Charging for airshow admission?

Oshkosh is the WORST! I love going, but the politics and economics behind it pisses me off.

You have a federally funded airport (which covers the campground too). Pope Paul and Tom get permission to use it. I can understand charging people because there are some expenses, gators, trams, etc (Oh wait, they are all donated to them for free), and you gotta pay the workers (crap, they are all volunteers)

So were does ever growing admission money and camping money go to? The EAA foundation. Ok good cause right? What does the foundation spend the money on... museum is largely donations, magazine is only for members who pay member dues ; money goes to pay for Paul's Mustang, his house, Tom's Citation...

EAA is a license to steal.
 
Adler said:
So were does ever growing admission money and camping money go to?
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Well, for starters, all the commercial & ATP pilots who fly in the air show get gratis fuel & smoke oil. I counted dozens and dozens of warbirds who flew daily at AirVenture. Ever thought about how much gas it takes to put on the air show? Even though no one gets paid to fly in the show (like they would at other air shows), everyone does get free fuel, funded by admission fees. How about the Forum facilities, port-a-johns, showers, trash service, water bulls, buses & bus drivers (they're not volunteers), etc, etc. It's really only because there are so many volunteers that the price is so low.

Personally, I think AirVenture is a GREAT deal and I was happy to pay $107 for a weekly pass.
 
Nihon_Ni said:
Well, for starters, all the commercial & ATP pilots who fly in the air show get gratis fuel & smoke oil. I counted dozens and dozens of warbirds who flew daily at AirVenture. Ever thought about how much gas it takes to put on the air show? Even though no one gets paid to fly in the show (like they would at other air shows), everyone does get free fuel, funded by admission fees. How about the Forum facilities, port-a-johns, showers, trash service, water bulls, buses & bus drivers (they're not volunteers), etc, etc. It's really only because there are so many volunteers that the price is so low.

Personally, I think AirVenture is a GREAT deal and I was happy to pay $107 for a weekly pass.
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It's a great deal, and I have no problem spending the money on it. I'm 19, and I've been 19 times.

I agree with you that there are some expenses, but EAA more then covers that. Last year I heard a stat which I don't remember exactly, but just the camping in the North 40 alone takes in multimillions of dollars.
 
Timbuff10 said:
Ummm, yeah, ever been to an airport. You think those people that live around it enjoy having it there? Sure the airport may have been there first, but the airport is outnumbered.
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I've always been puzzled by people that buy a house near an airport then complain about the airport. That'd be like buying a house near a dump and complaining about the smell. :dunno:

This did give me a new idea for a bumper sticker though -
"Let's Make Common Sense, Common Again!" Any takers?
 
All airshows at military fields are free (at least to my knowledge) The GA airports that have airshows are putting a lot of time and money into this and for you to pay 10-15 bucks to get in the "door" really isn't asking too much at all.


For the general public this is a huge event that they probably only get to see once a year. We take it as a luxury to see airplanes fly basically daily, and we understand what the pilots are having to do. For the average joe, this is like watching a huge huge rarely seen event.
  • They're seeing airplanes fly 18 inches from each other.
  • They're seeing Skip Stewart do his kinfe edge take off flying down the runway literally 5 inches above the ground.
  • They're seeing Sean D. Tucker make his Oracle Challenger do things they didn't think planes could do
  • They're seeing the Aeroshell Aerobatic Team put out so much some the field looks IFR after they're done with their performance.
  • They're seeing Greg Poe hanging on his prop for at least a minute, hovering.
All these things to us are just another cool aspect of aviation, but to these people its a full on spectical that they're more than happy to pay for.

/rant.
 
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