EAA AirVenture Oshkosh (formerly the EAA Annual Convention and Fly-In), or just Oshkosh, is an annual air show and gathering of aviation enthusiasts held each summer at Wittman Regional Airport and adjacent Pioneer Airport in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, United States. The southern part of the show grounds, as well as Camp Scholler, are located in the town of Nekimi[3] and a base for seaplanes on Lake Winnebago is in Black Wolf.[4][5]
The airshow is arranged by the Experimental Aircraft Association ( EAA ), an international general aviation organization based in Oshkosh, & is the largest of its kind in the world. [ 6 ] The show lasts a week, usually beginning on the Monday of the last đầy đủ week in July. During the gathering, the airport’s control tower, frequency 118.5, is the busiest in the world. [ 7 ]
History[edit]
EAA was founded in Hales Corners, Wisconsin in 1953 by aircraft designer & military aviator veteran Paul Poberezny, who originally started the organization in the basement of his home page for builders & restorers of recreational aircraft. [ tám ] Although homebuilding is still a large part of the organization’s activities, it has grown Khủng include almost every aspect of recreational, commercial & military aviation, as well as aeronautics & astronautics. The first EAA fly-in was held in September 1953 at what is now Timmerman Field as a small part of the Milwaukee Air Pageant, fewer than 150 people registered as visitors the first year & only a handful of airBig Sky Filming Locations
attended the sự kiện. In 1959, the EAA fly-in grew too large for the Air Pageant và moved bự Rockford, Illinois. [ 9 ] In 1970, when it outgrew its facilities at the Rockford airport ( now Chicago Rockford International Airport ), it moved Khủng Oshkosh, Wisconsin. [ 10 ] Much of the convention’s growth & prominence on the world stage is credited bự founder Paul Poberezny’s son, aerobatic world champion & longtime EAA president Tom Poberezny, [ 11 ] [ 12 ] who became chairman of the sự kiện in 1977. [ 13 ]For many years, its official name was The EAA Annual Convention and Fly-In. In 1998, the name was changed to AirVenture Oshkosh,[14] but many regular attendees still call it as The Oshkosh Airshow or just Oshkosh. For many years, access to the flight line was restricted to EAA members. In 1997, the fee structure for the show was changed allowing all visitors access to the entire grounds.[15] EAA AirVenture holds nearly 1,000 forums and workshops,[14] in addition to their many vendors which bring a variety of aircraft supplies, general merchandise, and name brand sponsors such as Piper, Cessna, Cirrus, and many others.
The 2020 AirVenture convention & air show was canceled due béo the COVID-19 pandemic. [ 16 ]
Historical aircraft debuts[edit]
Christen Eagle II at AirVenture 2013AirVenture has hosted the debut of numerous revolutionary designs. Richard VanGrunsven debuted his Van’s RV-3 at the 1972 AirVenture Oshkosh, a homebuilt that defined hot nhất ways of aircraft performance. VanGrunsven would eventually go on bự build more homebuilts than anyone else in the world, exceeding the annual production of all commercial general aviation companies combined. [ 17 ] In 1975, aircraft designer Burt Rutan introduced his VariEze canard aircraft at Oshkosh, pioneering the use of moldless glass-reinforced plastic construction in homebuilts, a technique that several aircraft went on bự adopt in the ensuing years including composite commercial airliners. [ 18 ] [ 11 ] At the 1987 AirVenture, Cirrus Aircraft ‘ s founders, the Klapmeier brothers, unveiled the Cirrus VK-30 kit aircraft, [ 19 ] which later led bự the creation of the successful SR20 và SR22, the first designs béo incorporate all – composite fiberglass construction, glass-panel cockpits và airframe ballistic parachutes for use in manufactured light aircraft. [ 11 ] [ đôi mươi ]Other past notable designs introduced at AirVenture include Frank Christensen’s Christen Eagle II aerobatic kit biplane in 1978, [ 11 ] Tom Hamilton’s Glasair một in 1980, [ 21 ] & Lance Neibauer’s Lancair 200 in 1985. [ 22 ]
Attendance[edit]
Aeroshell Aerobatic Team performing at EAA AirVenture 2007
Commercial display at 2011 airshowThe EAA estimated the attendance in 2021 at 608,000 people. [ 2 ] In 2018, 2,714 international visitors registered from 87 nations. There were approximately 10,000 aircraft, 2,979 show planes, và 976 truyền thông representatives on-site from six continents, along with 867 commercial exhibitors. [ 23 ]In the past, attendance at the sự kiện was tabulated on a daily basis rather than on an individual basis. [ 24 ] It is unclear whether this practice still exists at EAA Airventure. For example, in 2006 the Oshkosh Northwestern reported that attendance was estimated at 625,000 by the EAA. [ 24 ] The estimate was for total attendees each day, so sánh one person attending 7 days would count as 7 attendees. The paper estimated that between 200,000 và 300,000 individuals attended the sự kiện. [ 24 ]The large number of aircraft arrivals & departures during the fly-in week makes the Wittman Field FAA control tower the busiest in the world for that week in number of movements. [ 25 ] To accommodate the huge flow of aircraft around the airport và the nearby airspace, a special NOTAM is published each year, choreographing the normal và emergency procedures bự follow. More than 4,000 volunteers contribute approximately 250,000 hours before, during và after the sự kiện. [ 26 ]
The F-35 Lightning II at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2019
Viking Air Canadair CL-215A at AirVenture 2019
Economic impact[edit]
The EAA AirVenture fly-in has a large economic impact on the Oshkosh area as well as the state of Wisconsin. In 1982, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported that the fly-in had a large economic benefit lớn the Fox Valley region. At the thời gian EAA estimated the benefit bự be around USD 30 million ( $ 84.2 million in 2021 [ 27 ] ) & the Oshkosh Convention and Tourism bureau estimated it Khủng be lower, at USD 21 million ( $ 50.6 million in 2021 [ 27 ] ). [ 28 ] In 1989, the Oshkosh Chamber of Commerce said that Winnebago County had a $ 47 million benefit from the fly in. Additionally, a 1987 UW-Oshkosh study reported a $ 65 million ( $ 155 million in 2021 [ 27 ] ) benefit bự the entire state of Wisconsin. [ 29 ]In 2008, a UW-Oshkosh Center for Community Partnerships study showed a $ 110 million economic impact for the Oshkosh area. Of that, USD 84 million was direct impact with a $ 26 million multiplier from secondary spending. Additionally, the fly in provided 1,700 jobs và USD 39 million in labor income for Winnebago, Outagamie, & Fond du Lac counties. [ 30 ] In 2017, it was estimated that the sự kiện had an end USD 170 million economic impact on the surrounding area. [ 31 ]
Air-traffic operation[edit]
FAA tower đội in pink remotely managing departures in 2011
World’s Busiest Control Tower“Control tower in 2009 decorated with banner proclaiming “In 1961, The Rockford EAA airshow had 10,000 aircraft movements. [ 32 ] In 1971, the EAA airshow at Oshkosh brought in 600 planes & 31,653 movements. [ 33 ] Today AirVenture brings in more than 10,000 airplanes. Special air lượt truy cập procedures are used phệ ensure safe, coordinated operations. For example, in năm trước the special flight procedures NOTAM was 32 pages long. [ 34 ]FAA air lượt truy cập staff, including controllers, supervisors, & managers, compete throughout the FAA’s 17 – state Central Terminal Service Area lớn work the sự kiện. In 2008, 172 air lượt truy cập professionals representing 56 facilities volunteered mập staff the facilities at Oshkosh ( OSH ), Fond du Lac ( FLD ), và Fisk. They wear bright pink shirts lớn stand out in the crowd. [ 35 ] [ 36 ]Due mập the budget sequestration in 2013, the Federal Aviation Administration announced that it was not able Khủng send resources bự tư vấn the AirVenture. Rather than cancelling the sự kiện, the Experimental Aircraft Association was forced béo sign a $ 447,000 contract phệ repay the government for FAA resources during the AirVenture. [ 37 ] EAA filed a petition in Federal court arguing that the FAA could not withhold services without specific Congressional action. However, in March năm trước EAA signed a settlement agreement agreeing mập pay the 2013 costs và a further agreement that guaranteed FAA participation for another nine years. The agreement required the association lớn reimburse the government for AirVenture specific costs that had been provided at government expense in the years prior béo 2013. [ 38 ]
Host airports[edit]
[ 39 ]
Technical operations[edit]
Several days prior to the event, members of the FAA’s Technical Operation team from around the Central Service Area arrive in Oshkosh to set up the temporary communication facilities (mobile communication platforms, Fisk VFR approach control and Fond du Lac (FLD) tower). These technicians maintain the facilities during the event and tear down and store the equipment after AirVenture ends.[citation needed]
Volunteering[edit]
EAA AirVenture relies heavily on volunteers[40][41] who arrive in the weeks leading up to the air show. The tasks they perform range from parking cars and airplanes, to painting buildings, to helping set up and tear down concerts and shows presented by the EAA. Long-time volunteers receive free meals, tee-shirts, embroidered patches, and free admission into the EAA AirVenture event.[42][unreliable source?]
National Blue Beret[edit]
National Blue Beret ( NBB ) is a National Cadet Special Activity in the Civil Air Patrol. The sự kiện is two weeks long và is mix up so sánh that the second week will overlap with the AirVenture airshow. Participants are Civil Air Patrol cadet & senior members who must go through a competitive selection process in order mập attend the sự kiện. Participants help conduct sự kiện operations, including flight marshaling, crowd control, & emergency services .
See also[edit]
References[edit]
Further reading[edit]
- Povletich, William. “The Little Fly-in That Could: How Oshkosh Landed the Largest Annual Aviation Event in the World”. Wisconsin Magazine of History, vol. 105, no. 4 (Summer 2022), pp. 24-37.
Source: https://meopari.com
