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Thread: Why I'm against bringing the Thunderbirds

  1. #11
    rwanttaja's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Kyle Boatright View Post
    But playing devil's advocate, I wonder how many long term EAA members will actually be impacted by the relocated crowd line?
    Personally, if my airplane were parked beyond the relocated crowd line, I'd be peeved. I keep a small ice chest in my airplane at airshows, plus a folding chair, along with all the other crap I don't want to carry around. Deny me access to that for 4-5 hours? I'd be ticked.

    Ron Wanttaja

  2. #12
    MEdwards's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by rwanttaja View Post
    Personally, if my airplane were parked beyond the relocated crowd line, I'd be peeved.
    I agree. In recent years I've always stayed until Saturday or Sunday morning. This year I plan to wait and see where in Vintage I'm parked. If it's beyond the relocated crowd line, which, by the way, includes everything south of the ultralights, I plan to leave Friday morning instead.

    It would particularly peeve me if I ended up parked ON the relocated crowd line, because a whole lot of people could conceivably be crowded up right around my airplane.

    Thank you, Jeff, for your well thought out and well written post.

    Mike E

  3. #13

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    My son volunteers at Sun and Fun, he thinks the jet teams have done damage. Yes a big crowd shows up but they are not aviation people. Management stops supporting the grassroots "too much trouble"

  4. #14
    Jeff Point's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by rwanttaja View Post
    Personally, I think the furor regarding needing to chase people out of traditional viewing areas and just the overall hassles will probably aim EAA towards not doing this every year. Guess we'll know in about eleven months.
    I wish I agreed with your optimism. EAA has been remarkably tone deaf to the complaints of the core members, so I suspect the ring of the cash register will drown out the protests of the members.

    As one born contrarian to another- no offense taken. All this straw down my shirt just itches and makes me ornery.
    Jeff Point
    RV-6 and RLU-1 built & flying
    Tech Counselor, Flight Advisor & President, EAA Chapter 18
    Milwaukee, WI
    "It All Started Here!"

  5. #15

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    There's a lot of better places to be than show center during the airshow, for sure. Since the T-birds fly last Sunday, the best airshow of the week-- the one on Sunday while the Green gang is tearing down the sound system so you can actually hear the airplane noise instead of the blaring music, commercials and narration-- will probably not be happening.

  6. #16
    Great post Jeff, I totally agree.
    Others make the point about the unusual or extraordinary attracting crowds to Oshkosh, that is perhaps true, but the Thunderbirds surely don't fit that bill, they appear at many shows all over the country and have already been fairly near to Oshkosh last Month in Rockford! But also all the other attractions have mostly fit in with the rest of Oshkosh they don't majorly disrupt the crowdline for a start!
    I very much doubt they will attract many kids, except outside the fence.

  7. #17
    Larry Lyons's Avatar
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    As one of several people, 15 to 20 and planes, 7 to 10, that fly in as a group Thursday or Friday before the show so we can camp together on the burn line down beyond the speakers I will say we are deciding this week as to our plans. We will be denied access to our chairs, coolers, tents, support equipment, and aircraft for 5 hours for at least 2 days! We are not happy and not looking forward to standing around or schlepping all our stuff back to the new line where we will have to get along with out any shade too! Most of the group camps out from when we arrive to Sunday morning, 8,9,10 days. So losing access to your home for a substantial amount of time is looked at as a hard ship. We are considering pulling out Fri. morning, one of our group has already served notice that he is leaving early. If your there for one day you put up with sitting in the sun but after a week of camping and then be evicted, we are not too happy. What impact will we have? Not much I guess just one flight line empty early (way down south) maybe a $,5000 in camping fees, food, and beer. I hope, like Ron, his I a on time thing. We do not come to see the airshow, we are here for the camaraderie and to watch the arrival and departure of aircraft we can't see anywhere else.

    L
    No matter how far you push the envelope; its still stationary!

  8. #18

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    EAA has certainly abandoned the core and I have complained as much or more than anyone. Like Ron said, it happened over time. Actually, it started from the very beginning in the 1950’s. Everything aviation was welcome at the early Fly-ins and growth was always the goal. But back then most of the articles in Sport Aviation were directed to home building or restoration.
    The problem is that Airventure is the template and source for Sport Aviation articles through the following year. (Tom admitted this in his column). While I might enjoy watching the T- Birds more than the usual air show stuff( that I usually ignore), I sure don't want the cover of Sport Aviation to feature the T-Birds with a full feature article about the life of the jet pilots. The cover should be homebuilts or sport aircraft and the majority of feature articles should be sport aviation related.
    Jack said EAA is now defined as "Personal Aviation". But I don't see that.
    Military, commercial aviation and Business Aviation ain't personal aviation.

    So, I guess I am more concerned with the content of Sport Aviation than Airventure. I always enjoy Oshkosh, but don't care to receive the current Sport Aviation anymore.
    Last edited by Bill Berson; 07-14-2014 at 12:13 AM.

  9. #19

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    Jeff,

    Very well written. I have never made it to Airventure. It is on the bucket list, and will eventually happen.
    But what is kinda interesting to me, I have met more non-pilots that have been to Airventure then pilots that have attended; and I live in an Airpark!
    So Jack's point about appealing to outsiders has a significant resonance with me.

    I would suggest that EAA should consider taking part of the page from AOPA. AOPA has ended the single large event and gone to six smaller regional meetings. Maybe EAA should keep Airventure as is, and start smaller regional gatherings aimed at the membership "core".

    Tim

  10. #20
    FlyingRon's Avatar
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    If you're south of ulralgihts, you will be in the zone during the show. I've not heard yet from our chairs as to what we're going to do about people who want spaces west of the "poles" but most of the affected area in Vintage is "parking only, no camping"

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