An Exciting time at Airventure

Report by Jim Bell
CAHS National Secretary
posted August 2023

Airventure, the Experimental Aircraft Association's annual fly in and convention, is the biggest aviation event on Earth. Over 677,000 people walked through the gates at the Oshkosh, Wisconsin, airport, between Monday 24 July and Sunday 30 July, almost 100,000 per day. Over ten thousand airplanes flew to the Oshkosh airport, the vast majority being privately owned small aircraft like Cessna 172s, Piper Cherokees, and more unusual aircraft like Vari-EZE and Sonex homebuilt aircraft. Each day is filled with seminars, an airshow, multiple flypasts, a short take off and landing demonstration, talks about featured aircraft, and acres of exhibitors selling new aircraft, aircraft supplies, and merchandise. There are areas set aside for specific types of aircraft, and different classes - vintage aircraft, homebuilts, seaplanes, and warbirds. With the increasing shortage of skilled workers, there are now exhibition halls dedicated to recruitment, women, and kids, with programmes for each.

For a week, the airspace around Oshkosh becomes the busiest in the world. Air traffic controllers come from around the US to work in the tower, and normal procedures are out the window. Instead, aircraft are identified by type and colour, and acknowledge instructions by rocking their wings. During the busiest times, three airplanes are landing at once on the two parallel runways, each landing spot being designated by a large coloured circle painted on the runway. Off duty controllers can occasionally be seen walking around the grounds, easily identified by their neon pink t-shirts.

Rare birds flock to Oshkosh. Some of the unusual aircraft to make an appearance included a restored C-121 Constellation once used by General Douglas MacArthur, the Boeing 747 Dreamlifter, the NASA Super Guppy, and a Lockheed U-2 which made two low level passes along the runway before climbing out to 60,000 feet. B-29 Superfortress "Doc", one of only two flying B-29s, flew from nearby Appleton airport, making regular passes overhead. A B-17 Flying Fortress made less frequent appearances. North American Harvards, better known here as T-6 Texans (US Army Air Force and US Air Force) or SNJs (US Navy and Marines), may be rare elsewhere, but not here. Up to a dozen could be seen flying in formation each day, sometimes accompanied by a formation of T-28 Trojans. Formations of P-51 Mustangs and F4U Corsairs appeared daily. The EAA operates two Ford Tri-Motors, which give passenger rides most of each day, along with a Bell 47 helicopter.

Each day, from 2:30pm to 6:00pm, the airshow features world champion aerobatic pilots, formation flights, skydivers, unmanned aircraft, and of course the latest in military and civil aviation technology. F-22 Raptors, F-35 Lightnings, MV-22 Ospreys, and F/A-18 Super Hornets are popular, and noisy, performers. On Wednesday and Saturday evenings, there is a night air show, with specially lit aircraft, lots of fireworks, and the wall of fire to cap off the display.

Seminars are held seven times daily at twelve dedicated pavilions and other locations around the grounds. Subjects cover every type of aviation interest, from introductions to composite construction, to flying the SR-71 Blackbird. Perhaps for the first time, the Canadian Aviation Historical Society made a presentation, on Saturday 29 July. National secretary Jim Bell spoke for an hour on the Avro Arrow: Myths and Reality. Jim reviewed the development of the Arrow, then compared the Arrow's performance to contemporary interceptors, described Prime Minister Diefenbaker's role in the cancellation of the project, and the destruction of the completed aircraft. Over sixty people attended the presentation, nearly a full house. Jim also provided a ninety minute live stream walk about of the warbirds area for the monthly Manitoba Chapter meeting on Thursday 27 July, with detailed looks at the lines of Mustangs, Avengers, Mitchells, T-33s, and many more.

The EAA has posted an extensive photo collection on their Flickr page, here.

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