EAA plans major building expansion?

From an RV list:

I saw an interesting story this morning on the local news.
Apparently EAA is planning a 10 year project to expand the
Airventure grounds and build 2 new exhibit buildings. The current
plan looks to link the existing 4 buildings into two pairs buy
building a new two story building between them and updating the
existing buildings with the usual convention center amenities like
bathrooms. The city of OSH is talking about abandoning their
existing convention center downtown and teaming up with EAA to turn
Airventure grounds into a new OSH convention center.

I bring this up because a lot of people feel that EAA has become too
commercial and has forgotten their constituency. I know this is the
first I have heard of this and a quick search on Google turns up
nothing except a couple of the local news stories. I would think
that EAA would want to share such large initiatives with the members
before going full speed ahead.

I don't think this is necessarily a bad idea, and OSH could
certainly use the additional resources year around, but I would like
to know exactly how EAA feels this will help experimental aviation
advocacy and how they feel this will help the organization. This
isn't a cheap endeavor at 20 million and it's a lot of our EAA dues
going into it. My point to this is, if you are a member, let EAA
know how you feel about this being done whether it's good or bad.

http://www.myfoxnewisconsin.com/myfo...Y&pageId=3.2.1

http://tinyurl.com/67r7kl
--
Each of us is confined to a world of our own making.
~ Shawn Mikula

Bob Fry wrote:
From an RV list:

I saw an interesting story this morning on the local news.
Apparently EAA is planning a 10 year project to expand the
Airventure grounds and build 2 new exhibit buildings. The current
plan looks to link the existing 4 buildings into two pairs buy
building a new two story building between them and updating the
existing buildings with the usual convention center amenities like
bathrooms. The city of OSH is talking about abandoning their
existing convention center downtown and teaming up with EAA to turn
Airventure grounds into a new OSH convention center.

I bring this up because a lot of people feel that EAA has become too
commercial and has forgotten their constituency. I know this is the
first I have heard of this and a quick search on Google turns up
nothing except a couple of the local news stories. I would think
that EAA would want to share such large initiatives with the members
before going full speed ahead.

I don't think this is necessarily a bad idea, and OSH could
certainly use the additional resources year around, but I would like
to know exactly how EAA feels this will help experimental aviation
advocacy and how they feel this will help the organization. This
isn't a cheap endeavor at 20 million and it's a lot of our EAA dues
going into it. My point to this is, if you are a member, let EAA
know how you feel about this being done whether it's good or bad.

http://www.myfoxnewisconsin.com/myfo...Y&pageId=3.2.1

http://tinyurl.com/67r7kl


Any time the city gets involved with the airport in a positive way it is
usually a good thing.

This was also mentioned in the latest issue of EAA's Sport Pilot magazine.
For those not familiar with OSH except during EAA events, the grounds are
used through-out the year for several other major events including Ducks
Unlimited Outdoor Expo, a large Farm Equipment and Energy Expo, and
occasionally large music events.
Jim

I understand and am sympathetic to concerns about how member dues are
spent, and I agree that the potential for direct advocacy of
experimental aviation is quite low. But I have to say that finding
ways to use the grounds for off-season events and non-aviation events
is likely a very useful thing.

1. EAA gets to charge for the use of the grounds and facilities,
which means that they are getting a return on an investment. The
downstream potential is good--diversified income streams can help
alleviate pressure on core business. In other words, they might not
need to completely depend on member dues and gate fees for income. I
am reminded of PBS owning a line of for-profit catalog businesses. It
has made them very good money they use to defray costs in their
"normal" operations.

2. As a previous poster mentioned, any time the ties between the
aviation community and non-aviation communities can be brought closer,
I think that is not only good, it is crucial. If the city of Oshkosh,
Ducks Unlimited, the FEEE guys, and whomever else can be made
tangential partners in the health of EAA I see that as helpful. We
need goodwill ambassadors out there.

3. I completely agree that OSH has gotten very corporate and has
undeniably drifted far afield from its original intended purpose. OSH
used to be a big fly-in and now it's a trade show. It hurts to say
it, but it's the hard fact. It is what it is, we can't turn it back
without gutting it. In my mind it is now up to us to make lemonade
out of lemons. How can we, both as regular grass-roots guys and EAA
guys, make the present reality work for us? Well, it is a tough
question but one thing we can do is exactly this--get non-aviation
partners involved with EAA, no matter how peripherally. One can never
know when that relationship might pay dividends. All it takes is for
one person to have a good experience and say the right thing at the
right time down the road. Some farm kid at the FEEE show has a good
time at the EAA grounds, grows up to become a senator or congressman
and later squelches some negative aviation talk because he enjoyed
that experience at the OSH/EAA convention center. I believe this sort
of thing happens all around us, every day.

I am very worried about the future of experimental aviation in the
US. I am very, very, very worried about the pending revision to the
51% rule. One of the things that I have noticed is that we--aviation
folks and experimental folks--have few allies when votes are being
cast or rules being written. I strongly believe that we need to cast
our net as wide as possible--even fleeting connections can be helpful.

I don't mean to be preachy. I just see aviation as too insulated from
'everyone else' and I think we need to change that any way we can or
we will fade away.

Steve.

/ I still have fun at OSH
// Wish I could get a scooter pass

Steve.

/ I still have fun at OSH
// Wish I could get a scooter pass

What's a scooter pass?
Lou

On Wed, 28 May 2008 09:44:36 -0500, Gig 601Xl Builder wrote:

Any time the city gets involved with the airport in a positive way it is
usually a good thing.

huh?

Gezellig wrote:
On Wed, 28 May 2008 09:44:36 -0500, Gig 601Xl Builder wrote:

Any time the city gets involved with the airport in a positive way it is
usually a good thing.

huh?

Airventure is held at this magical place we call an airport. An airport
is where the lift fairies live. If the city that is adjacent to the
airport likes and invests time, money and political support to the
airport it makes the lift faries happy.

On Wed, 28 May 2008 16:11:51 -0500, Gig 601Xl Builder wrote:

Gezellig wrote:
On Wed, 28 May 2008 09:44:36 -0500, Gig 601Xl Builder wrote:

Any time the city gets involved with the airport in a positive way it is
usually a good thing.

huh?

Airventure is held at this magical place we call an airport. An airport
is where the lift fairies live. If the city that is adjacent to the
airport likes and invests time, money and political support to the
airport it makes the lift faries happy.

Hobkie on all that.

"Any time the city gets involved with the airport in a positive way it
is usually a good thing" Huh?

How about "Usually when the city gets involved with the airport in a
positive way it is always a good thing"

Gezellig wrote:

On Wed, 28 May 2008 16:11:51 -0500, Gig 601Xl Builder wrote:


Gezellig wrote:

On Wed, 28 May 2008 09:44:36 -0500, Gig 601Xl Builder wrote:


Any time the city gets involved with the airport in a positive way it is
usually a good thing.

huh?

Airventure is held at this magical place we call an airport. An airport
is where the lift fairies live. If the city that is adjacent to the
airport likes and invests time, money and political support to the
airport it makes the lift faries happy.


Hobkie on all that.

"Any time the city gets involved with the airport in a positive way it
is usually a good thing" Huh?

How about "Usually when the city gets involved with the airport in a
positive way it is always a good thing"


What-ever.

As long as teh lift faries are happy.
That's what's important here!

"Jim Burns" wrote in message . ..
This was also mentioned in the latest issue of EAA's Sport Pilot magazine.
For those not familiar with OSH except during EAA events, the grounds are
used through-out the year for several other major events including Ducks
Unlimited Outdoor Expo, a large Farm Equipment and Energy Expo, and
occasionally large music events.
Jim



And I seem to remember comments about fixing up and changing things around last year or the year before, but no specific
plans were made...