I just spent three days and four nights at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2014. A friend asked what has changed most since my last visit in 2008. Danged good question.
The biggest thing that I noticed was the increased proliferation of Light Sport Aircraft (LSA). Seemed like they were everywhere.
That brings up another question. Is anyone making money on LSAs? I was for a very short time—I really wonder if it was ever made official—on the board of an importer of LSAs from Spain. Far as I can tell, nobody made any profit. Who is making a profit? Are the manufacturers?
What’s going to happen to LSAs once the guvmint gets around to eliminating the medical for a private license? Will LSAs disappear? Or will they become the wave of the future? Who knows?
Another thing that changed at OSH—for the first time in my memory, they had flush toilets available to attendees. They were, I believe, in building “C” and were a welcome improvement. There were probably also some elsewhere, but I don’t know where.
The entire show has moved south since I first attended in 1987, but I watched much of that happen. Still, it’s hard for me to figure out where everything used to be.
For the first time, nobody named Poberezny is at the helm of EAA. The new guy is Jack Pelton. Let us wish him well.
What hasn’t changed? It’s still a well-run event. The airshow itself is still noisy, awesome and exciting, just as I remember it from back in the ‘80s and all decades since. The grounds are still so clean you just know that the attendees are cooperating. The volunteers are still friendly. It is, as the EAA now calls it, The World’s Greatest Aviation Celebration.
Long may it so remain.
About the Author
Ralph Hood
Certified Speaking Professional
Ralph Hood is a Certified Speaking Professional who has addressed aviation groups throughout North America. A pilot since 1969, he's insured and sold airplanes at retail and distributor levels and taught aviation management for Southern Illinois University.
Ralph Hood is also an award-winning columnist (he writes for several publications), a salesman and sales manager (he sold airplanes, for crying out loud!), a teacher (he taught college-level aviation management) and a professional public speaker who has entertained and enlightened audiences from Hawaii to Spain, and from Fairbanks to Puerto Rico.
- Certified Speaking Professional (CSP), National Speakers Association
- Past member, National Ethics Committee, National Speakers Association
- Past president of Alabama Speakers Association
- Member, Alabama Aviation Hall of Fame
- Past National Marketing Mentor, AOPA Project Pilot