Airventure Oshkosh is an annual aircraft festival held each summer in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. The event, which is located at Wittman Regional Airport, is the one of the largest aircraft conventions in the world.
The Airventure is presented by the Experimental Aircraft Association. The EAA is an international organization based in Oshkosh that was founded in 1953 for people who constructed their own private airplanes for recreation. The event was originally called the EAA Annual Convention and Fly-In. However, the name was officially changed in 1995 to Airventure Oshkosh. Despite these fancy names, most of the regular pilots who make the trip each year refer to the Airventure as either The Fly-in, the Oshkosh Airshow, or most commonly, simply Oshkosh.
The Fly-In, which usually starts on the last Tuesday in July, lasts for one week. However, many pilots fly into town four days before the start or stay after the Fly-In has ended. The pilots use these extra days to relax, get their airplanes ready to be shown, and to mingle with the other pilots and airplane enthusiasts. In addition, planning for the main event starts a month before the Fly-In starts, and is done mainly by volunteers.
Well ever 750,000 people attend Oshkosh each year, flying 15,000 aircraft into Wittman Field. So many airplanes are arriving and departing during the Fly-In that the FAA Control Tower at Wittman Field is officially the busiest control tower in the world during that one week.
Many different types of aircraft are on display during Oshkosh, but most of them can be classified in one of the categories below.
Due the the large number of attendees, hotels, guest rooms, and dormitories are always full during the week of the Fly-In. Because of this, most of the visitors stay either in the campground that is adjacent to Wittman Field, or camped beneath their airplane. For the pilots who attend Oshkosh every year, the Fly-In is the chance to see great airplanes, show off their own, and make friends with other pilots who share a love of aviation.