OSH Disappointments

"Martin X. Moleski, SJ" wrote in message . ..
On Fri, 13 Aug 2004 15:49:53 -0400, "Ron Natalie"
wrote:

Ron--were you coordinating volunteers in the Vintage area this
year?

Me coordinate? Now way...I just park airplanes.

I had my first three hours on a scooter in Vintage this year--just
following and trying to learn the ropes.

But my buddies were working Flightline Security, so I moved
over with them for the next two days. Got a lot more scooter
time on the more deluxe Hondas, but didn't get to do any
parking. I helped push a plane once or twice, but that was
it.

Marty


AirVenture is like any other airport in that there are plenty of
selfish and/or unthinking pilots around. Witness the potentially
deadly aircraft collision in the Vintage area this year. I'm sure
that Marty can confirm that the areas are just too large and the
numbers of people/airplanes too high for the relatively small number
of volunteers, be they flight line safety, security, aircraft parkers,
or anybody else, to completely prevent these types of incidents.
Shoot, I'd need many hands just to count the number of takeoffs and
landings that occurred off-runways during this year's fly-in, each one
putting volunteers at serious risk.

As in every other aspect of aviation, the final responsibility for
safe and courteous operation rests with the pilot in command.

As another example of widespread selfish behavior, look at the number
of pilots who ignore directions and park themselves so that they can
erect huge campsites before the next airplane comes along, even before
tying the airplane down (and don't get me started on how many try to
refuse to tie down). Aircraft camping has not closed in the past
several years at Oshkosh, but with the new hangar and ramp being built
on 20th St. next to the Weeks facility it's a solid bet that the
smaller North 40 will be filled at some point next year. In that
case, every oversized campsite means a camping family who gets turned
away completely. In almost every case, the attitude expressed is one
of "I got here early to have a big campsite, they should have been
here early too." I've never seen anybody who was convinced to pull
their tents closer. I also don't recall anyone who gave in on their
tiedown refusals without the threat of involving the sheriff's deputy
who patrols the area.


At an event the size of AirVenture, it takes only a small percentage
of "bad apples" to cause a great deal of grief.