flyingcheesehead
Touchdown! Greaser!
At Adam's request, I'm keeping this out of Hayden's thread. This is in response to Ed's post here: http://www.pilotsofamerica.com/forum/showthread.php?p=397130#post397130
Ed - Take a breath, man. Jesse commented about Hayden, not your fly-in, which he's been to at least every time I've been there, which has been every time except this latest Labor Day.
As far as the fly-ins - Nobody's is necessarily better, just different. I like them all, but for different reasons.
Gaston's has become the de facto #1 fly-in for several reasons: It was the first major event PoA had, it's very centrally located, it's got bedroom accommodations about as close to a runway as you could possibly get. It also has a lot of people, for the above reasons, and the people are why we keep going back and have such a great time there. I don't go to Gaston's for Gaston's, I go to Gaston's because I know I'm going to see Spike, Chip, Steve, and many others who make the list of my favorite people in the world.
Wings is also great - Most of the people who go to Wings aren't the same people who go to Gaston's. I've met quite a few people for the first time at Wings: Chuck, both Andrews, Tim, Bob Bruneau (RIP), Ted, Missa, Anthony, both Robs, both Garys, Peggy, and many others. And there's the food - as Adam says, "Andrew makes a great kosher pig."
There's contests, too! But the amount of work involved isn't necessarily proportional to the quality of the fly-in. And this is not to say that Wings isn't a quality fly-in, but that, as has been pointed out, Gaston's is easy in comparison - Everything's right there, it's pretty much a package deal. I will admit, I don't enjoy the FlyBQ as much as the others simply because the time that everyone is actually there is so short. There's been people who have been there both of the times I've been there who I still haven't met. I usually find out when things are winding down and I say "Isn't Bryon coming? Isn't Jim coming?" and find out they've already left. 
That said, the small group that shows up on Friday night is excellent - It means that I get to know a few people like Gary, Andrew, and Adam all that much better.
That's one thing that is bad about Gaston's is that there are so many people that I want to talk to, and it seems like there's never enough time to do it. A couple years ago at Gaston's, I only managed to say "Hi" to Dave S and not much else.
Finally, while 6Y9 is an excellent fly-in, I get the feeling that you won't be happy until 6Y9 is as big as Gaston's. But again, 6Y9 is different, which is what makes it what it is, and because of those differences, 6Y9 will probably never be as big as Gaston's, and if it were I probably would quit coming. (Can you imagine 150 people sharing a shower?
) I like 6Y9 because I can camp next to the plane as if it were Oshkosh, but it's a helluva lot easier and cheaper to get in and out. I like 6Y9 because it excites the town and it's so great to see a town excited about their local airport! I like 6Y9 because we go four-wheeling in the woods and get all dirty. I like 6Y9 because it seems to be the "younger generation" fly-in - I'm sure the average age of the pilots at that fly-in is the lowest of the bunch by far, with people like you, me, Ted, Chris, Tony, Kate, Jesse, and Tristan showing up.
However, there's a lot of "city folk" that wouldn't enjoy 6Y9 - They want a hotel, and start twitching when they're more than an hour away from the nearest Starbucks and Wal-Mart. They don't want to camp, they don't want to get dirty, they don't want to go to the bar and drink all their crown and coke, and most importantly, YOU don't want them to come to your fly-in and not enjoy it. Having those people not show up is not a failure on your part. And just because someone doesn't show up doesn't mean they hate your fly-in or don't appreciate what your family has done for GA by reopening an airport. I know, for example, that Spike *really* wanted to be there this year. But people have other commitments and responsibilities, be they time constraints, family commitments, or simply a lack of funds to fly all the way up there.
And believe me, even the folks that don't even know 6Y9 exists appreciate the work that your family does - Someday, they'll discover it too, or another airport just like it where someone cared enough to put in the time, money, and effort to have a spot to come down from the sky.
Now this is ironic. Ed, where were you at the 2008 FlyBQ? Not in Philadelphia. Adam and Andrew busted their butts, as you well know, to put that together, why weren't you there? Yeah, I know you didn't have an airplane, but if you really wanted to be there you could have rented one, or driven. Hell, I drove to it last year from Madison (quite a bit farther than it would have been for you), and I put in nearly 1000 miles in a single day to do so. But you won't see me, or Adam, ranting about how you didn't make the effort to be there. Everyone has a different situation, different priorities, different responsibilities, and different time constraints. You are the only one who is resenting people because theirs are different than yours.
I'm not sure who you're talking about, but if you're referring to me being in that area with my truck, I've been within 20 minutes of a lot of PoAers in the last 5 years. Why didn't I always let them know I was around? Well, time. I had a job to do. Sometimes I'd have time, and in some areas I was more likely to have time than others - The few (3?) times I was in Dallas, well, I managed to get together with PoAers on two of them (Troy once, and Spike, Dave and Troy another time). I managed to get together with Chip nearly every one of the few times I was in his area. Both were enabled simply because of the timing of the loads I was given. In Philly, though I went there a lot more than I went to the other places I mentioned, I was only able to get together with Adam once. Why? Because my company had a lot more freight in that area, and I was usually booted into Jersey immediately upon dropping in Philly. I hate to call people and say "Hey, I'm gonna be RIGHT THERE tomorrow" and then "So, yeah, I'm in town, but I don't even have time to stop and say hi." It makes me feel like a jerk, and probably makes them feel like they're not important to me. So, no I don't call unless there's a good chance I'll actually be able to stop in. But, that goes for everyone, including my best friend, whose town I passed through frequently, but almost never with time to stop.
Again, not sure if you are referring to me, but the reason I didn't make 6Y9 this year (and I almost did) is that it took longer than I expected to get back from "galavanting around the country" (the west coast trip), and when I was finally back in the Midwest and ready to come up there, everyone went home.
Finally - If you are
wake back up, this is the important part - Hating any fly-in for any reason is counterproductive to GA and PoA. Offer suggestions for improvement? Sure, but to want some fly-ins to prosper at the cost of others does you no good. Let other fly-ins thrive or fail on their own merits, and focus that energy on keeping the merits that yours has and improving it even more. You and your parents have to be doing pretty well, because the percentage of people that *return* to 6Y9 each year is very high, probably the highest of any of the "PoA" fly-ins.
And Adam demonstrates that I absolutely suck at saying things in as few words as possible.
Ed - Take a breath, man. Jesse commented about Hayden, not your fly-in, which he's been to at least every time I've been there, which has been every time except this latest Labor Day.
As far as the fly-ins - Nobody's is necessarily better, just different. I like them all, but for different reasons.
Gaston's has become the de facto #1 fly-in for several reasons: It was the first major event PoA had, it's very centrally located, it's got bedroom accommodations about as close to a runway as you could possibly get. It also has a lot of people, for the above reasons, and the people are why we keep going back and have such a great time there. I don't go to Gaston's for Gaston's, I go to Gaston's because I know I'm going to see Spike, Chip, Steve, and many others who make the list of my favorite people in the world.
Wings is also great - Most of the people who go to Wings aren't the same people who go to Gaston's. I've met quite a few people for the first time at Wings: Chuck, both Andrews, Tim, Bob Bruneau (RIP), Ted, Missa, Anthony, both Robs, both Garys, Peggy, and many others. And there's the food - as Adam says, "Andrew makes a great kosher pig."
There's contests, too! But the amount of work involved isn't necessarily proportional to the quality of the fly-in. And this is not to say that Wings isn't a quality fly-in, but that, as has been pointed out, Gaston's is easy in comparison - Everything's right there, it's pretty much a package deal. I will admit, I don't enjoy the FlyBQ as much as the others simply because the time that everyone is actually there is so short. There's been people who have been there both of the times I've been there who I still haven't met. I usually find out when things are winding down and I say "Isn't Bryon coming? Isn't Jim coming?" and find out they've already left. That said, the small group that shows up on Friday night is excellent - It means that I get to know a few people like Gary, Andrew, and Adam all that much better. That's one thing that is bad about Gaston's is that there are so many people that I want to talk to, and it seems like there's never enough time to do it. A couple years ago at Gaston's, I only managed to say "Hi" to Dave S and not much else.
Finally, while 6Y9 is an excellent fly-in, I get the feeling that you won't be happy until 6Y9 is as big as Gaston's. But again, 6Y9 is different, which is what makes it what it is, and because of those differences, 6Y9 will probably never be as big as Gaston's, and if it were I probably would quit coming. (Can you imagine 150 people sharing a shower?
) I like 6Y9 because I can camp next to the plane as if it were Oshkosh, but it's a helluva lot easier and cheaper to get in and out. I like 6Y9 because it excites the town and it's so great to see a town excited about their local airport! I like 6Y9 because we go four-wheeling in the woods and get all dirty. I like 6Y9 because it seems to be the "younger generation" fly-in - I'm sure the average age of the pilots at that fly-in is the lowest of the bunch by far, with people like you, me, Ted, Chris, Tony, Kate, Jesse, and Tristan showing up. However, there's a lot of "city folk" that wouldn't enjoy 6Y9 - They want a hotel, and start twitching when they're more than an hour away from the nearest Starbucks and Wal-Mart. They don't want to camp, they don't want to get dirty, they don't want to go to the bar and drink all their crown and coke, and most importantly, YOU don't want them to come to your fly-in and not enjoy it. Having those people not show up is not a failure on your part. And just because someone doesn't show up doesn't mean they hate your fly-in or don't appreciate what your family has done for GA by reopening an airport. I know, for example, that Spike *really* wanted to be there this year. But people have other commitments and responsibilities, be they time constraints, family commitments, or simply a lack of funds to fly all the way up there.
And believe me, even the folks that don't even know 6Y9 exists appreciate the work that your family does - Someday, they'll discover it too, or another airport just like it where someone cared enough to put in the time, money, and effort to have a spot to come down from the sky.
Now this is ironic. Ed, where were you at the 2008 FlyBQ? Not in Philadelphia. Adam and Andrew busted their butts, as you well know, to put that together, why weren't you there? Yeah, I know you didn't have an airplane, but if you really wanted to be there you could have rented one, or driven. Hell, I drove to it last year from Madison (quite a bit farther than it would have been for you), and I put in nearly 1000 miles in a single day to do so. But you won't see me, or Adam, ranting about how you didn't make the effort to be there. Everyone has a different situation, different priorities, different responsibilities, and different time constraints. You are the only one who is resenting people because theirs are different than yours.
I'm not sure who you're talking about, but if you're referring to me being in that area with my truck, I've been within 20 minutes of a lot of PoAers in the last 5 years. Why didn't I always let them know I was around? Well, time. I had a job to do. Sometimes I'd have time, and in some areas I was more likely to have time than others - The few (3?) times I was in Dallas, well, I managed to get together with PoAers on two of them (Troy once, and Spike, Dave and Troy another time). I managed to get together with Chip nearly every one of the few times I was in his area. Both were enabled simply because of the timing of the loads I was given. In Philly, though I went there a lot more than I went to the other places I mentioned, I was only able to get together with Adam once. Why? Because my company had a lot more freight in that area, and I was usually booted into Jersey immediately upon dropping in Philly. I hate to call people and say "Hey, I'm gonna be RIGHT THERE tomorrow" and then "So, yeah, I'm in town, but I don't even have time to stop and say hi." It makes me feel like a jerk, and probably makes them feel like they're not important to me. So, no I don't call unless there's a good chance I'll actually be able to stop in. But, that goes for everyone, including my best friend, whose town I passed through frequently, but almost never with time to stop.
Again, not sure if you are referring to me, but the reason I didn't make 6Y9 this year (and I almost did) is that it took longer than I expected to get back from "galavanting around the country" (the west coast trip), and when I was finally back in the Midwest and ready to come up there, everyone went home.
Finally - If you are
wake back up, this is the important part - Hating any fly-in for any reason is counterproductive to GA and PoA. Offer suggestions for improvement? Sure, but to want some fly-ins to prosper at the cost of others does you no good. Let other fly-ins thrive or fail on their own merits, and focus that energy on keeping the merits that yours has and improving it even more. You and your parents have to be doing pretty well, because the percentage of people that *return* to 6Y9 each year is very high, probably the highest of any of the "PoA" fly-ins.And Adam demonstrates that I absolutely suck at saying things in as few words as possible.
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