Compiled By The Staff and Readership of the Aero-News Network and Aero-TV

For quite a while, we have recognized the highs and lows inherent in the general and sport aviation community. There are but a few places where that is more a propos than at a major event like the recently completed Oshkosh Fly-In.

It's hard to know what really is going to make a difference and what really qualifies as exceptional unless you've been watching this industry carefully for several years... as we have.

Over the last few years, ANN readers remarks have been heavily incorporated into ALL aspects of this report, and not just the Aircraft awards and such. Their contributions have been carefully considered and (in many cases) incorporated into our annual summation.

Our Annual Best Plane of the Year Selections (tentatively announced after Oshkosh and finalized at year's end) will await the end of the year but we will announce the nominees at this point, with the proviso that our opinions may change as the year develops.

So; here are our picks for the Best and Worst of this year's Oshkosh... and why we think so...

The Department of Redundancy Department

The So-Called EAA/AOPA Cooperation Agreement. I'm not sure what this is REALLY going to be all about since these two organization have, in the past, been competitive as hell, despite the fact that they really are distinct organizations with unique skills and interest areas that don't overlap as much as these announcements seem to suggest. So... what's really going to happen here... are they finally going to be nice to each other or will something actually transpire out of all this? Did they not previously, at least, cooperate to the extent that the good of aviation was otherwise served? We're, frankly, really not sure. Curious...

"Best Actor" Award

TSA... trying to con one and all into believing that they want to help, not hinder, GA... well folks... actions do speak louder than words... and TSA's actions prove that they are a huge and pervasive threat to GA freedoms, utility and practicality.

Worst Idea At Oshkosh 2009

The Slow, Continuing, Loss Of The "Homebuilt Spirit." It was the amateur-built movement, spearheaded by a brash and forward-thinking Paul Poberezny that built EAA in the first place... and the emphasis on that foundation, and the indomitable spirit that still drives people to build, restore, fly and own these amazing airplanes, seems to be taking a distant back row seat to all the commercial aspects of this extraordinary event. We're not saying that Oshkosh can't be a commercial venture... but we think that the balance between such concerns is way off-kilter.  

"Risky Business"

The Downing Of The Pete Bunce Nomination. EAA needs to plan for the future... an uncertain one surely, but having a clear plan for the leadership of this organization is critical if they are to play a significant role in keeping aviation alive. Losing Pete Bunce as a possible successor to Tom Poberezny was a serious problem... Bunce is one of the few people with enough organizational experience as well as exposure to the massive and varied world of aviation, that could have stepped into a leadership role at EAA and steered it on a proper path. Whither thou goest, EAA?

What's in A Name?

Michael Lopresti. The Lopresti family name is associated with speed and efficiency... but one member of that clan is bringing a whole feature-set to the mix. This year, Michael Lopresti joined the Aero-TV team as a stringer and really showed us some skills... so while some may (and properly) associate Lopresti with going fast, I'd advise you to also be ready to associate the name with visual creativity and great skills as a videographer.

Biggest Oshkosh 2009 Blunder

The Continued Veil of Pseudo-Secrecy Surrounding EAA's Annual Elections Process. EAA is not a monarchy... it is a membership organization that actually has annual elections and an annual meeting... which pass, scarcely noticed, by the aviation world, et al... Most of the elected positions are decided via thousands upon thousands of 'proxy' votes while practically no real effort is made by EAA to open up the process to the true nature of the democratic way. Yes, it would be messy and time-consuming and occasionally a bit awkward... but the best democracies usually are. 

Weirdest Rumor

Someone was actually gossipping that the FAA, which had been widely expected way back in April to release details of it's revised interpretation of The 51% Rule, would do it at Oshkosh instead. Dreamers! 

Red-Headed Illegitimate Half-Breed Stepchild Award

CBP's Onsite Defense of eAPIS. We chatted with a number of CBP officials over the many complaints we have heard and experienced with the now-mandatory and brain-dead-on-arrival eAPIS program. Poorly designed, horribly executed, incompletely supported, and randomly explained or documented, the CBP's eAPIS program is ham-stringing GA's ability to cross borders, lessening the utility of GA, making it difficult to do International business and embarrassing an organization that should know better. We told them all this at Oshkosh and it fell upon deaf ears... eAPIS should be junked right away and CBP should PARTNER with the industry to produce a proper working solution... because eAPIS sure as hell isn't it. The only way this program could be any worse is if the TSA ran it...

Biggest Party Pooper

The Un-Named AOPA Staffer... who dropped the "F-Bomb" in front of a number of persons of varying ages and genders during the Business Aviation Day program at Oshkosh 2009, because he didn't like another camera person's placement... which was NOT in his line of sight and specifically placed where the camera-person had been told to set up... by GAMA--who was running this particular event. It was boorish, improper, embarrassing behavior... not a first for this staffer or for AOPA... which has, in the past, stood for far, far, FAR better stuff than this. Boy, we're sure starting to miss the Boyer days. 

Bozo Of The Week

Epic's Rick Schrameck. Broken promise after broke promise, Schrameck has proven himself to be someone who not only damaged a number of buyers who believed in his dreams but also harmed an entire industry by playing fast and loose with the 51% Rule and other issues. The bankruptcy of his company will be costing a number of buyers, collectively, millions of dollars... while the ill effects of Epic's kit-building games will be felt by amateur aircraft builders for decades to come. 

Biggest Wake-up Call

By 2016, GA Fuel 100LL is really going away and after 19 years of “working on it”, GA doesn’t yet have a cohesive plan for responding.

ANN's "Above and Beyond" Award

The Amazing, Wonderful, Cheerful, People That Volunteer Their Time To Staff The Event--Even When It Rains. Oshkosh may well be one of the largest and best run volunteer events in the world. There is no way Oshkosh would exist in the form we know now, if it were not for the thousands of people from every walk of life that donate their time and their hearts before, during, and after Oshkosh.

Biggest 'O' at Oshkosh

The numbers... the sheer, amazing numbers of people who went ahead and trekked to Oshkosh despite economics, weather, politics and what-have-you in order to celebrate the best and brightest in aviation. Nothing gave us more hope for the future of personal flight than the enormous numbers who turned out to celebrate all things aviation, this year.

FMI: Comments? Complaints? Additions? Let us have it!