IMPORTANT UPDATE on Aug 11: The LAX ramp visit has reached its capacity of 500 people. Please continue to RSVP and you will be put on a waitlist and notified if you clear. There is no limit for the main event.
I’ve received plenty of emails from all of you, and I know that you’ve been waiting for final Cranky Dorkfest details. Now that LAX is onboard with this year’s ramp visit, we are all set to go. But… things are a little different this year. I’m going to be as clear as possible.
The events will be the same as last year, and there is no cost to attend, but…
YOU MUST RSVP by the end of the day on Thursday, September 4
IMPORTANT UPDATE on Aug 11: The LAX ramp visit has reached its capacity of 500 people. Please continue to RSVP and you will be put on a waitlist and notified if you clear. There is no limit for the main event.
Morning LAX Ramp Visit
Once again, LAX will be inviting us to come hang out right next to Taxiway A and watch airplanes outside the Flight Path Museum. This year, the event will start one hour earlier at 8am. Why? Parking was a problem last year, so they have now set aside a parking lot on the west airfield with shuttle buses taking people back and forth. (You can also take transit or rideshare, but those details will be shared with those who RSVP once we’re closer to the date).
Let’s talk details:
- What: LAX Ramp Visit
- When: Saturday, September 13, 2025 from 8am to 12pm (but the main event starts at 11am, so… use your time wisely)
- Where: Park at the admin lot on World Way West and buses will shuttle you (but note that though I think we would all prefer the walking option that Bing has generously suggested, but, um, don’t try that) or make your own way without parking to the Flight Path Museum
LAX is going all out this year with even more static airplanes to tour from multiple airlines along with some good giveaways. There will be water and restrooms available.
IMPORTANT UPDATE on Aug 11: The LAX ramp visit has reached its capacity of 500 people. Please continue to RSVP and you will be put on a waitlist and notified if you clear. There is no limit for the main event.
The Cranky Dorkfest Main Event
As always, the main event will be held at the park right across the street from the In-N-Out just off the north end of LAX. If you’ve been before, you know how this goes. Show up, go buy a burger, watch airplanes, and talk shop with your fellow avgeeks. Parking can be tricky here too, but again, rideshare and transit will work as will walking from some areas if you’re willing to stretch your legs.
- What: Cranky Dorkfest Main Event
- When: Saturday, September 13, 2025 from 11am to 1pm
- Where: The park across from the In-N-Out
We will have giveaways from any airlines that participate as usual, but we are NOT going to hand out raffle tickets at the event any longer. It’s a real burden with so many people, and some had decided to game the system and sneak in multiple entries. No more.
That’s why you now have to RSVP if you want to be entered in the giveaways. You can, of course, show up at the park and hang out, but if you have not RSVP‘d, you aren’t going to have a chance at the giveaways.
Oh, one more thing. Did I mention YOU NEED TO RSVP? Can’t click a link, no problem. Here’s the embedded form:
40 responses to “It is Time to RSVP for Cranky Dorkfest (Yes, You Need to RSVP This Year)”
I’m getting a little old to deliberately punish my body in this way, but I’m tempted to do a BOS-LAX roundtrip (12 hours of flying in 24 hours’ total time) for this event again (with a redeye on the return) in the cheap seats, like I did a few years ago when attending DorkFest for the first time. At < $250 for airfare, it's tempting, even when parking at BOS for just over 24 hours would cost me ~$100 (and this type of a super-quick, high-fatigue trip is the only time that I'd consider paying for $$$$ on-airport parking on my own dime).
Not sure whether I'd want to trust a DL 757 (with a scheduled arrival at LAX of 1006a) vs a B6 320 (with a scheduled arrival at LAX of 912a) to get me to LAX sooner and more reliably… Normally I'd choose DL, but both are presumably the first flights of the day for planes and crew, I'm not sure how reliable the 75s are these days, and the difference is an hour, which matters a lot in this context… Thoughts?
There's a good chance I'll wait, watch the fares, and make a decision closer to the event itself, but this is tempting…
Kilroy – Delta runs a good operation in general, so I wouldn’t worry about that. But it just depends on if you want to get in an hour earlier or not
I’ll be doing Delta Friday night from BOS and back Saturday. I do this flight a few times a year and it’s pretty reliable.
Brett,
What are the plans for T-shirt sales this year?
I know you’ve said in the past that shirt sales are a pain to design, organize, and handle, so no pressure, I just have to ask. When I attended DorkFest a few years ago, I met multiple people who were proud to own DorkFest shirts from every year, and the number of “vintage” DorkFest shirts from previous years on display was impressive. :-)
Kilroy – I know people love the shirts, but I just can’t justify doing it this year. Maybe next year I will be able to have people sign up for shirts in advance, then I can order and have them distributed at the event or something. But the costs are pretty high to do it on-demand as I have done, and it’s a real pain having to file sales tax just so I can sell a few shirts. So this year it’s being skipped.
I’m trying to RSVP but keep getting stuck in a loop. Would like to bring my almost 3-yr-old if ok since he’s taken a fascination to aviation.
Amol – Sorry about that glitch. It has been fixed so please try again
Thanks! Was able to sign us all up. Moving back to LAX/BUR area after a decade and I’m glad we’re able to finally catch this event.
It’s still glitching if you have multiple gmail accounts and you want to switch to a specific one. I had to redo it several times before the change took.
Douglas – Hmm, I’m not sure about that one, switching gmail accounts wouldn’t be anything in our programming so it might be a temporary Google error.
Douglas, I remember you did me a solid back at Dorkfest ‘018 giving me a ride back to the horseshoe in your rental vehicle. I have just tentatively booked a non-ICE (electric) rental for a week, so assuming everything goes through, would probably be able to pick you up from your Los Gatos/SJC incoming flight if that saves you from having to rent for one day. Cheers!
Would love to, but going to pass. I’m not real social and this sounds like it would be a real PITA for people like me.
So actually maybe I wouldn’t except for the pictures-of-planes part.
Besides, lighting for photography doesn’t even start to get good until about late October or early November.
So my next LAX visit (if I can swing it) won’t even be until then anyway. But you can still catch my airliner pictures-both vintage and recent on FB in the official LAX spotters group. I’ll just wait for the highlights in both places from here at home 200 miles away.
Matt D – It’s only as social as you make it Nobody is going to harass you to talk to them if you’re just standing there with a camera. This is about having fun, not punishment!
Oh I never meant it to be that way, so don’t interpret it as such. I’m just saying that I tend to be pretty introverted and prefer to just mind my own business. Plus any place where crowds and/or difficult parking is an issue is generally something I’d rather avoid.
And taking airplane pictures IS something I have thoroughly enjoyed for a long time.
Only once have I ever been approached out of the blue from someone unsolicited. And that was at LAX while taking pictures at the hill. Some woman apparently recognized me from FB and said hi. Then she quickly vanished and I never heard from her again.
I found that after entering guest information in the RSVP form, it brought me back to the Guest yes/no question, and had to click No the second time to successfully submit the form. So my form submission says Guest – No, but then has the guest information contained below. Hope it all makes sense for those tabulating responses!
Kerry – We did find a weird glitch that only happened sometimes. Thanks for flagging. It has been fixed, so if you weren’t able to do it, please try again and it’ll be good.
Thanks, Brett. Should I submit again? I selected the option to receive a copy of the form and it’s all there, except my guest button says “No” although the guest name is there. Just don’t want to make more work for you guys or troubles the day of! Looking forward to the event!
Kerry – No you’re good. I went back and updated all the “No” entries to “Yes” if there was a guest name
The DHL cargo plane last year was the highlight, so the more (actual planes we get to tour and inspect) the merrier!
kishoreajoshi – I put in a request this year for them to find a cargo 747, we’ll see if that happens
I do remember we got to see the cargo 747 (-100? -200?) from about 150-250 feet away, but we weren’t allowed to enter it. Of course, the noise when it did take off was both thrilling and deafening. It reminds us why most airports (in richer countries) have banned 707s and just about all 727s…
The best aspect was that despite paying special care to the DHL roller system above the lower cargo area, we could finally understand how *ONE* man can move a heavy pallet from the cargo lifter, all by himself!!
Watching endless JAL Cargo YouTube videos does have its limitations…
Yay, ramp tour!
Question, tough: when we submit the form, should we get an automated e-mail back? Call me paranoid, I didn’t get any error messages but wanted to make sure it went through.
Craig – I see your name in there, so all is well.
Thanks! Just set the rest of the flights for this trip – stopping in Seattle and Spokane before LA. I just booked the last leg (SEA-GEG) and am taking a flight three hours later than I’d originally aimed for so I can get my first A220 in. Now I have to settle the hotels and hire cars, but that part’s easy.
Need an opinion, though: I’m visiting family north of Seattle but also wanted to work in an aviation stop in the area. Which is better, Museum of Flight or the Boeing Factory Tour? I’m leaning toward the tour, both for scheduling (family is 2+ hours north of SEA and I can work the tour in on my way up or back easier) and that I’ve been to Udvar-Hazy, but MoF has a tourable 707/AF1 and that’s a big draw for me.
Anyone have an opinion or suggestion?
Depends what you’re trying to accomplish.
The Boeing Factory tour is short on time inside the factory, and it’s only from one viewing tower of one line(777 classics). The Boeing Future of Flight has a few exhibits but you’ll likely get through those in a short period of time. If you combine your time up at Paine Field with going to the Flying Heritage Collection(which is FREE), that would make your day fuller. FHC has a great collection of military aircraft from WWII to today(along with tanks).
I’m a member of the Museum of Flight and love the place. Last month I played docent to someone visiting for the first time from Australia and we spent 3.5 hours there. Not only you can get inside the 707/AF1, but also a Concorde, 747, & 787. Plus there’s plenty of other aircraft to walk through while you’re there. If you like space history, walking through one of the two Space Shuttle trainers that was used by all astronauts who flew on them is awesome!
Hope this info helps and you have a great time in Greater Seattle!
Isaac
Thanks for the info!
Excited for this and what a fun added bonus for the ramp tour! Well seeing some LAX planes will be cool. I get all my joy from my ramp in Phoenix. I haven’t attended in two years so this should be a nice escape.
Looking forward to this year which sounds like it’s going to give 2019 a run for its money as best Dorkfest ever.
(though to actually do that you have to have Scott Kirby, Robert Isom, or Ed Bastian walking around the park handing out free burgers)
I missed ‘019–was Oscar actually handing out free burgers?
I think he did offer to buy burgers for people, but I think that might have been the year when Delta handed out In-N-Out gift cards? Ed was supposed to be there but couldn’t make it, if I remember right. I do get all the years confused after so many of them.
2013…the second one I believe. Might have been the third…anyway…that’s the total crowd that showed up…
https://www.imagebam.com/view/ME14RHGX
Indeed, 2019 was when Oscar Munoz was personally handing out In n Out Burgers at Dorkfest. He was in town as a USC alum to announce United sponsorship deal with the USC Athletic Department(?). Yes Ed Bastion was supposed to show up as well but had something come up. Here’s a photo of Oscar handing out burgers.
https://x.com/dylan_oakes/status/1170436726822563840?s=61&t=UhCCPx1tbYQFNGS9iRhc-w
Also in 2019 as Brett mentioned, Delta handed out In n Out gift cards. I was able to snag one of those myself for a meal.
Wow! The Dorkfest has really grown. I hope everyone has a fantastic time.
Q: for the ramp tour, is 8am arrival necessary? Considering flying in on JetBlue 9am arrival from BOS
Lance – Nope, people can come and go as they please
Same day as Pan Ann performs in WeHo! It’s going to be an AvGeek Day!
Im so down to go see her!
should we try get a group together?
First time attending, so looking forward to it.
Before booking flights from SEA, is it confirmed that all that have RSVP will be able to join ramp visit?
Bruno – That’s certainly the plan, though we may have to cut it off at some point due to the massive response. But you’ll be fine.