Airventure of the Future

[Bill Greenwood]

One day in the next decade or so, EAA Oskosh may have evolved if it is like all the geeks say.

Crowds will be a lot younger, mostly in their teens and 20s. No parking volunteers will be needed, no colored dots on the runway, no fuel trucks.

Crowds of young people will be accessing the upgraded wi fi networks, and texting each other on their phones, and seeing images of themselves on their ipads, maybe even playing an aviation related game on their computers.

Service will be great, due to the dozens of large cell phone towers erected on the site. No extra FAA controllers will be needed in fact there will be no need for any control towers.
Since the crowd will be more wi fi gadget nerds than people who actually own or fly airplanes, and the airspace will be full of cell phone towers, no actual flying will take place.

There will be almost none of the old guys who actually used to fly in or fly in the show.

And maybe, just maybe one of the young guys might even look around at all the empty parking spaces, and text to his friend, "Did you know there actually used to be airplanes flying here?"

[FlyingRon]

Gone will be all the old guys because you'll be dead and there won't be any pilots growing up to replace them because you pissed away the opportunity to entice them into becoming interested in aviation.

[wyoranch]

Amen to both Bill and Ron........ More energy needs to spent on the development of the future members than pissing and moaning about the technology. 30 some years ago when Loran was becoming big, many old timers scoffed and were insistent on using paper charts and their e6b, fortunately for me those same old timers looked past themselves and showed me the joy of aviation.

[Jim Rosenow]

Good news from Salem, Ohio!! I found our potential new members! My wife and I flew to Salem Airpark in rural Ohio for some training. We swapped seat time in a Super D and during her flights I was in the pilots lounge. There were no fewer than 10 active young pilots (guessing 17-22 based on looks, and the talk about the h.s. football team party scheduled last night) in and out of the constant discussion group in a couple hours. The 'old man' of the group manages the airport for his family and was also giving ground instruction...He is 28. I didn't think to ask how they each first became involved in aviation, but we're scheduled again, and I will make a point to do so if the opportunity presents.

I'm sure each of the participants had a cell phone available, but they were not in evidence during the hangar talk. Wifi in the lounge, but no one was using it. It was great to sit and listen in!!

Jim
EAA 64315

[frfly172]

Every year I see more families attending. Also notice many more women than in the past. The crowd still has a lot of old timers,which I actually enjoy talking to. A little more upgrade on the food and restrooms,sure will help.

[FlyingRon]

I saw more kids in the crowd during the T-birds show days than I've seen in a LONG time at Oshkosh.

[jjhoneck]

Gone will be all the old guys because you'll be dead and there won't be any pilots growing up to replace them because you pissed away the opportunity to entice them into becoming interested in aviation.

This why I tell every, single pilot I meet (and we meet a lot of pilots!) that they MUST attend Oshkosh, NOW.

Something this good cannot last forever, and after our generation passes there is a giant demographic void. In 15 years, when we are attending in wheelchairs and scooters, who will be flying in?

[JimRice85]

Just think of the negative return on investment in your airplane. Seems the market is drying up on many antiques. Younger folks with means don't seem nearly as interested as the old geezers I grew up around that saved and restored so many.

[martymayes]

This why I tell every, single pilot I meet (and we meet a lot of pilots!) that they MUST attend Oshkosh, NOW.

Something this good cannot last forever,

LOL, I love it.

The reality is, while it may not last "forever" I don't see the Oshkosh fly-in ending anytime soon. The fly-in as each generation knows it certainly doesn't last forever. Evolution (which is usually seen as bad by the old timers and promises to be good for the younger generation) will continue. As it does, each generation will see the sun set on their "good times."
I'm sure the geeks Bill described will look forward to the annual fly-in at OSH but it won't do much for the current generation, much like the current generation activities don't do much for the "out of touch geezers" flying in with their fabric biplanes with radial engines. 25 yrs from now the geeks will be pushed off center stage for whatever technology comes next, and so it goes. Who will be flying in and what will they be flying? If I had to guess, I'd say pilots and planes that will need a lot of electrical outlets and charging stations. Heck, I see the a huge growth opportunity because all the attendees from China making the 2 hr flight in their homebuilt that cruises in low earth orbit will need a place to park.

At any rate, the "Attend NOW because something this good cannot last" motto should be valid for at least the next 200 yrs, lol.

[rwanttaja]

Ah, yes, I remember when I was an adolescent. The adults praised the intelligence and diligence of my generation, marveled at our art and music, and claimed that the world would enter a new Renaissance of peace, light, and advancement once we reached our majority.

Oops, sorry. Wrong memory. In reality, the adults wailed over our stupidity and sloth, complained about our paintings and that damned Rock and Roll ("It's not music, it's just NOISE!"), called us TV-addicted, got into high dudgeon over the apparent universal, consistent use of "recreational substances", and decried that the world was going to hell.

In reality, every new generation faces this kind of scorn... and for the most part, it turns out to be unwarranted. A hundred years ago, grandfathers were complaining about how electricity made everyone lazy, and everyone spent their time jabbering on the telephone. Oh, and let's ban alcohol, too! A few millennia earlier, an old man was muttering into his mead, complaining about iron weapons ("Bronze was good enough for Agamemnon!") and all the idiotic maneuvering ("What's wrong with the phalanx, I ask you???").

I think today's youngsters will turn out just fine. And I think the lucky ones will still discover aviation.

Ron Wanttaja