded to enter. Experimental/sport aviation didn't matter to management as much as head count at the convention they renamed 'airventure'. That head count was a very large part of the definition of convention success. And the membership base was ignored (chalets, noise-and-thunder circus acts during the daily airshow) as much as possible to indulge the pursuit of head count and corporate bigwig elbow-rubbing. Or brown-nosing. Seems like the organization subverted its reason to exist by pandering to the carnival crowd and the corporate crowd while spending all year figuring out how to do that.

[bdk]

So....you don't want to read anything but scientific journals? Even the old issues of Sport Aviation you find they are heavily, heavily biased towards personal anecdotal experience ("When I built my plane, I did....") or opinion. The one that jumps to mind is an old Tony Bingelis article about cockpit layout where he offered suggestions based on the need for "safety" but what he suggests runs counter to scientifically validated approaches since the 1950s. Tony was (is?) a damned bright guy but to act like the good ol' days of Sport Aviation weren't chock full of one-off stories and anecdotal advice is patently false.




I've had similar encounters every year. One year, when I was on crutches, I ended up being given a ride on a golf cart to find myself sitting behind Bob Hoover who was apparently the one to ask the driver to stop and give me a lift. Granted, it's anecdote but I've never felt that any of the "big names" was unapproachable. Rutan (both of them), Yeager, Bud Anderson, more of the Tuskegee Airmen than I can count, John Roncz and many others are folks I've had friendly casual conversations with over the years. Hell, the year after my cart ride with Bob Hoover he saw me walking and asked how my recovery had gone!

My point is that the magazine was tending towards stories about flying to some airport and discussing what the restaurant was like. I have no problem reading about stories of a design or building process. Of course it has been a few years since I have seen the magazine, but that is the primary reason I dropped my subscription. It wasn't doing for me what it once had and I didn't want to waste paper or the organization's (my) money.


i agree that many of the aviation luminaries are approachable. What I'm talking about is the fixation on movie stars and pop bands. Maybe the move to make the organization more mainstream, i.e. other than aviation, is what I think is not worthwhile. Next thing you know they'll be opening a Walmart on site during the convention...

[crusty old aviator]

It saddens me to read all the vitriole about Mr. Hightower. Has all the vitriole from the on-going Presidential campaigns poisoned us as a society, so this is how we respond when our personal visions of EAA aren't fulfilled with instant gratification? It is unfair and unproductive to compare Rod with Tom and Paul. Rod had his own way of doing things, just as Tom did when he took his dad's seat. Mr. Hightower followed the direction set forth for him by the Board of Directors and did that job very well. EAA's membership wasn't growing, so the Board tried to make EAA the aviation organization for all aviation people, in an attempt to bolster the membership. It alienated many specialists, those who thought EAA should remain what it was...well, when? That depends when you joined, doesn't it? Many groused back in the 70's that EAA was becoming too big and mourned for the Rockford days, maybe you're in that crowd. Many groused in the 90's about EAA relying too heavily on corporate partners at the annual convention, instead of keeping it entirely grassroots and relying on volunteers and member donations to keep things going, as EAA always had in the past. AirVenture was nick-named AirDisney by the less-is-more philosophers who questioned if bigger is better, or if bigger is just overwhelming and alienating? To the purists, I have to ask: is the zillionaire who truly enjoys flying in the back of his Gulfstream any less an EAA'er than the unemployed dreamer who scrounges and scrimps and builds his own airplane for $2000? They both love aviation with the same passion, shouldn't EAA cater to both?
Many have commented over the years about how aviation is like a religion. Let's not allow ourselves to degrade aviation as others have done with their religions (ie. the Sunnis and the Shiites in Islam, and the Catholics and the Protestants in Christianity). Our wings are a gift, as is our passion for aviation. How we pursue that passion is up to the individual and should be respected by all.
I applaud Mr. Hightower's decision to put his family ahead of his EAA career. How may times have we heard references to a problem teenager along the lines of: but he comes from such a good family...? Define good: A big income? A big house in a ritzy neighborhood? Membership in country clubs? Too many top executives ignore their kids in their pursuit of making more money, then wonder why their kids turned out so poorly. That won't happen to Mr. Hightower. His values are in the right place and they are the same values he ran EAA with. I wish him all the best in his life in St. Louis, and I hope we EAA'ers can help Mr. Pelton grow EAA with constructive advice instead of the selfish whining that has filled too many of the posts before this one.
Soft landings, Rod and Jack, let's go fly!

[Jim Heffelfinger]

well said.... and have 3 solutions to the problems we imagine ready

[Jethro]

I wish him all the best in his life in St. Louis,

I too wish him the best in St. Louis. I wish him the best anywhere but in Oshkosh.

Glad to see him gone.

His family now has him. Happily, we don't. A win, win situation in my book.

Now, how to get Mac to depart for anywhere.

[MEdwards]

It saddens me to read all the vitriole about Mr. Hightower. ...I hope we EAA'ers can help Mr. Pelton grow EAA with constructive advice instead of the selfish whining that has filled too many of the posts before this one.

For a member of EAA to say that they hated the chalets and the corporate direction they seemed to represent is neither vitriol nor selfish whining. It is the honest opinion of many members of EAA. And, as members, we are entitled to have opinions about such things and to express them publicly.

By the way, I heard about third hand that Mr. Pelton and some other board members shared or at least respected that opinion, which sounds great to me, but I have no first hand knowledge of that fact.