Hightower Resigns as EAA President/CEO

[steveinindy]

Nothing wrong with IFR other than it is not sport flying.
But Steve, Mac brags that he ONLY flies IFR.

Well hell, even if I'm out for fun I fly IFR (but then again my definition of "fun" is largely point A to point B rather than just boring holes in the sky). The challenges of IFR are the fun of flying for me so it is "sport flying" at least in my book. Then again, I also always fly dual pilot for several reasons.

The issue is that it doesn't meet your definition of sport aviation because you don't enjoy IFR flying and it rubs you the wrong way. I don't enjoy your kind of flying, you don't enjoy mine but surely there can be a mutual respect between fellow pilots. There's friendly rivalry between bomber and fighter jocks but they still have a respect for one another. That's what seems to be missing in the EAA more than anything else. Until that changes, we will simply be chasing ghosts or our own tails rather than working to support one another. We either learn to live together as brothers and sisters or we die together as the ship of fools sinks beneath us.

No need to say more Steve, we have debated this enough.

Then why do we have a new "The EAA sucks" or "Sport Aviation" or "Mac is an ***hole" thread every week? If folks are going to drag up the same old tired and often slanted views of things and claim to speak for the entire EAA membership, then I will continue to rebut it.

[Burtles]

This thread needs the injection of a few facts. First, the obvious - Hightower was fired. Second, those close to the situation know the reason was not the direction he was leading EAA. The reason is contained in Jack Pelton's original quote on the EAA website. When Jack used the phrase "treat our employees fairly" this was a deliberate and pointed choice of words.

[Mike Switzer]

This thread needs the injection of a few facts. First, the obvious - Hightower was fired. Second, those close to the situation know the reason was not the direction he was leading EAA. The reason is contained in Jack Pelton's original quote on the EAA website. When Jack used the phrase "treat our employees fairly" this was a deliberate and pointed choice of words.

That is sort of what I figured reading between the lines.

Would I be out of line nominating Charlie Becker for the job?

[steveinindy]

Would I be out of line nominating Charlie Becker for the job?

Not in the slightest. Charlie, Chad or Hal would all be great leaders. However, I like all three of them too much to ever subject them to the "friendly fire" attracting position at the EAA helm.

[Dave Stadt]

That is sort of what I figured reading between the lines.

Would I be out of line nominating Charlie Becker for the job?

Charlie now works for AOPA.

[bdk]

I don't have the answer to any of this, but I stopped getting Sport Aviation years ago. I also stopped going to Oshkosh years ago too, it isn't worth the trip. I've just lost interest in how large and impersonal the organization has become.


I don't want to read a magazine whose authors bloviate about their personal experiences and opinions each month. I want to see something informative and educational about aviation. As a budding aerospace engineer, that's what I used to get, the trials and tribulations of each builder or restorer that had their aircraft featured.


Oshkosh has gone from the worlds greatest aviation swap meet to manufacturers row. I had to walk that much farther from the campground, through all that stuff in either the rain or 98 squared (temp & humidity) to get to what I really wanted to see. All that stuff just got in the way, both literally and figuratively. It all became very impersonal.


So what about all the money? Does EAA really need to grow to include every single person on earth that can recognize an airplane? Is that the organization we want? I preferred when it was much less formal, before they had all the musical headliners and movie stars. It was about aviation, aviation people and innovation, not about being everything to everyone. It was about the little guys. People were approachable. You could chat with Steve Wittman or Tony LeVier while in line at the porta-john. They were just normal people. And there were some real characters too, not just the polished sales booth guys. "Airventure" is a carnival now. I haven't been for a while, but are the hot dogs up to $8 yet?

[jim_spee]

One way to resolve these contradictions is through structures similar to those already in place at EAA, but reinvigorated. I agree it is too much for Sport Aviation to serve the needs of every member. Experimenter magazine, now online only, is for the hard core builder. Vintage Airplane is for those who love flying history. Warbird and Sport Aerobatics serve those communities. Why not a niche publication for owners and builders of complex kits? Bring back Light Airplane for those who want to fly inexpensively. At the same time, recognize that different generations have different preferences for receiving and sharing information. Some like one on one, some like face to face meetings, others are ok with forums like this one. The common theme I am hearing from this discussion is the need to refine EAA's definition of member as somthing that goes beyond "subscriber" to something deeper and more meaningful. When I was in my 20's I wrote Paul a letter about the motorcycle that was my ride while I was working overseas away from aviation. He sent me a picture of him on his Harley. That attention to me as a member meant a lot and built my loyalty better than a publication alone ever could.

[Mike Switzer]

Charlie now works for AOPA.

I Know.

[steveinindy]

One way to resolve these contradictions is through structures similar to those already in place at EAA, but reinvigorated. I agree it is too much for Sport Aviation to serve the needs of every member. Experimenter magazine, now online only, is for the hard core builder. Vintage Airplane is for those who love flying history. Warbird and Sport Aerobatics serve those communities. Why not a niche publication for owners and builders of complex kits? Bring back Light Airplane for those who want to fly inexpensively. At the same time, recognize that different generations have different preferences for receiving and sharing information. Some like one on one, some like face to face meetings, others are ok with forums like this one. .

Welcome to the forum and thank you for bringing another balanced take on this.

The common theme I am hearing from this discussion is the need to refine EAA's definition of member as something that goes beyond "subscriber" to something deeper and more meaningful

The issue with that is if we want to return back to the good ol' days (and I only caught the tail end of those as one of the "hangar rat" kids at the local chapter) where it was about members helping members is that such actions require more input from the members than we currently see. That's the biggest difference I have seen in the twenty or so years I have been around the EAA: lots of people want things but fewer and fewer are willing to offer their skills and knowledge for whatever reason. Is there a leadership issue affecting this as well? Probably but I think there's a much bigger issue underlying it that we don't want to talk about because it's unpleasant and, therefore, much easier to assign blame entirely at the feet of Rod, Mac and anyone else that falls into the crosshairs of those with a bone to pick.

[Bob Collins]

I have a rule in aviation: No politics, No religion, no primer wars. Aviation is -- or was -- fun for me because it's the one avenue I can escape all the nonsense of talk radio, political ads, and general crap of what passes for public discourse today. AirVenture is always a requirement because for a week, I can immerse myself in people coming together under a common bond, putting aside the differences of day-to-day life and enjoying this fine obsession.

This has all been ruined for me by discussions just like this one, which aren't any different than the political discussions I've thought to escape.

I'm in the news business and for years I've had a saying: "You know what killed the news business? News people."

Now, I think that the people who killed aviation are aviators.

When I read this continuing squabbling, all I can hear in my head is "terrain! terrain! terrain! Pull up."

Let's try to get together and work things out.