Appearance fees

[Bill Greenwood]

I have never heard of anyone getting an appearance fee to bring a plane to Oshkosh, though there may have been some non public payment.

One year they had a big British focus and I was specifically invited to bring a plane to show center. I got a courtesy car for free, I think, and a parking pass that went most places.

Some people may get free housing, I am not sure about that. And EAA reimburses for fuel used to fly in the show, not enroute fuel.

Jerry has some very special planes, and I'd love to see them there, and flying, but I hope EAA continues the tradition of the past. I'll probably phone Jerry, but I'd guess that he is not very flexible on this. Many people have spent a small fortune to restore some very rare planes and they naturally can expect a show to pay them as an attraction. But EAA has built something special at Oshkosh. If you own a special plane and want a high price to display it, then it will be priced out of many venues. I don't think many real pilots want to restore a plane just to have it sit in their hangar, nor do I want to miss out on some of the special places to attend like Oshkosh. I have not yet been to Jerry's place in Virginia but I hear it is great and I want to get there sometime.

Maybe there is some way around it, like an outside sponsor offering a fee directly to Jerry to bring a plane.

Let's take the money to be spent on Thunderbirds, which is substantial since they require housing and cars for many people if not outright payment for the planes, and use it to help make a good show in every other way.