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AirVenture Bound? Remember the Sunscreen

Mark Phelps
Gemini Sparkle

Key Takeaways:

  • EAA AirVenture can be overwhelming due to sensory overload, causing visitors to miss out on planned attractions.
  • To mitigate this, create prioritized lists of "must-sees" (vendors, aircraft, seminars, events) and utilize the AirVenture website and map for pre-planning and marking areas of interest.
  • Optimize your visit by using a calendar to schedule time in different event sections, while also remaining flexible for unexpected encounters and prioritizing physical comfort like hydration and sun protection.
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It’s easy to get overwhelmed. The sensory overload of EAA AirVenture can take over and cause first-time visitors to scurry around in all directions like a drug-sniffing dog let loose at Woodstock. Even veteran AirVenture-goers can lose focus in the face of so much to see and do. And let’s not get all anxious about that, either. What can be bad about having so much to capture your imagination in one place, at one time?

But the downside would be missing out on something you really came to see, hear or find out more about. Of course, it’s not the big stuff. If you’re seriously in the market for a panel upgrade or a set of vortex generators for your airplane, you’ll have those vendors in the front of your brain. But it’s the less vital things that sometimes fall through the cracks. Maybe you have a friend who wanted you to check out a kitplane manufacturer he was interested in. Or a rare warbird you’d always wanted to see up close. When the thought comes to mind at a random time during the other 51 weeks of the year, it can easily be lost in the eye-candy tsunami that is AirVenture.

Mark Phelps

Mark Phelps is a senior editor at AVweb. He is an instrument rated private pilot and former owner of a Grumman American AA1B and a V-tail Bonanza.

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