This is the Greatest Show!

AirVenture is known as the World’s Greatest Aviation Celebration. It is an annual event held on the last week in July at Wittman Regional Airport in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. The week leading up to the show triggers a giant migration of airplanes and pilots from all over the globe. This results in the busiest airspace in the world for one week of the year, as over ten thousand airplanes of every variety vector in to the runways at KOSH. Watching dozens of planes land every minute is a spectacle that many aviation enthusiasts enjoy as much as the daily airshow. People of all ages set up their chairs along the approach end of the flight line to enjoy the controlled chaos.

Upon touchdown and taxi, these planes are guided to their desired parking area on the airport grounds. A big number of these planes become a campsite for the week, sprouting tents and shelters of all shapes and sizes. The planes are grouped in different areas on the airport according to their type and age. General Aviation planes, Warbirds, Homebuilts, Vintage, Showplanes, and even ultralights each have designated areas around the AirVenture grounds.

I have flown to AirVenture in my own plane four times, but we also enjoy camping in our Airstream at Camp Scholler. This campground is also located on the airport property and hosts an overwhelming number of campers. Camping by your plane or in the campground is the best way to immerse yourself into the show. We always meet interesting people when we camp.

We spend the week watching airplanes take off and land, walking around and taking pictures of cool planes, and investigating new products and technologies. There are many other things to do, like seminars and discussions, hands-on training, and even a kid-oriented learning area called KidVenture. One of the most entertaining additions in the past few years has been the night airshow. Planes fly with bright lights and pyrotechnics to create a dynamic show in the night sky. The evening is capped by a great fireworks show. It is something unique to AirVenture.

If you like airplanes, or if you are interested in flying, you owe it to yourself to visit AirVenture at least once.

Next week we plan to be back on the boat to continue our adventure.