I have no specific answers for you... I do have some general
observations...

I was at Rockford in the early days and then later at Oskosh... The
annual bash has changed from being thrown by the members of EAA for
the members and a few guests just because we loved building and
looking at airplanes... Volunteer labor was the only kind...

Now it has turned into a multimillion dollar corporate business with a
board of directors, paid executive staff with salaries and insurance
and paid vacations, and of course volunteers some things never
change... Charging the public admission is their main source of
revenue, though that doesn't stop them from hitting us EAA members who
show up either... Everything is expensive... The vendors pay a big fee
to AirVenture to be there and charge big prices as a result...

My advice to you is to go to AirVenture and volunteer... Then next
time you will know if you want to do it again... It is not slave
labor... Many folks volunteer there annually and have a vest covered
with the annual pins going back many years... You will make friends
and see airppanes and people that you cannot see anywhere else in the
world, from current astronauts to WWII fighter aces...

I'm thinking of being there on Saturday this year as it has been a few
years...

Cheers ... denny