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Thread: Oshkosh 2018: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

  1. #61

    Join Date
    Jul 2011
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    Close to OSH, but not close enough!
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    The "service dog" thing has gotten out of hand. Sadly there is not much EAA can do about it because of restrictions posed by the ADA, but people need to stop putting vests on their animals and claiming they are service dogs when they are not. Yes, not all disabilities are visible, but service dogs do not wear prong collars or use extendable leads. The toy poodle I saw cowering on an extendable lead, panting, on the pavement, while her idiot owner waited for a lemon chill, was not a service dog.

    And for crying out loud, EAA, ban smoking on the grounds. If someone needs their fix, they can go out a gate.

  2. #62

    Join Date
    Oct 2011
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    WA
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    I have an idea for more efficient use of camping/parking land space. My wife said my idea was too controversial.

  3. #63

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    Jul 2011
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    Quote Originally Posted by BeagleOne View Post
    And for crying out loud, EAA, ban smoking on the grounds. If someone needs their fix, they can go out a gate.
    Banning is easy, enforcing ban not so much.

  4. #64
    Good:
    The variety and quality of food vendors. I was so glad when EAA opened it up to multiple local vendors. I don't miss the old Sodexho days. The Machine Shed at Hangar Cafe continues to be my favorite eatery.

    Trams. We don't use them much, but after walking south of Ultralights, it was nice to ride back up to Vintage. Also after wandering up into the North 40 for the first time ever, it was nice being able to hop on the red tram for a ride back to the tower. I agree that the signage could be better. Careful map study is necessary unless you're already familiar with where each tram stops.

    Boeing Plaza. I know some people don't care about the military aircraft but I'm always interested to see what shows up, and it was great to have a bunch of heavy iron on the square this year. Tankers, cargo planes, lots of big aircraft taking up space.

    Lambeau Field Live. Being a WI resident and Packers fan, I was pleased to see the mini-Lambeau just NE of the Wearhouse, and I got to meet former WR Antonio Freeman. They could have used some more advertising though, cuz the crowds were pretty light for meeting the Packer legends they had each day. They were kinda tucked away, off the beaten path. I just happened to stumble upon it. Then again, many attendees are not from Wisconsin and probably didn't care.

    Wed night air show rescheduled. I didn't really expect that. I was going to be leaving Saturday, so once the Wed night show got cancelled I figured I just wasn't going to see it this year. Thursday's rescheduling was a nice surprise. I would've stuck around a few more minutes on Wednesday though, if I'd known the B-1 was taking off with full afterburner. I saw it spiraling up into the clouds; very impressive sight.

    Bad
    General Camping Complaints
    They are going to need more space for camping; I just don't know how they're going to get it. We arrived Wednesday morning, and while we know we're always going to be out by the highway, we were camped way farther south than we ever had before, south of Butternut. And that's why people have motorbikes/scooters/ATVs/etc. Many of us camp a long ways away from the entrance gate. We used bicycles for years until we had enough of that. After a long, long day of walking the grounds, it's very refreshing to hop on my minibike and actually get cooled off a bit on my mile-long ride to the campsite. It is a little distressing to see young kids bombing around on UTVs and whatnot. Some measure of enforcement on that kind of thing would be helpful.

    With the increased number of campers, it wouldn't hurt to get some more port-o-lets down at the south end. It used to be a thinly populated section of the campground, but now it's as full as the rest of Camp Scholler.

    So they've basically designated a third of Camp Scholler as 24 Hour Generator camping, which makes it absurd to continue marking it as "no tents allowed." Your campground is literally full, you can't ban tents from 1/3 of it. At least they weren't enforcing that rule, to my knowledge.

    Other Gripes
    Post-night show pedestrians. It's been mentioned by others, but yeah, in the campground, after the night show (or the Fly-In Theater), the pedestrians are walking four or five wide, blocking the road, while everyone with a set of wheels gets backed up. Just move over, please. It's a road. There are bikes, and other things with engines and wheels trying to drive on it.

    There's definitely a growing vibe of "more for VIPs/vendors, less for members/campers" with the increase of permit-only lots, turning campsites into parking lots, and things of that nature.

  5. #65
    Just back from 12th EAA in a row - not too bad from the UK

    Good - volunteers were excellent, trams generally great but always busy. Not keen on red tram doing a loop too get back to central area - it was quicker walking. Food was good - loved Subway in homebuilts

    Bad - airshows were poor - too many parachutes + flip flops - boring to watch. Flip flops perform too high. Wednesday was the worst with multiple flip flops. Runway view restricted by aeroshell / geico and RCAF T6 + red bull AF helicopter
    Flightline staff often standing up. Army reinactors why - jeep blocked view. Road signs from I41 Junction113 were misleading - signs showed right lane for Camp Scholler with middle for parking however middle lane became 2 way with no warning

  6. #66
    dclaxon's Avatar
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    Jul 2011
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    Giffordl, IL
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    Quote Originally Posted by FlyingRon View Post
    The EAA (well, Winnebago County) has already condemned and/or otherwise appropriated a great deal of land around the airport (have a nice talk to the SOS brothers about it some time). Further, there are mulitple jurisdictions involved (most of the airport isn't even in the Oshkosh city limits). The airport has already taken a lot of heat over the land grabs which is viewed as nothing more than a grab by the EAA. It's one thing to laughably wrap it in an airport security/master plan for the close in stuff. Taking any more land around Scholler isn't likely to fly very well.
    As I was arriving I saw several "Land for Sale" signs on land that if not actually adjacent to the south edge of Camp Scholler, it was very close. Hopefully EAA will take the opportunity to acquire land that is being offered rather than to have to take it later.
    Dave

  7. #67
    Low Pass's Avatar
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    Jul 2014
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    Houston
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    Quote Originally Posted by dclaxon View Post
    As I was arriving I saw several "Land for Sale" signs on land that if not actually adjacent to the south edge of Camp Scholler, it was very close. Hopefully EAA will take the opportunity to acquire land that is being offered rather than to have to take it later.
    Dave
    I sure hope the EAA doesn't try any eminent domain grabs on the locals. That would be *really* low.
    Bryan

    Houston

  8. #68
    DSloss1's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2018
    Location
    Fort Wayne, IN
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    2
    First Airventure since 2014 but 10th overall, and first time in Camp Scholler. Many changes to the grounds and vehicular rules made for easier getting around without being worried about being run over.

    Good- Separation of trams so they're not overlapping each other except at changeover points. Much improved flow that way. Great variety of forums and speakers, finally decided on Wednesday to spend more time seeing the airplanes and less in the forum area. Listening to the Tuskegee Airmen was the highlight of the show for me. Loads of food choices, well spread out, much easier to be served than before. Nice having several entry points around the field instead of one or two. Multiple water fountains added helped keep me hydrated, although the water trailer near antique classics was empty on Wednesday morning.

    Bad- Missed a number of forums I would have enjoyed due to them being in the museum instead of the forum area. Can't get from one to the other in the 15 minutes between, at least not by catching trams or walking. As others have mentioned, lack of variety in the afternoon airshows, but took advantage of that to see the exhibits with lesser crowds. Campers not following the rules regarding generators and only licensed motorized vehicles in Scholler frustrates those that choose to follow the rules. Tough time sleeping in a tent even with ear plugs. Another toilet trailer could easily be added north of the ultralights, near the shower trailer.

    Ugly- Campground supervisor changed the rules on where 24 hour generators could be run Tuesday night due to a full camp. Not cool changing the rules midstream, let alone not enforcing the ones that exist. Also, the trams started running at 8 am despite all literature and the signs at the tram stops stating 6:30a-10:30p. Missed seeing someone due to that, not happy.

  9. #69

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    Oct 2011
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    WA
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    The buses were running at 6:30am-8 to replace trams. But generally quicker to walk, I found.

  10. #70

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    Aug 2011
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    Oklahoma City, OK
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    364
    [QUOTE=turtle;71773]For the ugly, I'll go with people's behavior in Scholler. It's usually disgusting, but this year took it to new lows.

    That bowl shaped thing in the porta-johns is a urinal. It's not a wastebasket for toilet paper, and certainly not someplace to take a dump.


    I thought it was a purse holder for the ladies.

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