EAA Cancels Air Academy - AVweb

News Discussion
21

Jim, well stated and thought out. All of us wish AirVenture will be held, but we need to look at the facts of the community spread of Covid-19. We pilots are a disciplined lot with checklists, crew management, aeronautical decision making, and situational awareness. Take the emotion and frustration out for a moment, and that is hard to do, but look at the facts and you’ll have your answer. We as a society unfortunately that seems to change by crisis not by choice. Until we have accurate testing on a wide scale to know how much of our communities are in infected or not, and we have an effective vaccine, we’ll be fighting this pandemic blind.

I am a director of a school district aviation program in a conservative Florida county. I have seen what impacts Covid-19 has had on our community and the school program. Kids staying at home and attempting to learn on-line continues to be a challenge, and incredibly stressful for the parents. They didn’t ask for this, but have to deal with it anyway. This crisis is a marathon, not a sprint to a way to end it.

I share the last paragraph to highlight what I have seen. Many in our community still rail against what they call “media hype”, and it is “really no different than the flu”, and “lets get back to normal”. These are the folks out and about without taking any precautions, no face mask of covering, or gloves if they have them. These are the folks who let their kids run all over the place touch everything in the grocery store, or “I’m too young to be infected”, and “I’ll make up my own mind on what I can do”.

Until we exercise community “Situational Awareness” and “Appropriate Decision Making” on a more consistent basis, we won’t be done with Covid-19 for quite some time.

22

I emailed the folks I always stay with at Oshkosh yesterday apologizing and telling them I had decided not to come this year even if Airventure is not canceled. Unless there is a miracle vaccine (unlikely) by July, I could not risk getting sick so far from home (particularly since I am in an age group that has a high mortality rate) and I wanted to give them plenty of time to find someone to replace the income they would lose from me. They emailed back to say I they were just about to let everyone who had planned to stay with them know that they could not have people in their home in the present situation and were not going to be hosting Airventure attendees this year. Even if Airventure is not canceled, I suspect it will be a very different experience. Perhaps my view of the situation is colored by having a wife who is a surgeon at a major medical center which now has over half its beds occupied by COVID-19 patients. She cannot operate on non-emergency patients because the hospital is turning ORs into intensive care rooms to take advantage of the ventilators in them. This crisis in not like swine flu, H1N1 or any other medical crisis I have experienced in the 30 years married to a medical professional. I am very sad about missing Oshkosh this year, but for me, it is much too scary a time to think about mingling with tens/hundreds of thousands of people from all over the world in close quarters.

23

I am not sure EAA will be able to do much if the state of WI bans mass events/gatherings. Unfortunately, as much as I want the “show to go on,” it will largely depend on what restrictions are in place.

Also, don’t forget all the vendors, volunteers (this one is the real key), etc. If they start to back out, where does that leave EAA?

No matter your personal view on COVID-19 and what EAA should do, I suspect the largest influences on EAA’s decision will external forces.

24

S.B.: Rights come with responsibilities. As Jim H & others pointed out, staying at home is being responsible.

25

Business leadership and political leadership is under enormous stress and responsibility with this Covid-19 pandemic. But so is the average citizen.

AirVenture attendance far outstrips the local area hotel and motel resources/room availability. Many long term attendees, exhibitor and spectator alike, have had long term housing arrangements with local Oshkosh, Fondulac, Appleton homeowners. As Mr.D has shared, most will not take the chance of having EAA participants staying in their homes. A wise decision. Most homes large enough to be rented out for AirVenture are owned by folks with kids and relatively large families. That makes renting your home to out of town/state/country folks a real danger to your family upon return. Secondly, where would those willing to rent their homes go when AirVenture starts? Wisconsin residents would not want to go to Illinois or Michigan. Go west to a closed national park? Even rest areas are closed. Lastly, as an attendee, do you really want to stay in a home of unknown infection opportunity? Sleep tight while you cover yourself in someone else’s sheets, after showering in someone else’s shower, after walking all day with mask and gloves on, after having EAA volunteers taking your temps before entering after leaving, and standing six feet away from everyone. Kind of makes trying on the latest ANR headset , or touching that stick/yoke of the latest flight sim, discussing the latest pilot iPad app, or working in the latest workshop with an EAA volunteer instructor, or buying an AirVenture 2020 T-shirt a real adventure. I wonder how many of the normal 5,000+ volunteers want to see, talk, or be around a bunch of masked/gloved gray hairs, while in close proximity taking temps?

If EAA does host AirVenture 2020, are they ready for the litigation/liability avalanche of lawyers/lawsuits, massive poor, politically motivated local/national/global press, opinions, and analyse/armchair quarter-backing, followed by the outrage of Oshkosh citizens who have their town medically turned upside down by “rich, country club, general aviation pilots/aircraft owners”?

I am sure Jack and friends have already considered all these scenarios and more. EAA would turn from a family friendly, Oshkosh supported, long term, highly regarded aviation organization grown with hard work, dedication, volunteerism, and common sense, into oblivion. And if EAA fails from the fallout of an ill-timed event in the face of a global pandemic, it will be a very large nail in the aviation coffin.

A lot at stake for Oshkosh locals, attendees, the EAA itself, and aviation as a whole. Today, no one is immune from the ramifications of their Covid-19 decisions.

26

Jim H., you are the voice of reason. Too many unknowns, EAA is the heart of GA, people are the heart of the nation. Airventure can wait.

27

As much as I have EAA tattooed on my butt, I have to agree with Jim. None of us are yet aware of the true hit this is putting on the economy. While some will be able to attend, and still buy groceries, we are clearly moving in the direction of a correction to our economy only a select few can recall. Add to that the vexations of risk from impossible social distancing mandates. Karen and I first attended Oshkosh in 1977. Personal hygiene was a challenge then, and has been an issue each year since. There are many factors coming together to suggest maybe EAA needs to bite the bullet, and not provide an attractive nuisance. Our founder taught us EAA is all about the people, and the airplanes just serve as the conduit to unite us. That axiom has to be implemented in these unprecedented, and confusing times.

28

Folks, everyone is welcome to comment here. But this a not a newsgroup nor Facebook. It is a moderated forum. We’ve been wielding the delete key and will continue to do so for those who don’t abide by our reasonable standards.

Reasonable standards include short responses–please–on topic and respectful, civil language.

29

I remember teaching a high school drafting class the morning of 9/11. We had the TV on watching the news and I remember telling the class “the world as you know has changed forever”. It is the same with Covid-19, so events with large attendance such as AirVenture should be postponed until there is a vaccine and or widespread testing to see how many have been or not been infected. With the current lack of a national plan, to expect things will be back to a safe normal by July is too much to expect. Time to pull the plug and get on with alternative plans.