Oshkosh 2003 Redux

Jay Honeck wrote:

Maybe next year we can figure our how to do a cookout at the site?

If I'm there, I'll bring a two-burner stove.

George Patterson
They say that nothing's certain except death and taxes. The thing is,
death doesn't get worse every time Congress goes into session.
Will Rogers

john smith wrote:

First, need to get all the airplanes parked together.

Well, there are usually several groups (type clubs and such) that are
allowed to park together, so there's probably a way to do it.

George Patterson
They say that nothing's certain except death and taxes. The thing is,
death doesn't get worse every time Congress goes into session.
Will Rogers

First, need to get all the airplanes parked together.
Second, get the high wings lined up.
Third, tarp and guy the high wings (40 foot tarps work really well
across two wings!)
Four, I have the gas grill.
Five, others bring cooking utensils (skillets, pots, etc)
Six, in addition to beer, we add food items to the admission charge.
Seven, once the beer and food have arrived, you have a party.

Good God, I was pretty amazed that we were able to get a dozen or so people
to actually remember the date, the time, the place, and the beer! What
you're asking requires more coordination and planning than most fly-in
breakfasts!

But I'm with you, man. Next year, it's a COOKOUT!
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

"Jay Honeck" wrote in message
news:ltYZa.124340$uu5.18517@sccrnsc04...
But I'm with you, man. Next year, it's a COOKOUT!

Sounds great! Just don't use the $1.99 avgas for starting the cookout. ;-)

I hope to FLY to Jay's 2nd annual Pre-Oshkosh party and to OSH next year...

Yeah, that $1.99 a gallon avgas after years of outrageous high prices from the
same folks. I hope those of you who bought gas at Oshkosh recognized what the
$1.99 a gallon fellers were trying to accomplish. Once competition is gone, gas
will go back up again.

Yeah, I paid 20c a gallon more to encourage the other guys to come back again.
And, they promised us AUTOGAS next year.

Jim


"Greg Burkhart"
shared these priceless pearls of wisdom:

-Sounds great! Just don't use the $1.99 avgas for starting the cookout. ;-)


Jim Weir (A&P/IA, CFI, & other good alphabet soup)
VP Eng RST Pres. Cyberchapter EAA Tech. Counselor
http://www.rst-engr.com

"Jim Weir" wrote in message ...
Yeah, that $1.99 a gallon avgas after years of outrageous high prices from the
same folks.

Well Basler never was excessively outrageous. I didn't pay much different at OSH
than other places en route. Of course, competition is good. Had a long talk with
their marketing director while he filled my buddies plane the day after the show (he was
the only one who knew how to drive the manual transmission'd loaner fuel truck they
borrowed). Orion certainly has a good attitude, and they are actually a real full service
FBO (flight instruction, etc...). They're also locally owned. Basler sold out a few years
back.

Yeah, I paid 20c a gallon more to encourage the other guys to come back
again.
And, they promised us AUTOGAS next year.

We were somewhat aggravated by the fact that the EAA greeters were
trumpeting the fact that BOTH FBOs were charging $1.99 per gallon. Since
this was the case, we opted to give the new guys on the block, Orion, our
business.

Imagine our surprise to find out that we'd been the victims of "bait &
switch" (inadvertently, I suppose, by the EAA) when we had to pay $2.10 per
gallon before departing! The lady in the booth apologized profusely, and
offered the somewhat lame excuse that "they had *asked* the EAA to stop
spreading that information". Of course, I had personally spoken with the
Orion truck driver as he filled the plane, and joked about the $1.99 price
that they were "both charging". He conveniently never mentioned anything
different to me...

When I asked the lady why they didn't simply match Basler's price, she
responded that they would just cut another 20 cents, in an effort to drive
them off the field.

It seems to me there are State-dictated minimum prices for gas in Wisconsin,
in an effort to prevent the "Big Boys" from running the "little guys" off
the playing field -- although I'm not sure if those laws apply to airport
FBOs. Either way, I didn't object to paying $2.10 -- but I DID object to
not knowing how much I WAS paying...

Ah, well -- if they get autogas next year, all is forgiven!
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

Jay Honeck wrote:

Yeah, I paid 20c a gallon more to encourage the other guys to come back
again.
And, they promised us AUTOGAS next year.

We were somewhat aggravated by the fact that the EAA greeters were
trumpeting the fact that BOTH FBOs were charging $1.99 per gallon. Since
this was the case, we opted to give the new guys on the block, Orion, our
business.

Imagine our surprise to find out that we'd been the victims of "bait &
switch" (inadvertently, I suppose, by the EAA) when we had to pay $2.10 per
gallon before departing! The lady in the booth apologized profusely, and
offered the somewhat lame excuse that "they had *asked* the EAA to stop
spreading that information". Of course, I had personally spoken with the
Orion truck driver as he filled the plane, and joked about the $1.99 price
that they were "both charging". He conveniently never mentioned anything
different to me...

Jay, I'd write a letter to Orion. I personally saw a $1.89 sign on the Orion
truck on the South end of the field. I presume that was per gallon 100LL, but
then again the sign said only "$1.89". BTW, the Orion truck's sign appeared
several days into the show (Friday August 1, IIRC), many days after Basler's
"$1.99" sign appeared on its truck. Days prior to that, I had seen Orion's
price posted on their kiosk as $2.19 and no sign whatsoever on their truck.
Perhaps you filled up early?

Ah, well -- if they get autogas next year, all is forgiven!

Early in the show (actually, Monday July 28, IIRC) I personally visited the
Orion booth on the South end of the field and asked about mogas availability.
After explaining that mogas = autogas = that stuff you put in the Chevy, they
called someone to see if they had it. After determining that they didn't, I
explained about the EAA and Petersen STC's and the use of auto conversion
engines, and bluntly suggested that carrying mogas next year might engender
quite a lot of goodwill. We'll see.

Russell Kent

"Russell Kent" wrote in message
...
I personally saw a $1.89 sign on the Orion
truck on the South end of the field. I presume that was per gallon 100LL,
but
then again the sign said only "$1.89".

Did Orion have different prices for the South and North ends???

Greg Burkhart wrote:

"Russell Kent" wrote in message
...
I personally saw a $1.89 sign on the Orion
truck on the South end of the field. I presume that was per gallon 100LL,
but
then again the sign said only "$1.89".

Did Orion have different prices for the South and North ends???

I'm not in a position to say: I never saw the fuel truck on the North end. I
would certainly hope not.

Russell Kent