Is AirVenture Dying?

[Bill Greenwood]

I would be very surprised if half of the people of the town dislike EAA or Airventure. If they do, they sure don't show it much or at least not so I have seen it and I have been coming every year for 3 decades. Now, I am not in people's homes, but I have been in a dozen restaurants and at least 5 hotels and a few stores. One of the things I most like about the week is that I feel welcome. Yes, some places are crowded, if you wait till 8 pm Fri night. But they do the best they can, and if you go with patience and a friendly spirit, they often say , come on in, can we get you a drink, and we'll put your name on the list. Same in Fon du Lac, etc.
I did have one funny experience one year. I dropped a rent a car off downtown and was taking the city bus back to the airport. As we came on the road by the post office the lady sitting next to me looked at the Airventure grounds with amazement. "Look at all the planes!". I asked her where she was from and she said "Oshkosh,lived here for years!" I asked how she could not know about the convention, and she said she had heard of it, but she lived in the north part of town and had never seen it, and thought it was just a handful of people and planes.

It may have happened,but I just can't recall, any, single instance of waiter, cab driver, or worker being really rude to me, and that even includes the controllers. And man when it comes to controllers, that is really a pleasant surprise from a lot of the rest of the country.

[TedK]

It may have happened,but I just can't recall, any, single instance of waiter, cab driver, or worker being really rude to me, and that even includes the controllers. And man when it comes to controllers, that is really a pleasant surprise from a lot of the rest of the country.

Ditto.

OSH, at least during AV, is what Disney is trying to be.

Who knew that Airplane exhaust had this side effect?

[Fastcapy]

It may have happened,but I just can't recall, any, single instance of waiter, cab driver, or worker being really rude to me, and that even includes the controllers. And man when it comes to controllers, that is really a pleasant surprise from a lot of the rest of the country.

Yeah, usually they make a good amount of money during that week and love it. I know wait staff that make more tips in one day during AirVenture than an entire weeks pay and tips any other time of the year.

Trust me. A lot of people here hate it. Every year we go through the same thing with people saying it needs to move away from Oshkosh. No matter how much you try to explain to them how much money it brings into the city and local area they don't care and just rant on and on about it. You may not see these people because they don't go on the south side during that time as much as possible.

My father-in-law is one of those people who hates it with a passion. Last year we invited my wife's uncle (her dad's brother) out to the hangar to watch the Thunderbirds. Like a good big brother he called my father-in-law just to blast him with jet noise through the phone

I'm not going to argue with people on here about it. I grew up and lived/worked in Oshkosh my entire life and I will tell you there are a lot of people here who HATE Airventure and wish it would go away. Every year I try to tell them about the benefits of having it here but they refuse to listen to anything. Owning a locksmith business I make a lot of money that week myself, but I also drive everywhere around town and the traffic is nothing compared to driving in Milwaukee or Chicago, not even close (EAA, Oshkosh PD and Winnebago Sheriffs Office do an amazing job keeping that amount of traffic flowing)

I do agree that wait times are a lot longer at resturants that week, but so what. My only gripe is all the out of town drivers making my daily drive a real adventure as they drive through the roundabouts like madmen... (Don't get the locals, mainly those over age 55, started on the roundabouts. You will get an earful).

[Byron J. Covey]

Yeah, usually they make a good amount of money during that week and love it. I know wait staff that make more tips in one day during AirVenture than an entire weeks pay and tips any other time of the year.

Trust me. A lot of people here hate it. Every year we go through the same thing with people saying it needs to move away from Oshkosh. No matter how much you try to explain to them how much money it brings into the city and local area they don't care and just rant on and on about it. You may not see these people because they don't go on the south side during that time as much as possible.

My father-in-law is one of those people who hates it with a passion. Last year we invited my wife's uncle (her dad's brother) out to the hangar to watch the Thunderbirds. Like a good big brother he called my father-in-law just to blast him with jet noise through the phone

I'm not going to argue with people on here about it. I grew up and lived/worked in Oshkosh my entire life and I will tell you there are a lot of people here who HATE Airventure and wish it would go away. Every year I try to tell them about the benefits of having it here but they refuse to listen to anything. Owning a locksmith business I make a lot of money that week myself, but I also drive everywhere around town and the traffic is nothing compared to driving in Milwaukee or Chicago, not even close (EAA, Oshkosh PD and Winnebago Sheriffs Office do an amazing job keeping that amount of traffic flowing)

I do agree that wait times are a lot longer at resturants that week, but so what. My only gripe is all the out of town drivers making my daily drive a real adventure as they drive through the roundabouts like madmen... (Don't get the locals, mainly those over age 55, started on the roundabouts. You will get an earful).

Please tell Oshosh area residents that I appreciate their putting up with us. I know what it is like to be seasonally invaded (I live in Florida) and I appreciate their tolerance.

Note that I have never experienced a negative reaction from a local, and the positive reactions from those that I meet are consistent, appreciated and are a big part of what makes "Oshkosh" what it is.

First visit: 1970.
Most recent visit: 2014.
Next scheduled visit: 2015.


BJC

[krw920]

I will tell you there are a lot of people here who HATE Airventure and wish it would go away.

I live in the Oshkosh area, and I would say it is more a very vocal Minority that wish it would go away. You know the type, those that b*tch about anything that isn't the status quo.

[steve]

Tell the haters to try living in a tourist state. The snowbirds come to FL for 6-7 months. Clogging up traffic and causing long lines at the checkout. There's no getting away from them. Ya can't go to the Walmart in the next town over 'cause they're there too. They always seem to go food shopping just as I'm getting off work and need to pick up a few things for dinner. "Another long day at the beach, tourist?"
The business owners make bank this time of year, tho. Keeps taxes down for us residents.
Lighten up, Francis.

[FlyingRon]

Wisconsin tourism:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ShrV43xB6yY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8v5WAxj5U5A

[Byron J. Covey]

Tell the haters to try living in a tourist state. The snowbirds come to FL for 6-7 months. Clogging up traffic and causing long lines at the checkout. There's no getting away from them. Ya can't go to the Walmart in the next town over 'cause they're there too. They always seem to go food shopping just as I'm getting off work and need to pick up a few things for dinner. "Another long day at the beach, tourist?"
The business owners make bank this time of year, tho. Keeps taxes down for us residents.
Lighten up, Francis.

Steve:

When I start to get frustrated with the snow birds / tourists, I just say to myself. "No state income tax, no state income tax ...."


BJC

[rwanttaja]

Steve:

When I start to get frustrated with the snow birds / tourists, I just say to myself. "No state income tax, no state income tax ...."

Washington State has no state income tax, either, no snowbirds, and pot is legal.

Game, set, and match...:-)

Ron Wanttaja

[Byron J. Covey]

Washington State has no state income tax, either, no snowbirds, and pot is legal.

Game, set, and match...:-)

Ron Wanttaja

It also has no sunshine for much of the year.

See you at Arlington this summer.


BJC