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Thread: EAA Airventure and Strugis

  1. #21
    rwanttaja's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Frank Giger View Post
    Bill, comparing Sturgis to Oshkosh is like comparing Sturgis to ComicCom in San Diego. All large "type" meetings are similar in fundamental ways.
    Except people at Oshkosh dress funny.

    Ron "Whadda ya mean this tie doesn't match my T-Shirt" Wanttaja

  2. #22
    rwanttaja's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Frank Giger View Post
    Bill, comparing Sturgis to Oshkosh is like comparing Sturgis to ComicCom in San Diego. All large "type" meetings are similar in fundamental ways.

    And very, very different.
    That's true, for sure. The meetings reflect the basic character of the people attracted to come. Oshkosh attracts white, midwestern middle-aged men of a basic, law-abiding nature. Sturgis has a different interest group, appealing more to the rebels and those looking to party. ComicCon a more-different one, yet, with a much more liberal slant and a very broad base of attendees.

    All require the five "P"s: Pavilions, Provisions, Potties, Policing, and Parking. "Pavilions" is generic, not meaning specifically tents, but central facilities for hosting the event. "Provisions" is food and water for the attendees, "Potties" is, well, obvious, "Policing" includes traditional police functions as well as the event organization itself, and "Parking" is the ability to efficiently gather attendees and accommodate both their vehicles as well as places for them to stay.

    Needs differ by the type of event. ComicCon actually comes out easiest, since they meet in existing convention facilities and don't require any outside infrastructure.

    We had a local fly-in that tried to get around most of this. On a local airpark with a single grass runway, and the residents just picked a convenient Saturday. They passed the hat for some porta-potty rentals, and attendees just basically parked wherever they could. No formal publicity, just always the weekend after a particular holiday.

    I flew in few times, but just started feeling uncomfortable. No policing, so you had to go-around when people were strolling across the runway. No food available on-site, so you had to bring your own. Got harder and harder to find somewhere to park your airplane, and too many crowded close to the runway to keep from having to walk from the far end.

    Gave it up one year, after repeated attempts to land being foiled by airplanes taking off in front of me and small formations shooting perpendicularly through the traffic pattern.

    A couple of years after THAT, the inevitable happened: an accident. A month or so later, some lawyers came by, "Looking for the organizers of the fly-in."

    Sturgis, on the other hand, has it a lot easier. If traffic is heavy, you just put down a foot and sit on your bike. If you can't find food, you just roll down the highway a bit until you find a place that isn't too crowded. And as my wife always says, "For you men, the world is your toilet."

    Ron Wanttaja

  3. #23

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    There's something similar - though it never experienced the growth you cite - within the WWI replica community. Every Father's Day, they gather at Gardner, KS for an "airshow" on that Saturday. Really, it's sort of a "type" fly-in more than anything else. The "airshow" part is folks flying more or less at will, depending on the weather.

    No fence at the airport, no tickets, no advertising (other than word of mouth), and folks sort of wander in and up to the flight line to look at the airplanes.

    It's kind of understood that if one is part of the community that policing people is implied. While I was just a spectator and something of a helper, more than once I gently reminded the civilians that smoking on the flight line wasn't a good idea, and to venture no further towards the runway than a few steps from the front of the line of aircraft. And everyone kept an eye out for kids.

    When a plane was going to crank up, we herded people well back. At no point could I say there was ever enough folks to call it a crowd. More like a few groups of passers-by...and most of them were builders or pilots themselves.
    The opinions and statements of this poster are largely based on facts and portray a possible version of the actual events.

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