Bob, to be fair the gripes aren't so much about class envy as they are about commonality.

Put me in the pilot's lounge with the gazillionaire that has a restored WWII bird and we'll quickly find build (I actually think restoring would be harder than building from scratch) stories to swap out, even though I'm building a little tube-and-gusset plane that costs less than my pickup truck. Yes, he'll insert the words "my team" in there, but these folks are involved.

The guy that writes a check for a G5 or even a new C172? Not so much when it falls within the EAA bailiwick. Hell, I have gotten crazy "why would you ever fly that?" looks when talking about the Champ from those types.

I don't mind the "big tent" mentality, since we're all pilots and as such are part of a small community to begin with. That doesn't mean we should alienate the core definitions and membership of the organization.