The Experimental Aircraft Association’s AirVenture 2015
I got to take a few days away from the office to visit the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) AirVenture in Oshkosh, WI. For those who aren’t familiar, AirVenture is the largest fly-in and air show in the world. It’s hosted yearly by the Experimental Aircraft Association. AirVenture started as a simple 150-person gathering in 1953 that attracted a handful of planes. Today, over 550,000 attendees from 80+ countries come to listen to 1,000+ educational and training seminars, do business with 800+ exhibitors, and see the 10,000+ planes that fly in from around the world.
I’m no exception! As a Life Member of the EAA and a pilot-in-training, I look forward to my annual pilgrimage to Oshkosh to attend those seminars, do business with exhibitors, and to see some of those 10,000+ airplanes. Here is a tiny look at this enormous festival.
John Deere had a great exhibit of their lawn tractors and large farm tractors. These are especially popular with attendees who have large properties and who own or manage grass airstrips.
Embarer had an excellent display showcasing their family of executive jets. (I just calculated how many more homes I have to sell to purchase an Embarer Legacy 650. It’s … going to be a while.)
Honda brought its brand new HondaJet to the show. It’s a very impressive aircraft, and the HondaJet will do wonderfully if it’s as reliable as its automotive cousins. Honda’s impressive tent also showcased its entire motorcycle family, generators, and yard and snow equipment.
RaceDeck’s booth was in one of the four large hangars. Companies in the hangars tout upscale vacation packages, products and services for planes and pilots, upscale furniture… Basically, anything you can imagine and more! RaceDeck manufactures attractive upscale garage floor protectors. Their panels are designed to protect anything parked in your garage (or hangar!) from extreme weather, wet conditions, or even leaking solvents and fluids.
I’ve been through properties with RaceDeck products installed and they always look very impressive.
Finally, there just a few of the 10,000+ planes at Oshkosh. This picture offers a tiny view of the sheer magnitude of people and their planes that visit AirVenture every year. Photo courtesy of Visit Oshkosh.
If you’d like to plan ahead, the 2016 AirVenture will be held July 25-31. I cannot recommend it enough to anybody interested in aviation or for someone who just wants to see an amazing show.