Top 5 Things to See at EAA AirVenture | Oshkosh
EAA AirVenture
Top 5 Things to See at Oshkosh
For aviation enthusiasts like ourselves, summer wouldn’t be complete without a trip to OshKosh, Wisconsin, home of AirVenture: the Experimental Aircraft Association’s (EAA) famous international event. This massive conference hosts over 10,000 airplanes, plus about a million other aviation-related things, from the beginning of twentieth-century airflight to the most cutting-edge technology.
#1 The War Birds
From the earliest WWI planes to the bleeding edge of technology, the warbirds area tells a story
An enormous section of AirVenture is dedicated to WWII fighter jets, known as the War Birds. But really, this exhibit includes fighter jets from just about every modern war. When you step into this part of the convention, it’s a bit like stumbling into a fan con. There are men wearing soldier uniforms from just about every decade and women dressed as pin-up girls. There are P51 Mustangs, a ton of vintage airplanes, and dudes camping out in old war tents. Basically an entire neighborhood of OshKosh is transformed into a living time capsule.
For a few years, a WWII veteran has volunteered to hang out in front of one of the jets he actually flew during the war. The exhibitors always gussy up the planes before the event, so when you see them, they’re all shiny and new-looking. When we talked to the veteran, he laughed and said, “The plane sure did not look this nice when we flew it…”
You can even get a sneak peek into the future of fighter jets. There’s usually a super serious woman standing in front of a top secret fighter jet that you can only see at OshKosh.
#2 The STOL Competition
Apparently, gravity isn’t a thing here!!!
Short takeoff and landing (STOL) planes are super freaking cool, particularly from a design standpoint. The biggest challenge when designing and building these planes is making them both super powerful and super light. They can take off from 15-30 feet -- usually the length of their fuselage -- and when they do, they’re basically vertical. Most of the planes in the STOL competitions look very steampunk, because they’re made by backyard builders. Think about that. Just a few guys with the same crackpot dream build aircraft that nearly defy physics. And we get to watch them compete with one another.
This year, there are two planes competing: Scrappy and Draco. In our humble opinion, Draco is the most bad*** monster bush plane ever (shoutout to builder Mike Patey. He gets our vote).
The Airshows
Seen em dozens of times. It never gets old!
AirVenture goes all out for their airshows. They do two or three just about every day, which is crazy enough, but they also do one big night show.
During one of the airshows, the warbirds simulate a WWII battle. There are explosions, dives, plane crashes, gunfire, smoke, and a literal wall of fire that erupts after the B29 drops it’s bomb. When it goes off, you see the light, feel the heat, and the sound comes a moment or two later. When that hits you, it’s like a punch to the chest. And then, of course, they play “Proud to Be an American” over the loudspeakers. It’s always a fun show to watch with Germans.
In all the airshows, you can expect to see some amazing aerobatics, and the night show combines aerobatics and pyrotechnics -- seriously, there is nothing cooler than seeing planes flying in and around fireworks. People also love the Marine Harrier jet, which uses an enormous force of sound to hover in one place for about twenty minutes. And one last thing: you can’t miss the “drunk pilot” routine. It never fails to crack us up.
The Seaplane Base
Hang back and chill with the floatplane pilots.
Remember how we said AirVenture is big? Well, it’s so big that after nearly a dozen years, we still haven’t been to the Seaplane Base. According to everyone we’ve ever talked to, it’s part of AirVenture you just can’t miss.
The city of Oshkosh is on a really big lake, so to get to the base, you need to plan ahead. Basically, a bunch of seaplane pilots created a floating base on the lake. Every year, they land their planes, tie them up, and just hang out by the water. Apparently, it has a whole different vibe than the main convention -- a little more Margaritaville, if you will.
CLASSICS
Nostalgia OVERLOAD. We love the vintage area.
The final thing you have to see at AirVenture are the classic planes. This includes planes like the Piper Cub and the Beechcraft, among others. If you ask a kid to draw an airplane, they’ll draw a Piper Cub. They have this timeless design and sweet coloring: yellow with a black lightning bolt. The Beechcraft is a big twin engine plane. There’s an event called the Beechcraft Bonanza, organized by the Bonanza club. It’s a mass arrival, where hundreds of Beechcraft arrive at AirVenture at the same time. When you look out at the horizon, you’ll see hundreds of dots, all of them Beechcraft coming in for landing.
Over the years, we’ve come to realize the main strip at OshKosh isn’t anything special. You can see most of that stuff at any other airshow. But the War Birds, the STOL competition, the airshows, the seaplane base, and the classics are unique to AirVenture. We’re looking forward to being there again this year!
Want to learn more about our studio?
You can read more of our blog, check out our design process, or contact us directly.