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Thread: Is AirVenture for me?

  1. #1

    Is AirVenture for me?

    Folks, help appreciated:

    I am heavily into Warbirds / Military aviation, but not into general aviation.
    What is the mix at Air Venture? I perceive that GA is very high on the list.
    In short, should I come??

  2. #2
    FlyingRon's Avatar
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    Yes. Airventure appeals to all forms of aviation. Not so much the heavy metal, current military stuff (though there is a bit of that). There is a substantial amount of the historical warbirds (early military aviation, WWII, Korea). You could spend days in the Warbird area alone and don't miss the EAA museum on site.
    A substantial portion of the airshows are dedicated to the warbird crowd.

  3. #3
    Joe Delene's Avatar
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    Yes, it's for you. There is usually a fair amount of astronaut info on display. You have the different entertainment & a bunch of military history(& current stuff) on display.

  4. #4
    FlyingRon's Avatar
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    In addition, there's usually a few forums and book signings, etc.. by military aviators that usually are pretty interesting.

  5. #5

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    If you like the war part more than the bird part, then EAA Oshkosh may not be the best show for you. Something at a military base like Nellis AFB at Las Vegas would be more of the heavy and loud types. Osh usually has a number of current military planes like C-130 , C-5a, F-15s etc on static display at center stage and you can go in some of them or chat with the crew who are usually delighted to be enjoying a summer day in Wisconsin with women in shorts rather than women? iin burkas in some god forsaken place like Afghan.

    If you want to really feel old go talk to some of these kids who look like they are barely old enough to drive, and insist on calling me Sir, and realize they are flying our front line planes, and some have been or are going into combat.

    Meanwhile they are happily soaking up any free food and beer to be had, and I have never heard one complain about the weather or the food or the trafficor the arrival or the housing, etc.

    EAA Osh is probably 90% gen aviation, but in the 10% may be a B-29 or similar, as well as some current military stuff.
    Last edited by Bill Greenwood; 05-09-2012 at 10:51 AM.

  6. #6
    Quote Originally Posted by Bill Greenwood View Post
    If you like the war part more than the bird part, then EAA Oshkosh may not be the best show for you. Something at a military base like Nellis AFB at Las Vegas would be more of the heavy and loud types. Osh usually has a number of current military planes like C-130 , C-5a, F-15s etc on static display at center stage and you can go in some of them or chat with the crew who are usually delighted to be enjoying a summer day in Wisconsin with women in shorts rather than women? iin burkas in some god forsaken place like Afghan.

    If you want to really feel old go talk to some of these kids who look like they are barely old enough to drive, and insist on calling me Sir, and realize they are flying our front line planes, and some have been or are going into combat.

    Meanwhile they are happily soaking up any free food and beer to be had, and I have never heard one complain about the weather or the food or the trafficor the arrival or the housing, etc.

    EAA Osh is probably 90% gen aviation, but in the 10% may be a B-29 or similar, as well as some current military stuff.
    I am a little confused by this reply. My first trip to OSH I counted 21 P-51's parked together in the warbird area. Doesn't get anymore warbirdy than that!

  7. #7
    Ron , Jon and Bill

    Thanks for the replies. Perhaps I was a little too brief on my "likes and dislikes" list.
    Warbirds really float my boat, so into anything military from WW1 to 70s jets. These are my priority. Modern hardware is great, but I am aware that this is not the obvious place to see them.

    Intersted to see that "Osh is probably 90% gen aviation". Are we talking display or static or both?!
    Two ways I can read this:

    1. Will I be a touch bored 90% of the time ? (No offence... Really!) Or
    2. Does the 10% that I will find interesting still amount to such a lot of airoplanes that I will be very happy anyway?

    I have tried to look for a list of warbirds from previous years, but no luck so far.
    Last edited by Wideblueyonder; 05-10-2012 at 10:04 AM.

  8. #8
    MEdwards's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by FlyingRon View Post
    Yes. Airventure appeals to all forms of aviation. Not so much the heavy metal, current military stuff (though there is a bit of that). There is a substantial amount of the historical warbirds (early military aviation, WWII, Korea). You could spend days in the Warbird area alone and don't miss the EAA museum on site.
    A substantial portion of the airshows are dedicated to the warbird crowd.
    In addition, there's usually a few forums and book signings, etc.. by military aviators that usually are pretty interesting.
    Sounds like Ron's reply, quoted above, most directly addresses your interests. There will be a lot of historical warbirds on display, many will fly, especially during the "warbird spectaculars" which I think are Friday and Saturday. Perhaps not quite as many this year as in years specifically celebrating some aspect of military aviation history, but lots more than I, at least, see anywhere else. And there actually are a whole lot of forums on the subject of historical military aviation. No, you will not be bored 90% of the time.

  9. #9
    I'm always amused when people say that AirVenture is not a big warbird show. Perhaps not when it comes to the entire air show portion of the convention, but in terms of attendance of warbirds, AirVenture ranks right up there (in my opinion). It's not uncommon to see 20+ P-51s, 2-3 B-17s, 4-5 B-25s, a Hellcat or two, some Turkeys, a P-40 or three, a couple of P-38s, a gazillion T-6s and T-28s, the list goes on and on. You never know what new, straight out of the shop restoration will turn up. If warbirds are your thing, AirVenture IS a great destination.

    Here's just a small listing of some of the warbird highlights that will be happening this year: Wednesday July 25 - The Greatest Generation in the Air, with salutes to the Doolittle Raiders and Tuskegee Airmen; Friday July 27 - Salute to Veterans day; the CAF's B-29 FIFI; 20th anniversary of Glacier Girl; an SBD-3 recovered from Lake Michigan; a Junkers JU-52; and Tora! Tora! Tora! to name but a few. 2012 is going to be a great year for warbirds at Oshkosh.

    Zack

  10. #10

    Thumbs Up Reply to Zack

    Thanks Zack, very insightful.

    So my point 2. would be true then....?

    By the way, what should I be expecting on "Jet Day?"
    Last edited by Wideblueyonder; 05-10-2012 at 10:08 AM.

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