Help - we need your ideas!

[arbroker]

In thinking about the young people that come to Oshkosh, we're looking for suggestions: What can we do to improve the AirVenture experience for teens, say ages 13-18?

Kids will go nuts over the thought of taking off from their driveway, flying just above the trees, under 50 mph, in an absolutely safe vehicle. Take a look at my site and let me know if I can help.

[Rob Flansburg]

Hal,
My son (now 15) and I have made the trip to OSH with the Bonanzas to Oshkosh group for the past four years. The manner in which this group honors the kids is very special. They truly understand that these kids are the future of B2OSH. My son is already talking about flying grandpa's F33 to Osh in future years. This trip is the highlight of his summer. Bailey has friends that he only sees for 4-5 days a year. The fellowship with these kids and airplanes (duh) is what makes Airventure special for him. I believe an area where teenagers could come together to hang out, fly sims, signup for Young Eagle flights, listen to music, play video games and meet kids from around the country would be well attended. The friendships that would be made could last lifetimes. The idea of indoor RC is nice as well. This is one aspect of RC (indoor flying) that we have yet to experience. Thank you for your commitment to the future of aviation!!

Rob

[steveinindy]

in an absolutely safe vehicle

There is no such thing. Nothing is absolutely safe.

[Sawdust]

I agree with the other posts here about getting these young people in planes, but I have one basic suggestion in response to your original question about making the "experience" better (the whole experience - not just direct exposure to planes and plane people). Connectivity - this age group absolutely lives, socializes, and communicates through their mobile devices. It may sound trivial, but for my son who started attending at age 16, being a full week with minimal connectivity was an issue. Fortunately he really loves airplanes, so he dealt with it, but I assure you his experience, and how much he shares it with others his age, would be greatly enhanced with better connectivity across the grounds. It was much better last year, but still marginal compared to what many of this age group are used to.

[Gently56]

I know this is a day late and a dollar short, but would it not be in Avaitons interest to have a "show and tell" in the tower? We all love to fly, or we would not be excited about AirVenture at all, but what about showing what actually is involved from the control towers, ground, Center and things of that nature points of view. We all have horror stories of some type of incident from our friends in the tower or at ground control or even center! lets let the kids see exactly why so they will become BETTER pilots or even go into that field (who says you cant fly and work in the tower/ground/center)