Top Ten Things that Suck About Oshkosh

Jay Honeck wrote:

7. Idiots In Golf Carts. There is simply no excuse for them being
everywhere. You can't walk ANYWHERE without being forced to move
aside for them.

Idiots in cars. This is especially a problem in the North 40 where
one of the entrances to the show is that gate at the Hilton Garden
Inn and they drive around that perimeter road/taxiway at high speed
with reckless abandon. I almost got collided with one taxiing the
Navion over there Sunday afternoon.

Last time I camped there (and too close to the road) it seemed to
progress unabated all night long.

Usually, we run into a few rude pilots/attendees. The only one
was the idiot Bonanza pilot parked pretty much abeam the P-51
wreckage scene who insisted he couldn't push his plane downhill
to the "burn line" before starting (we offered as many people
as he needed to help) as we weren't letting people fire up as
the crowds were still heavy oggling the cleanup. Oddly, a Baron
in the next row had no problem moving himself to the line.

Viperdoc wrote:
Here's another one: long lines for food and water. It seemed like there were
a lot fewer food vendors present this year (not including McDonalds), and
that it was a 30+ minute wait to get anything.



They seem to have deep-sixed the competition to Zaugs. (DJ and
MacD's). Actually the number of sites seemed to be as much as
before. Forutnately, 12-12:30 is the worst time however but even
then it wasn't that bad.

Paul Tomblin wrote:
In a previous article, "Viperdoc" said:
What do Ford and Honda have to do with aviation, although they obviously
paid big bucks for their exhibits?

Ford Trimotor? HondaJet?

Same as John Deere and Harley-Davidson. They are all major sponsors of
the EAA (even before the Honda Jet). Ford was also a *MAJOR* sponsor of
the Wright Flyer reenactment (lots of cross-link between that effort and
the EAA). Deere, Ford, and Honda all provide $$$ and resources to the
show.

Jay Honeck wrote:
\
The showers in the North 40 are REAL shower stalls, with no curtains
at all. Dunno where Paul saw shower curtains, but it wasn't in the
North 40.

The scholler shower doesn't have interior walls, all the stalls are
separated only by curtains (can't remember if they actually shut or
not). The WM trailer behind the Hangar Cafe has real stalls and doors
and a slightly upscale sink sprayer. This year the kids who they
hired to clean did a fairly good job, except for the day midshow
that the boy quit. The girl did her best to clean it when it was
empty. My friend and a guy he recruited mopped the floor once.
The kid they had the next day actually went way beyond the call keeping
the place clean for the rest of the show.

Jay Honeck wrote:
The worst thing about Oshkosh is that my wife spent $30,000 remodeling our
kitchen so I have no money for taking a week off work this year.

$30K for a KITCHEN?

Shoot, we remodeled the entire first floor lobby of the hotel for
$12K. (Of course, we did all the work ourselves. Cheapest
contractor-built quote: $50K)

Our Kitchen cost darned near $90K. Of course, you've seen it Jay.

Jay Honeck wrote:

That said, real shower buildings would be a nice upgrade. Sun N Fun
has 'em, and they're terrific.

The real problem is that the grounds have limitted water (wells)
and no Sewer. Every drop of water that runs through that shower goes
into a holding tank and is pumped out by large trucks throughout the
show (you probably saw them, large tanker tractor-trailers that say
Lakeland Cartage or something like that).


I don't have a problem with the tram system, although the lines were
designed back when the "depth" of the grounds were half of what they
are today.

Actually, not. The trams for general transport are a relatively recent
thing. The lines have been reworked twice since I've been going.
The BUS service this year was a MAJOR improvement. The new contractor
was really trying hard.

When we started attending OSH back in '83, the grounds started at Rwy
18/36, just like today, but ended at what is now the site of the four
big exhibition hangars, Hangars A through D.

That spot is now only about half way to the main entrance! The show
has really grown in that quarter of a century...
--
After next years show they break ground on two more buildings. It's
getting larger.

john smith wrote:


But then they wouldn't be able to park airplanes there!
Each of those airplanes represents $19/day.
They would lose money, and as we know, it is all about money.

Parking for homebuilts and classics (1970 or older) is FREE!

The $19 /day is for CAMPING and cheaper than you can stay anywhere
else in town.

Morgans wrote:


As a contractor, I agree that it would not take that much to provide some
storm drains and french drains, and build a few permanent shower building
with real hot and cold water and private dressing areas.

It would take a real water supply and septic system which the field does
not have in most locations.

Hilton wrote:
11. No kettle korn


Actually what is disappointing (and there ought to be a law in
the dairy state) is that there is hardly any cheese or other dairy
products on the field. Could find a cheese curd to save my life.

Jay Honeck wrote:
"I'm not really into that NASCAR stuff."

The NASCAR crowd (which is our code for the airshow attendees who
leave a pile of empty beer cans and the ground covered with butts when
they leave) is largely absent from OSH, at least until the weekend.

I call them the lawn chair crowd. They almost always show up toting
lawn chairs. Of late they haven't been too bad (since they did away
with the #*&@!$%$ Jet truck was dropped and most of the Mastubators of
Destruction have died). Most nicely stayed behind the lines although
a few clueless still couldn't figure out why nobody was sitting in
the large cleared off firelane and set up their chairs there.

I still have no freaking clue why people insist on touching propellers.
Of all things on the airplane to touch this has to be the worst yet
the unwashed masses feel compelled to stroke them as they go by.