Here is the message I sent to EAA about the (missing)  auto powered area
and the reply from Charlie Becker at EAA headquarters.  Maybe this was a
single glitch that won't be repeated but it wouldn't hurt for them to hear
from more of us about this and the general direction EAA is heading.

Tracy

-----Original Message-----
From: Tracy Crook [mailto:lors01@msn.com]
Sent: Thursday, August 07, 2003 11:00 AM
To: Convention
Subject: Airventure 2003 Autopowered Area :-(


Thank you for the invitation to bring my auto engine powered aircraft for
it's 9th consecutive trip to the Oshkosh convention.  However, I arrived the
day before the official start and was disappointed  (I'm putting it mildly)
to find that the auto powered area on the flightline was already filled with
aircraft with conventional aircraft engines.  Consequently, most of the auto
engine powered planes were scattered at random around the flight line.

This caused a lot of confusion for literally hundreds of people who came
specifically to see these aircraft.  There was a specific area for virtually
every other type which was rigidly (and wisely)  adhered to.  This gave the
appearance that the EAA has no interest in this *experimental*  activity or
perhaps an active interest in discouraging it.

I'm all for the continued growth of the organization but this development
continues the EAA's drift away from its origin of grass roots experimenters
and is bitterly disappointing to many of us.

Tracy Crook
EAA 204485
N84TC  Mazda Rotary powered RV-4


Tracy,

I've talked with Ken Whyte, Chairman for Homebuilt Parking, about the auto
engine parking.  I've copied him on this email.

We intended to have the same auto engine parking as in past years but it did
not work out as planned.  We had a huge turn out of all showplane aircraft,
including homebuilts.  This resulted in some problems, one of which was the
auto engine row not being filled with just auto engines.

We do provide special prop cards for auto engines (as well as for 1,000 hour
homebuilts, 20+ year old homebuilts, and past grand champions) so that
members wandering the flight line will be able to identify the special
homebuilts.  Also, this allows the auto engine guy who doesn't want to park
in the auto engine row with a way to show off his aircraft.  Often, many
people want to park with friends or aircraft of the same type regardless of
their engine type.

As we look at next year, we will have a new Homebuilders Headquarters
located 2/10ths of a mile north of our current location which will locate it
in the center of homebuilt parking and closer to the workshops and forums.
We are going to have to make some decisions regarding parking.  Do we park
the special homebuilts around Homebuilders HQ (as we have in the past) or do
we keep them where they have always been?  As we make these decisions, rest
assured that we will continue to have an auto engine parking area.

We (EAA staff and the Homebuilt Aircraft Council) work to make sure that the
homebuilder is not overlooked in this great organization that is EAA.  In
fact, just last year we added an Engine Workshop to the Workshops area that
focuses primarily on auto engine conversions.  It went over well last year,
so we improved it this year with a hands free sound system so the presenter
could work and talk at the same time.  This year we had presentations in
this workshop on Mazdas, Corvairs, VWs, 1/2 VWs, Rotaxs and the Superior SL
360.  Overall, the workshop was extremely well received.

Thanks for sharing your concerns.  It will help us in planning for next
year.
Charlie Becker
EAA Aviation Information Services
Ph: 920-426-6530
Fx: 920-426-6560