dhall_polo
Well Known Member
I love going to airventure. In fact, I enjoyed it this year as much as any other. Still, some of the post-Osh commentary got me thinking about a few things, and things can always be better, right? Are there constructive and practical ideas that can put more "E" back into EAA-Airventure? While it may not be realistic to expect Airventure to circle the main plaza with RV's instead of big or scary looking planes, I bet there are some great ideas out there.
First, for those who say Airventure is not for Experimentals anymore. Please do consider the following:
- The EAA Museum is very nice, and it honors experimental builders. It's also a nice break to get air conditioning, and it's great to walk through.
- KidVenture: Totally about teaching kids to build and appreciate homebuilt airplanes. They teach kids how to rivet, design planes, do composites, make props and wood ribs, etc. My kids absolutely love this.
- The forums and workshops: DadVenture and totally for experimental. Learn to weld, rivet, deal with fabric, etc.
- HBC, HBP, and parts of the flightline. Just parking lots to us, but I know many visitors who consider this as part of the show, walking around to see the homebuilts and all the various wacky paint jobs and such.
- This year, several of Burt Rutan's airplanes were on ConocoPhillips Plaza.
Here's my ideas:
- I think ultralights, lsa/elsa, and core homebuilder's sections have a lot in common or are of interest to a lot of the same folks. Currently, they have such small and pitiful areas all remote. Why not move the homebuilt and lsa/elsa displays over to the Ultralight area and make it a larger, more-inviting experience?
- The airshow needs some experimentals. Cmon, how many extras do we need to see doing flips? Boring. Get TeamRV!
- The Parade of Homebuilts. Before the flying part of the show, maybe invite pilots/planes in HBC/HBP to simply taxi past show center and back to parking. Play some music, wave some flags, maybe put a bikini chick in a copilot seat.
First, for those who say Airventure is not for Experimentals anymore. Please do consider the following:
- The EAA Museum is very nice, and it honors experimental builders. It's also a nice break to get air conditioning, and it's great to walk through.
- KidVenture: Totally about teaching kids to build and appreciate homebuilt airplanes. They teach kids how to rivet, design planes, do composites, make props and wood ribs, etc. My kids absolutely love this.
- The forums and workshops: DadVenture and totally for experimental. Learn to weld, rivet, deal with fabric, etc.
- HBC, HBP, and parts of the flightline. Just parking lots to us, but I know many visitors who consider this as part of the show, walking around to see the homebuilts and all the various wacky paint jobs and such.
- This year, several of Burt Rutan's airplanes were on ConocoPhillips Plaza.
Here's my ideas:
- I think ultralights, lsa/elsa, and core homebuilder's sections have a lot in common or are of interest to a lot of the same folks. Currently, they have such small and pitiful areas all remote. Why not move the homebuilt and lsa/elsa displays over to the Ultralight area and make it a larger, more-inviting experience?
- The airshow needs some experimentals. Cmon, how many extras do we need to see doing flips? Boring. Get TeamRV!
- The Parade of Homebuilts. Before the flying part of the show, maybe invite pilots/planes in HBC/HBP to simply taxi past show center and back to parking. Play some music, wave some flags, maybe put a bikini chick in a copilot seat.