OSH '05 Comments

I think there were more aircraft this year than in years past coming
through, but I was speaking of the foot traffic being very light. Not
nearly as bad as last year.

The difference may be in the weekend traffic. I make it a point to
avoid Fri - Sun...

How about this fix. A law that requires the doors on fast food joints be no
wider than 18". No drive by windows allowed. To get food, you have to get
thorough the door.

"Roy Page" wrote in message
ink.net...
Well said !
And another point, any passenger that needs a seat belt extension, should
be
required to buy two seats.
Why should we have to put up with their mass spreading into our comfort
zone
?

Roy P

"Jim N." wrote in message
...
As another example, I was returning from southwest Asia from an Air
Force
deployment, and after many hours on planes, was waiting in the commuter
terminal in Dulles. I also had picked up a pretty significant GI bug,
which had given me fevers and chills along with a nasty case of
diarrhea.
However, I also knew that this was the last leg on my way home, and was
at
least back in the States.

However, the last leg was on an RJ, and there was an obese passenger
waiting to go on the plane on a scooter. In order to accomodate her
needs
the airline needed to bring out a portable ramp, since there was no
jetway
up to the plane. Unfortunately, due to the parking spot, the ramp
wouldn't
come up to the hatch, so then they had to get a tug and move the plane
back a few feet, after moving all of the ground equipment as well that
was
next to the plane.

Unfortunately, the ground crew miscalculated, and they didn't move the
plane back far enough, so after another twenty minutes of trying to fit
the portable ramp, it was clear that the plane needed to be moved again.
Of course, all of the pax were waiting and watching this keystone cops
routine, while I was there with chills and a fever, wondering whether I
was going to need to go out and run to the bathroom again before the
flight.

After another attempt at fitting the ramp, the ground crew gave up, and
the passenger in question simply walked up the stairs and down the aisle
without a problem! While she wasn't exactly sprinting, she clearly had
little difficulty going up the four steps and walking down the aisle
without assistance. If we had been on a sailing ship I think all of the
pax would have voted to throw her out the door to the sharks.

Although the whole debacle took around an hour, it was an inconvenience
to
everyone on the plane, as well as the ground crew. Obviously, I think
most
people would have been understanding and compassionate to a person with
legitimate needs, but this was completely over the top.

I also recently had a patient in her early thirties who insisted that I
document that she had knee pain and needed a handicapped sticker so she
didn't have to walk so far from the parking lot. I offered her some
physical therapy as well as a short course of anti-inflammatory
medications, but she declined, telling me the only thing she needed was
the handicapped permit!

Why is it that in American society we need the quick fix- gastroplasty
and
other fat reducing surgery or diet pills rather than watching what we
eat
and increasing our exercise? Why are our children the fattest in the
world? I am not one of those arrogant rail thin marathon runners by any
stretch, but I believe that obesity is a serious concern for our entire
society.

Perhaps there should be a definition between the golf carts and the
reduced mobility vehicles. I find it hard to believe anyone could feel
threatened by the electric three-wheelers used by handicapped folks, The
golf carts are another story and are well-matched by the racing Gators.

Years ago my kids coined a term to describe the OSH golf cart riders:
"IIGICs". (Idiots In Golf Carts)

They happily shouted "Watch out -- another IIGIC!" all week long.

This year, for the first time, they coined a term for the 8 thousand little
motor scooters that were suddenly running up our heels all week long:
"IOMS" (Idiots On Motor Scooters) They were EVERYWHERE.

I'm afraid we felt nearly as threatened by these folks as we did by the golf
carts and gators. Because of their numbers, and the fact that the riders
had obviously received NO training in their use, we were nearly run over by
one at least daily. When you're wearing sandals, the thought of a 250
pound scooter flattening your toes is not a fun one, especially after a few
days on your feet.

I, too, resent the fact that we could not bring our bikes onto the grounds,
yet these folks -- most of whom clearly were simply not interested in
walking the immense distances OSH requires -- were given carte blanche to go
anywhere and everywhere with impunity.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

Bill Daniels wrote:
How about this fix. A law that requires the doors on fast food joints be no
wider than 18". No drive by windows allowed. To get food, you have to get
thorough the door.

......And then up three flights of stairs......

In article ,
Matt Whiting wrote:
Richard Riley wrote:

On Fri, 29 Jul 2005 21:36:15 GMT, Matt Whiting
wrote:

:I have degenerative disk disease. You can't always tell it from
:watching me walk, but some days you can. I could easily get a handicap
ermit, and actually have had doctors suggest I get one. I also have a
:high pain threshold and wouldn't think of getting a handicap permit
:unless it gets a LOT worse. And you'd then be able to tell from looking
:at me that I needed the permit.

Matt, with all due respect - get one. My dad had one for bad knees
(both eventually replaced, which helped some but not enough.)

If you don't need it, don't use it, leave it in the glove box. Then
one long, bad day with lots of walking, you'll have one last errand to
do - and no one will begrudge you.

I just can't see having one when I see people who REALLY need them. I
don't feel I'm at the level of need. Maybe in 20 years. Also, I NEED
the exercise! :-)


Richard is right. Given that you meet the 'letter' of the qualifications
*get*one*.

It's not like there is a limited supply of them. You're _not_ depriving
some 'more in need' by getting one for yourself.

And, you're *not* restricted to only using the handicapped places if you
do have the tag. With one, you can park *anywhere*.

There are good days, and bad days. Having the tag can help make bad days
less bad.

If it's a good day, or you're feeling the need for exercise, use a regular
place. On that really bad day, when you _have_ to go out for something,
don't feel bad about using the close-in spot.

This has also been a problem for me. It seems most people have a phobia about
walking. Even a 10 minute walk seemed too far for many people. Every time I
ask someone how far some place is, they would insist it is too far to walk,
and would give me directions on how to take a bus or trolley etc.. An
example is the EAA museum bus. It is faster to walk there than take the bus,
espeically during the rush hour. I discovered this after waiting for 30
minutes for the bus. Same thing with the trolleys. It is faster to walk than
to wait for the trolleys.

Jay Honeck wrote:

walking the immense distances OSH requires -- were given carte blanche to go
anywhere and everywhere with impunity.

I didn't think Blanche was using a carte (ducking)...

Dave

"Dave Butler" wrote in message
news:1122908540.977755@sj-nntpcache-5...
Jay Honeck wrote:

walking the immense distances OSH requires -- were given carte blanche
to go
anywhere and everywhere with impunity.

I didn't think Blanche was using a carte (ducking)...

Hey, why don't you just scoot outta here! :~)

"PPT33R" wrote in message
oups.com...

Another great OSH. The number and quality of the exhibits seems to
improve each year.

Speaking as a former exhibitor who cannot afford the rent to be an exhibitor
any more, did you notice how many of the exhibits were government agencies
pimping their state, or their college, or their missile defense services?
Did you notice how many of the exhibits had absolutely nothing to do with
aviation, yet could afford the rent to hawk you everything from superglue to
wood stoves? How many truly innovative newcomers did you find -- that
little jewel company that invented a new widget to save you tons of money
building or flying an aircraft? The last one I know of is Bill Bainbridge
at his little electric shop, and he's been around for thirty years.

As to the number of people, I do a pretty fair job of assessing attendance
by looking at the parking lots, both on the airport and at the UWO dorms.
If EAA comes out with a "record crowd" pronouncement (which they have to do
by Rogan's Law -- "grow or die") then somebody is puffing funny weed.

The one thing that really ****ed me off this year (and I will proceed
to rant about) was the invasion of the 'obese scooter people'.

So long as EAA can make a buck at it, there will be an order of magnitude
growth in OSPs for the next couple of years.

Now, I've read this whole thread about who should and who should not be
allowed a scooter, and all I can say at this time is that I thought ham
radio had the market cornered with people sitting around ****ing and moaning
about their gall bladder operations, their hip replacements, and their
various and sundry ailments. I guess a few of them have escaped to the
world of aviation {;-)


More ... MUCH more ... later. It is good to be home.


Jim

Andrew, you haven't told us about your travels via the big bird???