2015: Good and Bad

[dougbush]

Good:
As others mentioned, I liked the shower trailer on the North side of the N40 with the water that stays on and more privacy than the red shower house.

Also, the port-a-potties with sanitizer and mirrors. Just wish more of them were set up in the shade.

The weather was great while I was there, and no bugs got in my tent.

Bad:
Two of my favorite presenters had forums scheduled at the same time (Rutan and Wainfan).

Orange-shirts would not let me park on/near the row I asked for, but I knew that would likely be the case.

Painfully high water pressure in the N40 red shower house showers.

[mcdewey]

Yes, add the ASSAULT by the electrical stimulation salesmen to the list of the BAD. The EAA should ban this behavior. One should be able to walk through the exhibits without being verbally and physically harassed by these jackasses. Particularly bad was booth 1058 "Smart Massage." Frankly, I was one step away from physically taking a swing at the guy to get him off of me. There's probably good reason not to allow guns on the grounds, as killing one of these criminals would be justifiable self-defense.

Last year I saw one of the young "Smart Massage" thugs go after a very old gentleman in the middle of the hall. I went to the security lady (usually standing by the entrance to the halls) and told her. She said they were supposed to stay in their booth. She went over and they got a thorough chewing out. Too bad she didn't kick those snake-oil scumbags out.

Point is, let security know if you encounter such behavior from any of the booth vendors.

[krw920]

Best air shows in years. Great variety, great acts!

[Byron J. Covey]

Seen in "Homebuilt Parking:"



Probably live in Vero Beach.


BJC

[Byron J. Covey]

i was disappointed in the vendor exhibits. It seems that quite a few of the small vendors didn't return this year. The economy is picking up, so I'm not sure why so many didn't exhibit this year. With some of the more aggressive non-aviation vendors being let into the main halls, it felt like I was at a state fair. I would have preferred to collapse all the aviation vendors into three buildings, then let the fly market vendors take over the fourth.

The issue of allowing non-aviation vendors into the event is a old as the event. Back in the early 1970's there was lots of consternation, but the EAA decided that the green and gray money from junk vendors was just as good as the money from aviation vendors. Like you, I would like to see only aviation vendors in the hangars, but the EAA overbuilt the hangars, so, I suppose, they will allow anyone that is willing to pay to exhibit there. It looked to me as if the hangars were missing a row of exhibitors as compared to the peak years.

Trams / transportation was good.

Didn't try any of the food - have given up, and bring a sandwich with me.

Much improved control of golf carts and other vehicles.

The free, narrated tram ride around warbirds was excellent for people with mobility problems.

WiFI? What WiFi? Worked OK early most mornings; after that, not worth attempting.

Noise from hilocopters (that are selling rides) over the Forums remains an unsolved problem. Seems as if the educational focus that was a cornerstone of the former EAA has taken a back seat to selling rides. (Do you ever get the impression that you are not a faithful EAA member if you haven't paid for a ride in the B-17 or Tri-Motor?)

Quality of forum subjects and presentations seems to have peaked and now is on a decline.

There was a sign in the IAC building that said "If you fly a Pitts, please sign the log." I do, and I did, and I got chewed out because I had not flown in with my Pitts. Another guy suffered the same tongue lashing when he signed a poster, per the invitation to do so.

Bathrooms and port-a-potties that I visited were clean. Best year ever for that.

I continue to be disappointed in the very light aircraft / ultralight aircraft participation.

Still people smoking where they should not. Only a total ban will solve that.

The Bozo on the PA system at 0700 each day, who screamed - some thought that he might be trying to yodel - should be eliminated.

The PA music is too loud, especially early in the day. I want to hear airplanes, not music, and certainly not the Bozo mentioned above.

A Piper Cherokee was parked in the Homebuilt area. Other factory airplanes were parked in homebuilt camping.

Many of us saw the flames and the smoke from the Piper that crashed. It would be nice to provide updates about the condition of the people in the daily paper. Might want to put some news there too, in addition to the press releases from exhibitors.

The weather was perfect, and I had a great time. Looking forward to "Oshkosh 2017."


BJC

[baboss]

N40
- Inadequate cleaning of green shower bldg Sat-Mon - multiple clogged toilets (when are people going to learn to do multiple flushes or use less TP, it's 2015?)
- Even during the week I thought the green shower building cleaning crew was a lot better last year. You can't have stalls running out of toilet paper
- Needed garbage can under each towel dispenser not just on one side. Garbage piled high
- Mens/Womens signs needed on inside of shower house doors as they're always open
- Showers were surprisingly hot, damn hot actually which only gets worse as your sunburn gets worse. Pressure was pretty high too. Nice "problems" to have though.
- The camping store was a great addition with any thing you'd need. I especially liked the assortment of breakfast pastries and sandwiches

- Where was the Beer/food or drink at concerts? Beer would have been nice. Thought it was served after 5pm at certain food tents???
- A GPS enabled map in the mobile app would have been nice, or maybe my friend couldn't figure it out on his Android. Any chance for the Windows version of the app?
- No txt alerts for airshow lineup...had them previous years. First one I got was when I arrived home Thursday afternoon
- EAA wifi worthless but Cellular signal pretty darn good. Thank God I took a Mifi with me.
- Porta potties very clean!
- I experienced excellent service and quick moving lines during peak lunch hours at most of the food tents.
- Prices at food tents were not bad at all when you consider the large portions
- More announcements by tram volunteers about stops/routes would be nice, how to get to different areas. One tram stop volunteer was loud and ON people about squeezing in a making room for more people, that was excellent and really helped some of the older folks figure out what tram line they needed to be in.
- When are you going to get rid of the blue drapes on the trams? Makes it confusing when there's also a blue tram line. I continue to see it confuse lots of folks.

[krw920]

There was a sign in the IAC building that said "If you fly a Pitts, please sign the log." I do, and I did, and I got chewed out because I had not flown in with my Pitts. Another guy suffered the same tongue lashing when he signed a poster, per the invitation to do so.

BJC

That area is run by the IAC volunteers, so maybe your "chewing out" was just good natured ribbing. Thicker skin maybe?

Kurt

[Byron J. Covey]

That area is run by the IAC volunteers, so maybe your "chewing out" was just good natured ribbing. Thicker skin maybe?

Kurt

Yes, she was an IAC volunteer. Yes, I have thick skin. Yes, I am, and have been, an IAC member for many years. No, not good natured kidding.


BJC

[Inspector Fenwick]

The "bozo" at 7am is a recording of the yodeler from the days of old, which you obviously never heard. Glad he is back. He is tradition, which you, on the other hand, do not "get". Maybe you would like to put "Jerry's One Man Band" out of business, too. Also......EAA tradition. You probably like plastic airplanes, too.

[Byron J. Covey]

The "bozo" at 7am is a recording of the yodeler from the days of old, which you obviously never heard. Glad he is back. He is tradition, which you, on the other hand, do not "get". Maybe you would like to put "Jerry's One Man Band" out of business, too. Also......EAA tradition. You probably like plastic airplanes, too.

I much preferred Ray Hegy's wake ups via low passes over the campgrounds in El Chuparosa turning 4,000 + RPM.

Yes, I like plastic airplanes, as well as wooden airplanes, aluminum airplanes, tube and fabric airplanes, hang gliders, ultralights, lighter-than-air craft, powered parachutes, and sky diving parachutes.

Do you find something wrong with that?


BJC

PS. Thanks for the link to the wind map that is on your chapter's web site. Really neat.