EAA Tri Motor Flights - Rip off

[Victor Bravo]

Our EAA chapter has hosted the B-17 several times, and we specifically asked for EAA to send the Tri-Motor out here as well. We got a response back that it is too far (West Coast) for the Tri-Motor to go.

I have to disagree with the EAA's decision. If the Tri-Motor is so popular that they added another airplane, then it is also popular enough that they can take advantage of its profitability at stops along the way here and back. There are 40 or 50 places between Oshkosh and Los Angeles where the Tri-Motor shopuld do very well. So it might take a month instead of two weeks, it would be profitable and promote part of EAA's mission.

The Tri-Motor fills a niche for an historic aircraft flight experience that is less than half of a B-17 ride, and represents a different historical era than warbirds do. It costs a lot less to operate than the B-17, and probably requires less ground and air crew.

$70 for a flight in the Tri-Motor is not excessive in my opinion. I agree the flight should be longer than 15 minutes.

To address Mr. Charpentier's post, the non-revenue flying hours for the Tri-Motor could be a lot less than the non-revenue hours for the B-17. There are more profitable venues in between major stops, it can oeprate out of smaller airports, and it will appeal to those thousands and thousands of people who cannot afford a B-17 flight. I think that the old Ford could be more profitable, reach out to more people, and spread EAA's message further.

[pacerpilot]

It costs me $12 just for gas to run my Corvair powered Junior Ace that long. I'd say $70 is very reasonable.

[Buzz]

EAA must be banking on the coolness factor or something. I know there is a plane cost associated with it but raise the price to make it an hour ride. A 15 min ride is you are up, make a circle and land. That doesn't sound exciting to me and not worth $140 out of my pocket book.

I took B-17 price a couple years ago. It thought it was well worth it.

[They also had an option where you could actually bomb something. I thought that would have been nice but it was outside the family budget...]

[somorris]

I'm sorry you feel that way, Brian. I have a C-150 that I can fly whenever I want for however long I want (and have time), but I still paid for a ride in the Tri Motor. I thought it was worth the money. It's not about getting in the air, it's about flying in one of our first airliners. You can go for a lot of airplane rides, but the chance to ride in a classic like the Tri Motor doesn't come along very often.

[Wrongway Feldman]

The only beef I have about the EAA Tri Motor Flights.
The one time I could take the ride was right before the afternoon air show 2:30 PM
I wanted to get up there and take some photos of the AirVenture grounds,
Their normal flight pattern takes you out east over lake Winnebago then south, then back west towards the
AirVenture grounds, Then they go north past AirVenture grounds (time to take some photos) then lineup to land.

The problem is they changed the flight pattern right before for the afternoon air show
and start flying north over Oshkosh then west then south then east back to the north runway.
If I new that they were going to change to a northern flight pattern I would have waited until they resumed the normal east south west north pattern.
L&L = Live and Learn
They could advise you of this prior to sliding the plastic.

[sautewes]

I just read in the latest issue of Sport Aviation about the forum comments concerning flights and their costs on EAA's tri-motor. There were some comments about the $70 per person cost with the suggestion it was a "rip-off".
In the early 30's, my father took my brother and me to the Northeast Philadelphia Airport where we took a ride on a Curtiss Condor piloted by Clarence Chamberlin, the second pilot to fly non-stop to Europe. It was a great experience that I will never forget and I'm now 87 years young. The cost for us to fly with Mr. Chamberlin was $5.00 each. In today's value, that $5.00 is worth over $78.00. "Rip-off"? I think NOT.

[Gil]

I don't look at it as a rip-off at $70 for a short ride. For some folks, it is a memory they want. I flew in the Air Zoo Trimotor some years ago, with two of my friends up front in the cockpit, and that made it kind of special... but the ride itself was pretty vanilla. Take off, make a big rectangle around the city and land. There is nothing magical other than the surroundings and the airplane itself. Glad I did it, don't recall what I paid, but would not go out of my way to do it again and wouldn't recommend it to someone who did not already have the desire to check that box.

[crusty old aviator]

You're looking at this from your perspective, only, Brian. If a lot of people want a ride, how long are they going to wait for that ride, no matter what the cost (time is money)? With 15 minute rides, the wait is tolerable, and $70 for a seat in an aircraft this rare isn't that bad without hearing protection.
If you want to whine about rip-offs related to EAA's Ford Tri-motor, complain about how Paul Poberezny ripped off EAA donors on the purchase of the third tri-motor engine by insisting the restoration project buy his unairworthy engine for over twice the price of what we found a freshly overhauled engine for. Liberals may decry this as Paul abusing his position or at least a conflict of interest, but Rush Limbaugh's ditto-heads would aplaud it as good ol' boy capitalism. Keep your ideological affiliation and opinions to yourself, please, as this is not a political rant, it's just a footnote in EAA's history. Paul was being paid a measly $250K+/year back then and had numerous private expenses to cover, so he needed the cash. Hey, we're all human. We do what life requires of us.

[Flyfalcons]

If you want to whine about rip-offs related to EAA's Ford Tri-motor, complain about how Paul Poberezny ripped off EAA donors on the purchase of the third tri-motor engine by insisting the restoration project buy his unairworthy engine for over twice the price of what we found a freshly overhauled engine for. Liberals may decry this as Paul abusing his position or at least a conflict of interest, but Rush Limbaugh's ditto-heads would aplaud it as good ol' boy capitalism. Keep your ideological affiliation and opinions to yourself, please, as this is not a political rant, it's just a footnote in EAA's history.

Interesting. You give a blatantly political opinion, then ask others to keep their politics to themselves.

[donwmack]

I remember when the Concord used to come to Oshkosh and you could get a flight in it. I thought it was too expensive at the time (not overpriced, I just didn't have the $). Now I will never know the experience.