FloridaPilot
Pattern Altitude
I did make Sun and Fun but I couldn't make OSH this year. So unfortunately, I'm going to live through you folks. How has the turnout this year been so far? I will have some time to go next year. Will fly commercial.
How was the turnout at OSH?
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kyleb
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Drake the Outlaw
Turnout was excellent. Possibly the best I've ever seen in the homebuilt and antique areas.
There was a little open space in some vendor areas. Hopefully the missing vendors were of the Shamwow and folding ladder varieties.
There was a little open space in some vendor areas. Hopefully the missing vendors were of the Shamwow and folding ladder varieties.
mkosmo
Pattern Altitude
There were still quite a few vendors that left me scratching my head as to why they'd think being at an aviation show was worthwhile.
RyanShort1
Final Approach
Hmmm. Lets see.
Business expense, excuse to go to an awesome airshow, hope to make a little money back, maybe give a little to help the local economy...
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Greg Bockelman
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There are a lot of non aviation minded folks that attend these sorts of venues.
mkosmo
Pattern Altitude
You make it sound like pilots own these stands... if so, more power to them. I just doubt they'd make enough to make it actually make business sense.
Maybe I'm wrong, though. It's not my area of expertise by any stretch.
mkosmo
Pattern Altitude
Sure, absolutely. But considering you'd have to hunt them down and they're not obvious, it doesn't seem like it'd be worthwhile. They always seemed so empty, too.
MikeELP
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Mike Bruening
Reminds me of when I lived in Michigan and a group of us would always make the trip to Dayton every year for the amateur radio HamVention.
Lots of vendors there that had absolutely nothing to do with ham radio or electronics, but they seemed to generate enough business to be there year after year.
Agreed..... And , those booths are NOT cheap either....
Because you get to go to OSH and write off the whole trip as a business expense.
No, you don't hunt them down, that's why you attend big shows where a significant portion of your demographic is present, so your demographic can walk by and find you. Pilots span most demographics except poor.
mkosmo
Pattern Altitude
I said you'd have to hunt them down as most of the non aviation ones I saw were off of the beaten path. There were likely more, but the ones I noticed were not exactly show center.
That I would more suspect is pilots owned business turning their vacation into a tax write-off.
kyleb
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Drake the Outlaw
Not if you saw the vendors you're talking about. I'm guessing their year includes lots of trade shows which need filler vendors.
But who really cares? I wish 'em the best but pay them no attention.
SportPilotCO
Pre-takeoff checklist
I flew the Fisk approach in on Sunday. To me it seemed slower than last year on Sunday flying in. I had about 4-5 planes in front of me heading in to land on 27. Monday seemed slow to me in terms of the number of folks on the grounds. Tuesday on seemed as busy or busier than last year in my experience. I flew out Thursday and the line to depart around 9 AM on 36L seemed about the same around the same time as last year.
I stayed in the dorms. I checked on Tuesday to see if I could extend a day or two and at that time they still had air conditioned rooms available. I agree that there were several open spots in the exhibit halls. I saw Garmin had their own tent, but didn't see that they had space in the hall as well? Dynon had both. The forums I went to were well attended.
Carl
I stayed in the dorms. I checked on Tuesday to see if I could extend a day or two and at that time they still had air conditioned rooms available. I agree that there were several open spots in the exhibit halls. I saw Garmin had their own tent, but didn't see that they had space in the hall as well? Dynon had both. The forums I went to were well attended.
Carl
nddons
Touchdown! Greaser!
You mean the overly-aggressive idjits who want to clean scratches off my Rolex (there are none), the foreign guys who are pitching for some kind of STIM device for aching muscles and joints, or the morons who tell someone to stand I one foot, push them off balance, have them hold some device in their hand, and then repeat with a very light push demonstrating that said device is "magic"?
Agreed.
nddons
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tyndall
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LawnDart
Exactly what I found, but even more non-aviation crap peddlers than ever before. I think I was harassed by them more at AV than when I walked down Freemont in Vegas.
Checkout_my_Six
Touchdown! Greaser!
by Tuesday eve.....all aircraft parking was full.
I heard folks say attendance was heavier than usual.
I heard folks say attendance was heavier than usual.
I heard that from several pilots..... And I also heard the Homebuilt parking / Homebuilt camping set a new record of 818 planes that day too.....
Neal Howard
Cleared for Takeoff
From what I saw in the aircraft camping and parking areas, it looked like a record setting attendance this year. This was year #9 in a row for me and I've never seen it this full.
Jay Honeck
Touchdown! Greaser!
We are still at OSH (the night airshow just finished), and turnout has been fantastic.
In recent years, we would be nearly alone out here by now. This year, there are still hundreds of planes out here. No one wants it to end!
You would never know GA was hurting looking around here. It's been great!
In recent years, we would be nearly alone out here by now. This year, there are still hundreds of planes out here. No one wants it to end!
You would never know GA was hurting looking around here. It's been great!
nddons
Touchdown! Greaser!
I worked the threshold at 18 from 12:20-2:30 today. Usually on Saturday the departures are pretty heavy. They were nearly non-existent this afternoon. People are sticking around.
Though I was about 50 yards away when the Raptor throttled up for his departure on 18 this afternoon before the show. I could feel my heart and lungs vibrating in my chest. To say that earplugs were inadequate is, well, inadequate.
I'm about 9 DME on the 233 radial of the BAE (Badger) Vortac. Wag your wings when you're passing by!
FloridaPilot
Pattern Altitude
I'm glad,
Sometimes when I read these "Doom and gloom" posts it distorts my opinion of the health of GA but good turnout at Sun and Fun and now OSH makes me believe that people are still interested in GA!
Jay Honeck
Touchdown! Greaser!
True, but...
Everyone "saves up" for OSH. One of our gang had not flown since OSH 14, and had to go get current with a CFI before launching for OSH 15.
Another two in our group took the airlines. You get the picture.
It also doesn't change the fact that every airport we have stopped at between the Gulf Coast of Texas and OSH have been ghost towns. I mean, no activity at all.
Still, so long as there is an Oshkosh, there is hope.
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It looked good. The North 40, Warbirds, and Vintage were all pretty full up. Don't know about homebuilt but there sure seemed to be a lot of planes there. Early today I was trying to get from the Hilton back down to Vintage and snagged a ride in a golf cart with a man who turned out to be Hal Shevers from Sporty's. He says they think it's a good year for them as well.
kyleb
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Homebuilt was Full. Very full. Despite being slightly enlarged over prior years.
weirdjim
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weirdjim
Not if, but when we solve the fuel problem ... be it mogas or some other method to get the price down ... we will see a great resurgence in GA. Or when electrics finally come on line with something approximating cross country capability.
Until, as you say, ghost towns with long strips of pavement.
Jim
If you are camping and it is full , you park in GA parking and get a dorm room for the night... Spots always open up each morning as people come and go..
JOhnH
Ejection Handle Pulled
Are the dorms co-ed? (just askin because Leslie will be with me)
nddons
Touchdown! Greaser!
Exactly. When spots open up, you can contact the camping folks and taxi from GAP to GAC.
sourdough44
En-Route
I think the weather was about as good as could be hoped for this year too. I'm not counting to high the storm on Sat before Airventure officially started.
It's so much better to have great weather while tenting it or walking the grounds.
It's so much better to have great weather while tenting it or walking the grounds.
Last time I flew in in the 310 they were announcing on the radio that they had no twin spots left in Vintage Camping, I ended up on the end of "I-95", the rows where they park all the Cessna 195s, best spot in Vintage Camping. They seem to find a spot.
denverpilot
Tied Down
tsts4
Pattern Altitude
Or you could just stay parked and camp in Scholler.
denverpilot
Tied Down
Barring that OSH is really an international show for a moment...
320,000,000 million or so people in the U.S.
600,000 active certificated pilots. Tiny. (0.0001)
30,000 people, not all are pilots, come to the largest fly-in in the world. Not that hard for OSH to be successful, strictly by the numbers. (0.05)
GA as a hobby, on the other hand, has been a teeny tiny niche hobby for those of us who don't fly for a living, my entire life.
Only an incredibly small number of 320,000,000 people fly for fun.
Judging the "health" of a tiny niche is difficult.
ahkahn
Line Up and Wait
30,000 people attended? Try more like 500,000-600,000 throughout the week. That is the number that I read.
Checkout_my_Six
Touchdown! Greaser!
you mean 500,000-600,000 in "ticket" sales. I'm quite sure some of the same people went multiple days.