To get serious for a moment: I can see EAA reaching out to locals, to encourage them to attend and participate. Everyone realizes, I think, what an enormous PITA this has to be for Oshkosh residents. Paid attendance at Airventure crosses a half-million; one can imagine the effect of this on a town of ~70,000 residents. Two to three weeks of crammed streets, overcrowded restaurants, and lines at the grocery store. Don't go anywhere NEAR Wittman field for two weeks at the end of July.

So the EAA tries to make it up to them by offering a discount. The best way to do that would be via targeted advertising...coupons in the local newspaper, or in the weekly "Thrifty Nickel," or flyers delivered to the homes.

The trouble is, each of these options costs money. Lot easier to issue a secret code.

But, of course, security in a case like this just doesn't exist. The word is GOING to get out, and people who aren't the locals targeted find out the code, pass it to their friends, etc. This wouldn't have happened thirty years ago, or even twenty years ago. But these days this kind of thing just won't stay secret.

To quote Benjamin Franklin: "Three people can keep a secret if two of them are dead."

Good intentions by EAA, but it's obviously blowing up in their faces this year.

Ron "Too early to try 'OSH2019'?" Wanttaja