Organizing a vintage fly-in

In my experience there are many things that could attract folks to a fly in:  Games and competitions, FAA Wings credit seminars, Aircraft judging, Maintenance and pre-flight competitions, poker runs, guided tours, and local attractions, but the constant seems to be FOOD.  To paraphrase an old quote -  "If you feed them, they will come".  

Another thought, if you are looking to increase local participation consider teaming up with another organization in the area who can attract their own crowd - Sports Car enthusiasts, Motorcycle Nuts, even the Boy Scouts can bring in another whole group of enthusiasts.  Local advertising is also important if you want to attract "civilians".  Most areas have free 'Service Announcement' sites, handbills, posters, etc can be helpful.  Stay away from purchased advertising, though, as it costs more than it produces, usually. 

Good luck and remember the PRIME DIRECTIVE ---- HAVE FUN!!

My previous post concentrated on the pre-fly in prep.  On the big day you will find it helpful if you have a number of volunteers available to guide arrivals to a parking place and welcome them to the venue.   If you are going to have folks register, they should be directed to the registration point which should be set up so people don't have to stand in line to register.  I've found individual registartion cards, as opposed to a sign in log, help speed the process.  A tent on the flight line, even if not needed as protection from the lements, serves as a focal point for folks to gather.  I would also recommend a "Pilots Briefing" to be given a couple of times a day and available as a hand out to make sure all the folks are operating from the same handbook to increase safety of those flying.  Also for safety reasons, a method of separating the 'civilians' from moving airplanes is a must - ropes, engineer tape, etc to clearly mark where pedestrians may go and where airplanes must go.  Excited kids (and adults for that matter) are woefully unaware of spinning propellers.

If you have any specific questions - gimme a whistle and I'll attempt to answer them. 

Have Fun!!