Gripes

This was my first time, and I'm awed at how much work and thought went into putting on such a huge event. Great job!

I didn't find it very friendly for a first-timer, though. At the registration, I bought a program (turned out to be almost nothing but advertising), and among that and the other handouts were nothing that told what vendors were where, what seminars there were and when they were to be held, or a schedule of events. I asked a few people and was directed to the daily newspaper, but that gave only the day's events. Late on the second day I discovered, at one of the food stands as I recall, a program that showed all the information I was looking for. It would have been very helpful to me if I could have gotten that when I registered, and I would have gotten to see a number of things that I missed because of its lack. The map, which I was given at registration, was very helpful if a bit cryptic in places. If I go again some time, I'll print out the schedule of events from the web before I go, and bring it with me.

It was a long walk from the north 40 to the show entrance. The buses were often full so wouldn't take anyone, and the wait for the next one was usually longer than it took to walk. So I walked it most of the time.

In the north 40 I took only one shower because it was scaldingly hot. Not uncomfortably hot, but hot enough to burn. And no way or person to adjust it. I ended up using a T-shirt as a sort of wash cloth to let the water cool and then slosh it on.

In general, it seemed that it was assumed that everyone had been there many times before, and indeed just about everyone I met had. My one constructive suggestion is for the management to put themselves in the shoes of someone there for the first time, and consider how sketchy the available information is.

But for such a huge undertaking, it went remarkably smoothly.

Roy

I don't mean this in a condescending way, but next time, look harder at the contents of your bag--this year what everyone called the Flo Bag. I also had trouble knowing what was when and where all the vendors' booths were located. When I got home and unpacked, I finally looked through the Flo Bag in detail--and guess what? All that information was in one or another of the items in it! Granted, I'm a repeater, so it didn't hamper my experience very much not to know where and when things were in detail, but if I'd just looked, I would have known.

Of course, you could always do what a couple of ladies did as we rode together from the North 40 one morning. One of them asked me if I'd been there before and then said to me, "We aren't interested in airplanes at all--do you know where the crafts are?" I pointed in the general direction of the Fly Mart, where I knew there were craft vendors in past years and told her that's where they were, unless that was changed this year. (Gosh, I hope I was right!) Of course, then I kidded her about coming to Airventure but with no interest in airplanes, and she said that was their husbands' thing, so she and her friend just came along. I then suggested they might consider going to the museum, which even for a non-aviation person was pretty fascinating, and I told her about the Seaplane Base, which is just incredibly relaxing.

As for the showers, I took a shower each day at the new shower house and never found the water to be excessively warm or cool. I have learned, however, to take showers during times that aren't crowded, because I think the water temp then is more even. If you take a shower right after the morning rush, it tends to be hotter, but if you wait an hour, it's not quite as hot but really pretty comfortable.

Next time, use the trams to go from the North 40 entrance to the main areas--lots easier than using the bus, and the waits aren't all that long. They are seldom full going to and from the North 40 unless you try to get on mid-route, except perhaps first thing in the morning. You'll still walk a lot--that's a given--but perhaps not as much. I think the trams can be better marked, but once you know their routes, you can literally travel from one end of the field to the other on them, and stop everywhere in between.

For sure, come back--at this point I have spent the whole week the last 3 years, and I'm still missing things each year.

Cary

I think it depends on where you bought your wristband. My pile of junk from registering in the camping registration did not include the newsprint forum schedule/exhibitors directory. Of course, having been coming to Oshkosh for many years I specifically asked for one after declining the "slick" program.

This year, I received a full printed forum and event schedule with my wrist band registration. I had it on the iPad as well, but the paper was much better since I scribbled notes easily. At home, my itinerary was done on iPad in advance, but the forum itinerary was lost twice... So I gave up on the iPad.
The $5 program is unneeded.

There are some important points above that should make your next visit more enjoyable (and I am always adjusting my my own approach each year.)

1. Plan in advance. The EAA website has the list of forums well in advance of AirVenture. Of course, things change up until the day of, but it is good to be prepared.

2. What is in the bag is nice, but not necessary. The AirVenture App has it all, with tools to show you where to go for what you are looking for.

3. In the morning, pick up the newspaper so you have something to quickly refer to and scribble on. Aside from that, there were some cases where the app did not keep up with the latest changes. The paper SHOULD have that.

4. Sorry about your experience in the showers. I used the ones at Warbirds and the on south side of the north 40. I have nothing but great things to say about the second location.

5. As part of item 1, above, ask questions on this forum! We are all (or mostly all) friendly people who would like everyone to have a great time at AirVenture (even our long-suffering non-pilot better halves!)

Somewhere else, it was suggested that EAA put together a "First Time at AirVenture" guide to help people plan their trip. This is a great idea. It is so great that I would be happy to help, if someone could point me in the right direction.

Had a really great time this year and loved the cooler temps. I'm not sure why, but it really seemed to be more of a club event as opposed to a corporate one this year.

Here is my list of possible 2014 improvements:

1. Shorten the tram volunteer time to 3-4 hours per shift. I always appreciate them and planned on volunteering this year, but 8-2 or 2-8 seems like a lot longer time than any other volunteer job I've done in the past.

2. If you're going to sell all bottled drinks, make sure there are easily accessible recycle bins.

3. Vehicle traffic was a lot better than in previous years, but it can still be improved. I think the EAA volunteers and staff really made an effort this year, but the worst offenders seem to be the exhibitors. I saw a bunch at concerts, airshows, etc. It also seemed like they were the ones ignoring the restricted vehicle area signs and driving through the crowds. (Although the little "tell us how we're driving" stickers were a little small to read as they went by)

4. I have to agree that I noticed more smoking, liter, and full toilets than I've ever seen in the past. The absence of these items is has always been an amazing part of Oshkosh, let's figure out how to eliminate them again.

5. I went to visit the type clubs in the Vintage Barn on Saturday morning and found an empty room. I know people complain that people pack up too early on Sunday, but Saturday morning seemed way too early.

6. Sadly, the fly-in theater movie list is the item that I anticipate the most every year. Last year one night was very easy to skip because of the non-aviation movie that played. This year I only attended two nights. Please bring back the aviation movies (and old ads and WWII cartoons too!).

7. Bring back the orange volunteer shirts. It used to be very easy to pick out the volunteers out of the crowd (even if it was a previous year's shirt). I think that seeing all the orange shirts in the past made people realize how easy it was to volunteer, and want to do it themselves. The red, blue, & yellow ones have just blend into the crowd.

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Originally Posted by rawheels

2. If you're going to sell all bottled drinks, make sure there are easily accessible recycle bins.

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I believe, despite the appearance of some cans marked as recycle, the entire show was single streamed this year.

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5. I went to visit the type clubs in the Vintage Barn on Saturday morning and found an empty room. I know people complain that people pack up too early on Sunday, but Saturday morning seemed way too early.

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The type clubs are staffed by more volunteers from the type clubs (except for the one which actually is a sham enterprise of the aircraft "manufacturer" that the EAA lets in there to sucker people). It may not be that they packed up, but they were doing other things.

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7. Bring back the orange volunteer shirts. It used to be very easy to pick out the volunteers out of the crowd (even if it was a previous year's shirt). I think that seeing all the orange shirts in the past made people realize how easy it was to volunteer, and want to do it themselves. The red, blue, & yellow ones have just blend into the crowd.

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THey're been different colors each year since they've started doing these. Actually, I don't ever wear the one given me. I don't feel I need to be a walking billboard for Bendix-King's obsolete and otherwise useless for Sport Aviation avionics.

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Originally Posted by FlyingRon

I suspect the Seaplane base like the Vintage Tall Pines Cafe is operated by volunteers rather than one of the food service outlets.
Still there's no excuse for that.

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For the record, the food service provider at the Seaplane Base was not operated by Volunteers. Seaplane Base management became aware early on that the vendor was overwhelmed due to being new and consequently had Seaplane Base volunteers help them during a couple of busy periods in an effort to reduce wait time and stress on everyone. Seaplane Base management would like express their apologies to those who had a negative experience in any way. Please contact Paul Seehafer, Seaplane Base Chairman, 715-581-4381 with your concerns.

Ann Seehafer, Vice Chairman, Volunteer and Guest Relations, AirVenture Seaplane Base

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Originally Posted by GroupW

I didn't find it very friendly for a first-timer, though. At the registration, I bought a program (turned out to be almost nothing but advertising), and among that and the other handouts were nothing that told what vendors were where, what seminars there were and when they were to be held, or a schedule of events. I asked a few people and was directed to the daily newspaper, but that gave only the day's events. Late on the second day I discovered, at one of the food stands as I recall, a program that showed all the information I was looking for. It would have been very helpful to me if I could have gotten that when I registered, and I would have gotten to see a number of things that I missed because of its lack. The map, which I was given at registration, was very helpful if a bit cryptic in places. If I go again some time, I'll print out the schedule of events from the web before I go, and bring it with me.

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Roy,

Like many others who replied to this thread, when I registered at the N40 registration, I had the visitor's guide in my bag. If it was not in yours (and it sounds like you also checked in at N40 given your comment below), perhaps it was an oversight! FWIW, you can also obtain the same document in .pdf form online in the weeks leading to the show. I don't usually print the whole thing since I'm cheap when it comes to wasting printer paper, but I do usually print a few pages - if this works for you, next year you could also print a few of the relevant pages.

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Originally Posted by GroupW

In the north 40 I took only one shower because it was scaldingly hot. Not uncomfortably hot, but hot enough to burn. And no way or person to adjust it. I ended up using a T-shirt as a sort of wash cloth to let the water cool and then slosh it on.

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We had our two daughters (ages 7 & 9) with us. If you thought it was hot for you, imagine how hot they thought it was! (Hint - it was not a fun shower time.) I agree it was scalding the first day we used the showers (must have been Monday morning since we arrived Sunday). But I know that a few people complained, and it was a little cooler Tuesday. On Wednesday it was almost too cool - made me wonder if two different people had heard complaints and made independent adjustments to the temperature! But in any case it was much better; I think the staff or volunteers responded quickly to the complaints of the hot water.

I realize none of this helps you as a first timer, but I think a lot of us are just trying to help with suggestions for future years.

In general, my wife and I both thought OSH was better than average this year. Of course the weather was awesome, but everyone - from tram drivers to food staffers to other attendees - seemed to be in a much better mood than typical. Maybe that was also because the weather was so nice! :) Or maybe it was because this year we attended Sun-Thurs instead of our typical Wed-Sat. It was so much better that I think we may adjust our schedules to attend the first part of the week going forward, just in case that was the cause of it!

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Originally Posted by FlyingRon

The type clubs are staffed by more volunteers from the type clubs (except for the one which actually is a sham enterprise of the aircraft "manufacturer" that the EAA lets in there to sucker people). It may not be that they packed up, but they were doing other things.

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They weren't just away from the tables, the entire room had been torn down and all that remained were the stacks of folded tables in the corner and signs for each group hanging from the ceiling. I'm not sure if they use the building for an event Saturday evening or something, but it seemed odd to have it empty on one of the busiest days of the event.