Every year in July, Oshkosh, Wisconsin, becomes the world’s busiest airport for a week.
When Paul Poberezny launched the Experimental Aircraft Association in 1953, he could run the gathering of flying enthusiasts and do-it-yourself airplane builders from the basement of his suburban home in Milwaukee, Wis. The group’s first fly-in, which took place later that year, attracted 22 planes and 150 visitors. “We were amateurs,” said Poberezny, who died in 2013.
Not anymore. Since then, the EAA’s annual fly-in, which now takes place in Oshkosh, Wis., has grown into the world’s largest aircraft gathering.
Did you know?
- Every July for a week, Oshkosh's Wittman Regional Airport becomes the busiest airfield in the world.
- Last year, EAA AirVentures Oshkosh, as the fly-in is officially known, attracted 500 000 visitors and 10 000 planes ranging from small, home-built aircraft to a giant Airbus A380.
- The more than 500 000 aviation enthusiasts who attend the event annually spend around $110-million.
- An AirVenture participant can study the latest aircraft and innovations, discover new ideas and techniques from the nearly 1 000 forums and workshops, see aviation's top personalities, or just talk airplanes with people from around the world.
- The Eagles Over Oshkosh sky-diving team set a new Wisconsin state large formation sky-diving formation with 108 sky divers from 15 nations and 23 states represented.
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