EAA Oshkosh 2024
When an American tells you that something is ‘huge’, as European, your curiosity will be aroused. Foe the European used to European standards, there are many things in America that can be considered huge. They have, for example, big cars, big roads, huge houses and skyscrapers in every big city, and even pretty massive portions of food, which after our annual trip to America, we are reminded of when we try to button up our pants. But when our American friend Ed Mautner told us that the Oshkosh Air Show was going to be huge, my colleagues and I knew right away that we definitely had something to look forward to. And it certainly was!
When an American tells you that something
is ‘huge’, as European, your curiosity will be
aroused. Foe the European used to European
standards, there are many things in America
that can be considered huge. They have, for
example, big cars, big roads, huge houses
and skyscrapers in every big city, and even
pretty massive portions of food, which after
our annual trip to America, we are reminded of
when we try to button up our pants. But when
our American friend Ed Mautner told us that
the Oshkosh Air Show was going to be huge,
my colleagues and I knew right away that we
definitely had something to look forward to.
And it certainly was!
We stayed about a fifteen minute drive
from the Wittman Regional Airport, where
this Monday-Saturday air show is held, in
the picturesque town of Fond du Lac on Lake
Winnebago, and attended the show two days,
Tuesday and Wednesday. According to official
statistics, 686,000 visitors (which is a record
number) visited the event over the entire six
days, and more than 10,000 aircraft were on
display. Organizers reported that during the
hours the airport was open for arrivals and
departures, there was an average of 113 of
them per hour.
But Oshkosh is not just an ordinary air
show. In the huge area around the airport, in
addition to several dozen stands with various
refreshments, there were also open hangars
with historic and civilian aircraft, which
visitors could view up close, as well as several
commercial stands set up by small and large
companies alike that promoted their products.
Worth mentioning, for example, is the large
Boeing stand, the beautiful Beechcraft stand,
where visitors were served coffee, or the
large Honda tent with a HondaJet in the middle.
Among the smaller stands, I was interested in
the Dimor Group display, which also includes
the Junkers aircraft brand, and in front of the
stand stood a Junkers A50.
Wittman Airport is also home to the EAA
Aviation Museum, which is filled primarily with
experimental aircraft. The abbreviation EAA
stands for Experimental Aircraft Association.
Thanks to the air show, this association now
has about 300,000 members. It was founded in
1953 by Paul Poberezny, who devoted his whole
life mainly to the construction of home-made
aircraft. In the museum, I admired the Bugatti
Model 100 Racer and a lot of other exhibits that
you simply cannot see anywhere else.
Of course, I was most interested in the
planes that flew into Oshkosh. Next to the
airport, several parking zones were created
for both visitors’ cars and civil aircraft. This
is because visitors from all over the world
traditionally fly in to this event and then spend
a whole week even with their pets along for the
ride, they camp, barbecue, and just basically
enjoy the festive atmosphere. I was surprised
to walk among the parked planes with no
one watching me, no one was reminding me
where I could or couldn't go, or gave me the
evil eye when I took a picture. In short, it was
like paradise for a plane lover. And when the
aerial demonstrations started after lunch,
my colleagues and I sat on the grass and
thoroughly enjoyed them. I was absolutely
fascinated by the part of the show called the
Heritage Flight, where A-10s, F-35As, F-22s
and P-51D Mustangs flew together on the first
day and F-16s on the second. The demo always
included a short display of each of the planes,
and especially the F-22 was really cool! Sadly,
we may have just had our last chance to see
the A-10, as the USAF is claiming it is done with
the type. There is some hope, though, to be
found in the fact that this is not the first time
this has been stated. Evening flying is also part
of the program on Wednesday and Saturday,
and anyone who has ever been to Oshkosh will
tell you that the evening program is definitely
worth attending. And so it was, it was actually
a typical American show full of airplanes firing
off flares, fires, explosions, ending with 600
drones creating different shapes, finishing off
with the American flag at the end. And I have to
admit that even though I'm not American, the
whole atmosphere around me filled me with
a sense of awe.
EAA OSHKOSH 2024
Text: Jakub Nademlejnský
The Eduard contingent in the United States –
Stan Archman, Vladimir Sulc, Jakub Nademlejnsky
and Martin Ferkl in at the front gate to EAA Oshkosh.
INFO Eduard116
September 2024