Story ID: 
Aviation’s Finest Gather at EAA AirVenture
By: Matt Thurber
Caption: EAA AirVenture brings the entire aviation world to Oshkosh, Wisconsin once a year.
Word Count: 534
The grand aviation cornucopia that is EAA AirVenture is already taking shape at the event’s Midwest home, with campers setting up, grounds under final preparation, and aircraft winging their way to Wittman Regional Airport in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. The Experimental Aircraft Association’s AirVenture officially opens on July 23 and closes July 29.

As usual, the Oshkosh grounds will be filled with an overwhelming number of aircraft, educational sessions, aviation products, show supporters such as Ford Motor and John Deere, as well as thousands of dedicated volunteers and hundreds of thousands of visitors.

A plethora of military aircraft will fly and be on display this year, including the ever-popular Fairchild Republic A-10C Warthog, painted with a 100th-anniversary scheme celebrating the Selfridge ANG Red Devils 107th Fighter Squadron. Two Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightnings will be on static display.

World War II warbirds have their own large display area, but this year nine World War I-era airplanes will form an encampment on the vintage flight line. These include replicas and original aircraft restorations, and on hand will be a Fokker D.VII, Sopwith Snipe, Sopwith Pup, Albatros D.Va, DH.4, Royal Aircraft Factory S.E.5A, Sopwith Camel, Bleriot XI, and a Standard J-1. Some of these will fly during the show.

The smallest twin-engine manned aircraft, a Colomban CriCri, will fly in the Monday and Thursday day and Saturday night airshows, taking off from a Ford Explorer fitted with custom Thule rails to hold the airplane as the car speeds up for the CriCri to take off.

The July 25 and 28 night airshows will feature for the first time a swarm of LED-lighted drones during a 10-minute History of Flight show put on by Great Lakes Drone Company.

One aircraft sure to generate interest is Workhorse Group’s SureFly multi-copter, putting into practice the principles shared by aeronautical innovators who flock to Oshkosh every year. Workhorse introduced the fly-by-wire SureFly manned multi-copter at last year’s show and claims a payload of 400 pounds, range of 70 miles, and speed of 70 mph. Eight rotors are driven by a hybrid-electric power system, and a ballistic parachute provides a backup safety system.

The CAF Red Tail Squadron will be at Oshkosh, honoring the contributions of the famed Tuskegee Airmen. One of the airmen, Lt. Col. George Hardy, will arrive in style in the Veterans Airlift Command (VAC) Millennium Phenom, an Embraer Phenom 100 owned by Mark Holt and painted in airbrushed Star Wars and Star Trek imagery. Visitors can view the fancy Phenom parked on the central Boeing Square during the show. According to EAA, “Holt has dedicated his retirement, and his former corporate jet, to serving and honoring veterans and their families by donating his time and aircraft for VAC flights.”

Of course Oshkosh wouldn’t be Oshkosh without the many experimental amateur-built aircraft that cover the airport grounds and arrive and depart before, during, and after the show. To celebrate the homebuilding movement, volunteers will again this year help build the One Week Wonder, this time a Van’s RV-12iS that will be completed by the time the show wraps up.