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.