AirVenture Extravaganza Gets Better And Better – Part 1

EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2022 attendance skyrocketed to approximately 650,000 – a new record total. That mark is about 7% above 2021's attendance of 608,000.

The previous high attendance mark was 642,000 in 2019. More than 800 exhibitors participated in the event, along with 797 media representatives from six continents.

"There were several factors involved in the record attendance this year, in addition to the great weather," said EAA CEO and Chairman Jack Pelton. "Programs such as the U.S. Air Force 75th contributed to exciting aerial displays all week, and it was a joy to welcome international visitors back in full force for the first time since 2019."

More than 10,000 aircraft arrived at Wittman Regional Airport in Oshkosh and other airports in east-central Wisconsin. At Wittman alone, there were 18,684 aircraft operations in the 11-day period from July 21 to July 31, which is an average of approximately 121 takeoffs/landings per hour when the airport is open.

Total show planes reached 3,226. That total included 1,375 registered in vintage aircraft parking, plus 1,156 homebuilt aircraft (up 6% over 2021), 369 warbirds (up 5% from '21), 137 ultralights, 87 seaplanes, 77 aerobatic aircraft, and 25 rotorcraft.

More than 12,000 sites in aircraft and drive-in camping accounted for an estimated 40,000 visitors. EAA AirVenture Oshkosh volunteers included more than 5,000 individuals who contributed in excess of 250,000 hours to the event's success.

By almost any measure, Oshkosh (yes, I know it is "AirVenture"-but to most of us older attendees, it will always be "Oshkosh") keeps improving! This was my 27th year in attendance-26 consecutive. We arrived on Thursday-pre-convention.

Experience in prior years showed that the campsites fill up fast-and we brought our motor home, along with four other motor homes owned by EAA members.

It's a good thing we did-the "South 40" filled up FAST-only isolated spots remained by Saturday. Camp Scholler had only limited camper and tent sites left.

As usual, it rained the next day-creating a muddy mess for the vehicles-and leading to some road closures for several days. The GOOD NEWS was that EAA had added gravel base to some of the roads leading from the paved roads-allowing access to much of the sites. Note to prospective attendees: "Always seek the high ground for your campsite!"

EAA is developing additional land for campsites-also allowing pre-registration-reducing the bottleneck at registration. We used the free "Expedited Entry" and sailed right through.

Korbussen busses did a great job of moving people from remote areas to the main gate. SOMEBODY in that organization should get recognition for hiring good-natured drivers-all were friendly-if there was a grouch, we didn't find one!

The tram routes have been improved. From the main gate, the Blue Tram moves people to the flight line and south-a short Yellow Tram moves north to the main exhibit area, and the Red Tram moves people to the Forums and Warbirds area.

The busses from the bus park to the HQ/Museum building operated efficiently-and waiting time was minimal-even with the added number of people making the trip to see the new Education Center. Only suggestion: Since the Museum and the Education/Conference Center are removed from much of the exhibit areas-PUBLICIZE them more! They are air conditioned-a good thing to do on a hot day! Also visit Pioneer Airfield while there-FREE-and not nearly as crowded as the main grounds.

An observation about COVID-19 precautions-we saw very few people with masks on-only a few per day. Hand washing stations were everywhere. Aisles in most of the main exhibit halls were wider, reducing congestion.

"Boeing Plaza"-("show central") had a good selection of BIG aircraft (it's the only place they will fit!") from military transports (C-17) to tankers to the Osprey (combination fixed and rotor wing)-and the Perlan Project (a huge pressurized glider-working on setting the world's altitude record) and its towplane.

On the civilian side, there was the"Eco-Demonstrator" and the Airbus 330-I'm always amazed that these aircraft haul more passengers and have more range with their two huge fan engines than the original 747 did with four! There were the usual displays of nearly every major airframe

manufacturer. The newer and smaller manufacturers have realized the importance of displaying at Oshkosh-there seemed to be more "start-ups" and new announcements than previously.

The FORUMS were especially good this year-I attended even more than I usually do. There were SO MANY FORUMS that I'll repeat my request from previous years-There is so much to be learned from the forums that it is hard to take them all in-since many of the forums are repeated multiple times, how about a note in the program (or even an app) that would allow a viewer to arrange to avoid forum conflicts by taking in a competing forum at a later time?

On the FUN side of the show, the Ultralight/Light Sport/Powered Parachute/Balloon area near the ultralight strip had great attendance-but I thought there were fewer exhibitors. It's nice to note that the enthusiasm for the "just for the fun of flying" segment is doing so well!

The Tall Pines Cafe near the ultralight strip had one of its best years. Several EAA friends that camped with us volunteered every morning-they described working there as "We could barely keep up!"

On a more relaxed note, we made a trip out to the Seaplane Base. I recommend it-the shuttle is only a couple of bucks round trip, and it is a welcome respite from the crowd and congestion at the airport.

The 30,000 square-foot EAA Education Center and Conference Center is something every EAA member can be proud of. Early on, it was conceived as a "Children's Education Center"-but that was too limiting-the education works for ALL AGES! Some members objected to "spending membership money" on the project-fearful that "it will only be used a few weeks during the year."

EAA leadership listened to its members-and decided to seek funding from donations instead-no membership money was used for the center.

They quickly found that there were MANY MORE USES for the center than originally planned. The center houses a dozen Redbird Simulators-full digital and state of the art-they can readily duplicate the panel of many airplanes-and utilize a lot of different displays (something really needed in training today!).

Once that decision was made-additional options became available. One example is "real-world ATC communications."

Far from being just a crude simulator-this one is so good that FAA is even considering using it as an air traffic control simulator. A second use being considered is to make thesimulators available to flight schools-for a fee, schools with pre-arranged instructors can prepare a student and bring them into Oshkosh for simulator training (and to experience the museum and all that EAA has to offer!). It's another example of "Oshkosh as an AVIATION DESTINATION"-good for the student-good for EAA-good for the community-good for the aviation industry.

The conference center is set up to allow reconfiguring the open-air rooms into separate rooms-including PA and visual screens-allowing multiple meetings to be held simultaneously. I saw it in action for myself during the convention.

The former conference center can be reconfigured for food service-separate doors are available for food trucks and storage. The center pays its own way (and THEN SOME!). When we visited during construction in the summer, EAA CEO Jack Pelton mentioned that the public portion would be available for rent for social occasions I was surprised at the number of WEDDINGS already booked-(these are true pilots-getting married at the EAA Museum!) It also helps the Museum staff control the event-when private tours can be arranged, the docents can control the crowd.

Make it a point to visit the Education Center-you'll be PROUD of it! (AND for the EAA staff that actually LISTENS to the member ideas and objections!).

Editor's Note: Jim Hanson has been attending aviation events for half the time since the Wright Brothers first flew-his 60th year. He is unabashed in his AirVenture critique-both favorable and unfavorable (he has been known to say "I told Orville and I told Wilbur....." when the subject is aviation. If you would like to tell HIM a "thing or two," you can contact him at jimhanson73@me.com.