NATIONAL BIPLANE ASSOCIATION

wacoykc · **Posted:** Sat Dec 27, 2008 4:35 pm

It is my understanding that the NBA is folding after the fly-in in June 2009. Anyone else hear about this or know the reason as to why?

Kyleb · **Posted:** Sat Dec 27, 2008 9:26 pm

I saw a thread on another board about this. I think it was second hand information but it seemed to come down to "The same guys have been doing all the work on this as long as it has been done. They are getting older, and there is a shortage of younger folks to take the reins." So they decided to pull the plug before the event diminished.

I"ve never been, so I'll have it on my calendar this year. Clearly, I'll have to land elsewhere and drive in, 'cause they would probably tar and feather me for bringing my RV-6, and there is no way to finish the Hatz by then...

There are a couple of other aviation events that I think could pass in the next few years. The New Mexico balloon festival - it's getting built up in that valley. Also, the Reno Races. The airfield gets crowded in more and more every year. I'm putting one of these events on my calendar each of the next couple of years so that 30 years from now I'll be able to say "You know, they used to race these old WWII fighters out in the desert, and I was there to watch once upon a time.."

tulsaboy · **Posted:** Sat Dec 27, 2008 10:18 pm

Are you talking about the fly-in held in Bartlesville, OK? If so, I know the guy that runs the event every year and I can call him and ask. The website still has the event dates for 2009 and 2010.

kevin

wacoykc · **Posted:** Sat Dec 27, 2008 11:48 pm

Yes...I am talking about Charlie Harris. I got it from a long-time attendee that seems to be in the know that 2009 is the last year for the event.

Airplanejunkie · **Posted:** Sun Dec 28, 2008 6:56 am

The EAA e-hotline reported this last week. The blurb cited:

"ever greater association and event costs as well as declining attendance and generational factors,"

Steve

wacoykc · **Posted:** Sun Dec 28, 2008 9:35 am

I only attended the NBA twice and that was back in the early 1990's. There are several reasons that may have lead to the demise. First and foremost was the time of the year. The first week in June is not a good time to hold a fly-in in Oklahoma. That is normally thunderstorm season and although the weather in OK may be good, the weather for anyone east of the Mississippi is usually crap. We tried or had planned to attend several other times but could never go due to weather enroute. That is why you normally only saw biplanes from just the states surrounding OK. Occasionally others would get through but most airplanes were from TX,OK, MO, NB, CO, KS.

Secondly, they tried to make it bigger by going commercial, i.e. inviting the public, vendors, etc. in order to make it bigger. While that is not always a bad thing, maybe they lost the original intention of it being a biplane gathering.

Dues kept rising while the return was not always there for the money. I belonged off and on from the beginning and found that about all I got out of it was a quarterly newsletter.

One of the things we do with the National Waco Club is not invite the general public. They are allowed to attend and it does not cost anything for parking or admission but we do not publisize it. The gathering is for the members. We do not have commercial ventures come in and set up booths. We concentrate more on the members and their airplanes and try to keep it a very relaxed atmosphere. There is no registration fee, no camping fee and several of the evening meals are provided basically free of charge to members and we subsist on donations for the meal. The airport owner provides gas for usually the cheapest price in the state. Normally, there is alot of flying from dawn to dusk and we get alot of transients on Saturday, the biggest day. We try to keep everything very low-key and maybe that is why we have survived for 50 years. Dues are only $20/year and you get a 12-page newsletter six times per year. We have an excellent website and also host our own Forum which has about 170 owners on it, similar to this one but with alot more technical subjects to help those trying to restore Wacos. We also have all the original sales records and we provide these free of charge to members so that they can see how their airplane left the factory, i.e. colors, interiors, instruments, engine, prop, etc. We also have a HUGE photo collection and can provide lots of photos for those restoring. We make all the manuals available as well for the particular models.

I know this sounds like a commercial for the NWC but I wanted to show what we have done to become successful. We maintain a membership of just over 400 members worldwide and continue to grow every year.

10kDA · **Posted:** Sun Dec 28, 2008 9:44 am

I haven't been to Bartlesville for a few years but I had been planning to go in 09. I have to make that a sure thing. It's always been a great time. It seems that airplane attendance is strongly affected by fuel prices and I remember one year when prices had jumped the previous Spring, there were NO Staggerwings on the field. I would imagine a lot of the owners of the big-engined classics are retired and as such, on a "fixed income" so this is understandable. If fewer and fewer airplanes show up, the reasons for the fly-in start to become less important.

One of the factors mentioned is the cost of the event. As a former EAA chapter president, organizer and chairman of multiple fly-ins presented by our chapter, I saw this coming a few years back. Everything costs more each year but it seems that in recent years the magnitude of the price jumps have been remarkable, especially for insurance. Travel and lodging costs have become issues for spectators and participants and I am sure costs associated with the activities surrounding the Bartlesville event (dinner at the country club, speaker fees, shuttles, etc.) for the enjoyment of the attendees have been going up right along. I saw the term "generational factors" in the report on EAA's hotline - I guess that means the old guys who have been doing all the work are getting tired and there aren't enough new guys stepping in. Time old story - I came to the conclusion that trying to run a fly-in is ideal for somebody who is retired (that would not be me, btw) because a job really gets in the way at times. But anybody who is retired has earned the right to kick back so if someone in that position wants to step down it can't be held against them.

As I understand the press release and other reports, it is the Biplane Expo that will be discontinued after the 2009 event. I haven't seen anything that states the National Biplane Association is going away. Has anyone heard any more info?

Chris

Second Air Force · **Posted:** Sun Dec 28, 2008 11:04 am

Kyleb,

You'll be more than welcome to attend the Biplane Expo with a monoplane. We hangared at Bartlesville for a number of years and can assure you that anyone who wanted to fly in for the Expo was able.

Scott

Roger Cain · **Posted:** Sun Dec 28, 2008 1:13 pm

I have wanted to attend this one for years, sounds like I better plan on next year. Thanks for the heads up.

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