E A A ’ S attic
Badges, Buttons, and Bands
Just as the EAA fly-in convention has changed over the years, so have admission tickets. Early on a simple red plastic medallion was issued. Attendees fastened it with string and wrote their name on the tape located between the words EAA and
National Fly-in.
By the 1970s the plastic admission badge moved to card stock with a face design that changed annually. Notice the duplicate 1989 tags. Convention-goers who stayed a couple of days or more often had their paper tag made into a durable button.
The radical move to plastic wristbands in the 1990s significantly reduced the number of worn and lost tickets. Colorful
bracelets are still issued each year at EAA AirVenture and worn 24/7, but they are made of more comfortable lightweight
polyethylene fibers.
Badges, buttons, and bands…what could be next? —Kathleen L. Witman
144 AUGUST 2009
