Well I finally made the trip to the NEAT Fair.
It was my first time attending and was unsure what to expect. The only thing I knew was what I had seen in videos or read online.

When I arrived and checked in. The people in the camp store were very nice and polite. Answered my questions (probably for the 5th time) and sent me on my way. I was introduced to Tom the CD and promised to stay out of his cross hairs. (We both got a laugh out of that.)

I camped on the flight line. Everyone was extremely friendly. It did not matter who's group you were with or what compound you were staying in. Everyone made you feel comfortable.

I was a little nervous flying with the mountain on the other side of the flight line. It was more than manageable. You just need to be aware at all times and remember to climb when turning out. The flight line starts out wide for the bigger planes and goes narrower for the smaller planes. And it seems to work well. Although I did see a few planes wind up in the woods.

Vendor row seemed a bit empty. I saw lots of spots not being used. The vendors that were there had lots of product and well stocked inventory.

I only ate once at a food vendor. It was very good and the price was reasonable.

There were a few things that I didn't like but I think could be easily fixed.

I was not real fond of the NEAT staffs tent in the middle of the isle. But there show, there rules.

There were not a lot of port-a-johns. More spread out would be nice.

There was a section were the safety fence made an L. The first EZ up was very close to it and guide ropes. This made it extremely hard to get through with planes and other people. Removing that first spot would open that corner a lot and reduce the bottle neck.

The last thing I saw and did not agree with happened on Saturday. I agree with what was said, but think it could have been handled better.

On Saturday during the mass warbird launch. A kid (about 12-14) and his friend put a med size plane up in the micro section. Wrong? yes.... A flight line boss comes running down from the slow flyer line and yells at these kids. Telling them that the section is off limits and so on.
Really? They are kids. I don't think yelling at them was the best way to handle that.

The only other thing that I didn't like. The bath house. It was out of order for a bit and the showers did not look inviting.

With all that said,
The good outweighed the bad. The people were friendly.
I had a great time and plan on attending next year.

-Andrew

On Saturday during the mass warbird launch. A kid (about 12-14) and his friend put a med size plane up in the micro section. Wrong? yes.... A flight line boss comes running down from the slow flyer line and yells at these kids. Telling them that the section is off limits and so on.

That was probably me. If I came across as yelling at them, I'm sorry -- I did talk with the kids and they didn't seem upset. The kids explained that they were prepping for the Warbirds mass launch; I told them that they needed to be in the slow-flyer area when flying that large a model (Apparently a Parkzone T-28).

The kids and I had a friendly talk, after which they went off to the Warbirds launch (which hadn't yet happened). At no time did I berate them; all I did was explain that the area they were flying in was not for such large planes. As far as I could tell, we parted amicably.

By the way, I was impressed by the youngsters at the meet. Several of the kids I spoke with at the Slow-Flyer flight line were courteous, careful fliers (especially the young man, whose name I (unfortunately) didn't get and whose plane crashed when a servo locked up). This, as opposed to the older fliers who, when told no one was allowed to fly beyond the slow flyer area, responded to polite requests to not fly there with belligerence.

CD

Most of the flight bosses and assistants get it. Keep folks safe, keep things moving, know when to step in and when to not to, make sure folks have fun. Offer assistance and guidance. Without the guests and pilots at the event, you have no event.

Having interacted with many of the same guys over the years there are a few it clearly goes to their heads and they have no idea the role. They get off on consistently yelping dribble. Fortunately this is by far the minority.

I know how much work an event like this takes. Its awesome how well it all goes off and how awesome 99% of the workers are.

Tom has no easy job, I have great respect on what he does with this event..

Thanks for your comments Andrew, glad it was a good experience

Originally Posted by weathervane

Vendor row seemed a bit empty. I saw lots of spots not being used. The vendors that were there had lots of product and well stocked inventory.

there were only two vendor no-shows. Killerplanes (one booth space) and Lazertoyz (4 booth spaces). I have no idea (yet) why.

I was not real fond of the NEAT staffs tent in the middle of the isle. But there show, there rules.

there is a VERY good reason for that. we do not want Large vehicular thru-traffic in vendor row. It's a safety concern.

There were not a lot of port-a-johns. More spread out would be nice.

experience! some years 5 is more than enough, I guess this year not... but most of that problem was the south end bath house being down for some time.

There was a section were the safety fence made an L. The first EZ up was very close to it and guide ropes. This made it extremely hard to get through with planes and other people. Removing that first spot would open that corner a lot and reduce the bottle neck.

ya, I have to start that first one a bit farther down next year, my bad.

Tom

Originally Posted by Tom Hunt

there were only two vendor no-shows. Killerplanes (one booth space) and Lazertoyz (4 booth spaces). I have no idea (yet) why.

Tom

You have the space between me and Hobby King marked as Camflite on the map and it was empty all weekend. Did they come but set up elsewhere? it became a parking zone on friday and I had to catch and let people know that it was vendor space when they brought stuff back to the cars. I was so afraid they would show up and not have booth access. Weathervane spent a lot of time in my booth (I was one of the people that convinced him to come) so he probably saw that space vacant all weekend

Originally Posted by coreman

You have the space between me and Hobby King marked as Camflite on the map and it was empty all weekend. Did they come but set up elsewhere? it became a parking zone on friday and I had to catch and let people know that it was vendor space when they brought stuff back to the cars. I was so afraid they would show up and not have booth access. Weathervane spent a lot of time in my booth (I was one of the people that convinced him to come) so he probably saw that space vacant all weekend

Interesting, Paul Gentile came by from Camflite and said he knew where his spot was.....I just assumed he went into the one I assigned.

I will have to rope off vendor areas if not occupied by Thursday next year.

Tom

In fairness Tom, that spot there where the fence made the turn, it was originally pretty tight but almost doable to get through cleanly, but late in the week some people decided to park there and almost completely close off that corner. I think years ago you used to use the orange paint and put a huge box with an X in it there to keep people off that spot.

I recall being near the turn with my canopy years ago and seeing that big X to keep clear of.

As far as Lazertoyz I told them they were sorely missed on their FB page and got this response "Are you kidding I wanted to go there so bad but It was the truck , we would hit a bump on the freeway and t h e front end would shake so bad we would have to stop. Had new shocks put on and it did the same thing .. gave up , next year."

Originally Posted by BrownEyedFool

In fairness Tom, that spot there where the fence made the turn, it was originally pretty tight but almost doable to get through cleanly, but late in the week some people decided to park there and almost completely close off that corner. I think years ago you used to use the orange paint and put a huge box with an X in it there to keep people off that spot.

I recall being near the turn with my canopy years ago and seeing that big X to keep clear of.

As far as Lazertoyz I told them they were sorely missed on their FB page and got this response "Are you kidding I wanted to go there so bad but It was the truck , we would hit a bump on the freeway and t h e front end would shake so bad we would have to stop. Had new shocks put on and it did the same thing .. gave up , next year."

yeah, missed Dan and Angie. Sounds like tie-rod, ball-joints or king-pins. not a fun repair on the road.

Sounds like Dodge death-wobble. Probably best that they didn't try to finish the trip...

Originally Posted by mkirsch1

Sounds like Dodge death-wobble. Probably best that they didn't try to finish the trip...

Its not just MOPAR. Plenty of Fords and GMS .... just saying

Dodge?

Air Force slang had a meaning for 'Dodge'. Please understand that "ground equipment" means gear not used for flight. So, Dodge meant "Dead Or Dying Ground Equipment".

CD