So you thought picking the perfect homebuilt was difficult? Well, strap in because there are dozens more decisions to follow, including how to strap in. Picking the bits that make an airframe an airplane can be more difficult than picking two side dishes to compliment the Big Daddy Platter at The Cozzy Corner in Appleton, WI. AirVenture can help make those decisions easier, or confuse matters worse. Everything from eyeball vents to oxygen systems, seat covers to sunshades are there to fondle. It’s so much more personal than surfing the worldwide wormhole, but it can be far more tiring. The exhibit buildings are hot boxes of slow-moving, sweaty people (how can people walk that slow?). If your sense of direction is worse than your ability to make decisions you’ll find yourself among the many who are practiced in asking, “Was the Hotel Zulu booth in C?”
“No, C had the headsets. I thinks it’s in A.”
“Isn’t Hotel Zulu the headset company? I think that’s in B”
“Hotel Zulu was tip lights, you’re thinking of that polish company in B.
Lacking a flight plan for finding the farkles you seek, I recommend executing a grid search of each exhibit building, in alphabetical order, entering each building from a corner door (and always the same corner door, for instance, the northeast corner door) and hoofing each in the same pattern. Some buildings have interrupted aisles, so you’ll need a degree of improvisation, but having performed the search myself many times (and being proficient in corn mazes) I assure you its doable.
You should also be prepared to take notes. Each of us carries a camera capable of making phone calls and tracking a stock portfolio and it’s perfect for the note-taking task. Take a photo of the object of your desire with the company’s name, grab a business card from them and jot the building number on it. Your first pass through each building is simply to seek and record. My record for reconnoitering all four buildings is 47 minutes. But I have been working out, training for the moment and I wouldn’t expect anyone—especially those sleeping in a tent all week—to come in under 90 minutes. After you’ve scouted all four buildings you can review your notes and decide which vendors to engage further. The best time to do that is in the morning, before the heat of the day triggers the sloths to seek shade.
It’s fun, really. The decisions can be hard but the thrill is in the hunt. Even if you can’t make a decision, you will surely be able to whittle out some contenders and maybe discover others you had never considered. Good luck and good hunting.
