Airline Captain Said Show Has Lost Its Way

Aero-Commentary By Tom Patton, News Editor

Serendipity being what it is, I happened to be seated next to an AirTran airline Captain deadheading to Atlanta on my flight from Milwaukee Sunday morning, and as pilots often do, our chat turned to the recently-completed AirVenture 2014.

I will say in the spirit of full disclosure that I did not get the Captain's name, nor did I record the conversation, so what I'll tell you here is based on my recollection our talk.

The captain said that he had attended the show for a couple of days ... and he was unlikely to return.

This particular pilot was disappointed in the atmosphere of the show, which he likened to "Disneyland." He said that that it seemed to him that the EAA had lost its focus on the Experimental/Amateur-Built segment of the market in favor of the large companies with expensive production airplanes to sell ... and all of the bells and whistles that go along with that market. He said, and again I'm paraphrasing, that he had seen at least one child "with his hands covered in ice cream" touching airplanes that their owners had spent maybe tens of thousands of dollars to restore. He said to him, it seemed that the show was "in decline."

That's in contrast with EAA Chairman Jack Pelton's assessment of the event, reported here earlier. Pelton said it appeared that attendance by both the public and vendors was up, and we heard at ANN HQ at the show that some vendors had taken orders for or sold multiple airplanes during the show. That can only be good for the industry

Nearly all events must change and adapt in order to survive and grow, and change often disappoints at least some segments of the audience. It was my observation that there was a larger audience for the Saturday afternoon airshow which featured the Air Force Thunderbirds than I had seen at any of my previous five trips to AirVenture, and that translates to more receipts at the gate. However, one of my colleagues pointed out that the spectator zone was compressed somewhat by the changes in the viewing area due to the enlarged airshow box for the Thunderbirds performance ... so that might be an inaccurate metric.

Still, perception often becomes reality, and the EAA will have some analysis to do to ensure that the perception becomes the reality for which they are looking. As to the kids with their ice cream, it would be, in my view at least, incumbent on the parents or guardians of those children to impress on them the importance of respecting the airplanes that are placed on display, not exclude them from the event, because we need those kids to be enthusiastic about aviation in order for our industry to survive and grow.

(Staff image)

FMI: www.eaa.org, Your Thoughts