See You at the Canadian Tent!

July 2017 - By the time you read this it will be a little over a week until EAA AirVenture Oshkosh. The greatest fly-in in the world is happening, and we will once again be having a free Canadian members breakfast in a tent next to the Nature Center (or as we like to say Centre) on Wednesday morning, July 26, starting at 7:30. Last year’s event was extremely well-attended, and you can pick up tickets for this year’s breakfast at, guess where, the Canadian Tent.

What is the Canadian Tent?

Well, it’s a tent, and it’s Canadian, eh? It’s the tent where we hold our forums, not the breakfast. It is provided for our members by EAA, but managed by your EAA Canadian Council led by Jack Dueck and his team, with excellent support from Cory Puuri and Charlie Becker at EAA headquarters. All of the forums and events held there are planned and presented by the council to promote Canadian flight to both Canadians and visitors.

Where is the Canadian Tent?

It is right next to the International Visitors Tent, facing the EAA merchandise store just at the foot of the control tower. The AirVenture 2017 app is now available and can help you find directions to the tent, or just look for lots 400/401 on your AirVenture map!

Why do we have a Canadian Tent?

Since the first EAA fly-in convention, Canadian visitors have always outnumbered all other foreign visitors. It was realized a while ago that there was a need to provide a space where forums specifically relating to building, buying, and flying aircraft in Canada were held. There was also interest from those planning to travel to Canada or simply to understand the differences in flying in Canada.

Who organizes the Canadian Tent?

The Canadian Council members, with help from EAA, arrive early and spend their energies setting up the tent, signage, and display aircraft; putting up and cleaning chairs; and making sure that it’s always “better than ever.” If you’re at a loose end before the start of the show, why not show up and lend a hand? This year we plan to reorganize the seating, have better chairs, and provide roughly double the capacity.

The sometimes-overflowing Canadian Tent.

We will open the tent to our Canadian members and friends with free Tim Hortons coffee and doughnuts on Monday at 8 a.m. Stop by and say hello to your Canadian Council members: Chairman Jack Dueck, Jeff Seaborne, Paul Dyck, Ed Lubitz, Lloyd Richards, and your newsletter editor, Ian Brown. You may remember that last year we were delighted to be able to sponsor an ice cream social hosted by the Snowbirds, and we’ll be hosting one yet again on Thursday at 4 p.m., no tickets required.

What’s going on at the Canadian Tent?

Forums are presented every morning except Sunday, beginning at 10. As an added attraction this year, we plan to keep our projector busy showing videos and still pictures of aviation in our great country. Our friends at C-PLAN, EAA’s Mississauga-based insurer for Canadian members, will also be at our tent ready to give members a quote and answer questions at any time. If you attend the risk management seminar on Tuesday or Thursday at 10 a.m. you will be eligible for a discount on your purchase of C-PLAN aircraft insurance.

Here is a sneak peek at the forums, but make sure you check the latest information when you arrive for any changes.

Note that the AirVenture App will show you the times of the events in your local time zone.  Make sure that you correct for that when planning what forums to attend.  Once you are there you will have no problems but if you make a note in your diary, the times shown in the app are for wherever you happen to be when you are reading them. 

Also note that the AirVenture App is not linked to the EAA website My Itinerary, so you can not import your itinerary from EAA.org to the AirVenture App.