The Experimental Aircraft Association’s annual AirVenture in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, is kind of a big deal for pilots.
The weeklong event takes place in July, and for that span of time little Whittman Regional Airport becomes the busiest airport in the world. Thousands of pilots fly in for the AirVenture, with many of them pitching tents and camping next to their airplanes in the fields around the airport. The bustling grounds inside the gates become a mecca for pilots and aviation enthusiasts. Vendors sell all sorts of merchandise, including avionics, pilot gear, books and — yes — airplanes. Hundreds of lectures and presentations on every aviation topic under the sun take place at the pavilions and halls across the venue. Airplanes crisscross the skies above, including aerobatic pilots tracing smoke trails and military jets that seem to rip the air apart as they make low-level passes during an airshow. You can buy all sorts of airplane parts in the air mart, wander down lines of P-51s at Fightertown, examine airplanes from the Golden Age of Aviation in the vintage section, stroll through a field of homebuilts, or walk beneath a B-29 on Boeing Plaza.
This is primarily an event for general aviation pilots, but there are always plenty of historic aircraft around. You can find them in the fields around the airport and see them flying overhead, the throaty roar of their rotary engines sounding like something from another era of aviation. Which, in fact, it is.
So when my friend Tom LeCompte invited me to fly out to the AirVenture with him in his 1962 Piper Comanche, how could I resist? Tom is not only an experienced pilot, he is also an airplane geek and a skilled writer. (His article about the airplane crash that killed singer Patsy Cline appeared in the Autumn 2022 issue of Aviation History. The fact that Cline was a passenger in a Piper Comanche like Tom’s is something I remained determined to forget.) Tom flew down from Massachusetts, picked me up at Capital City Airport in New Cumberland, Pennsylvania, and we headed out on Sunday for Oshkosh. The following photo and videos will give you a taste of what we saw and experienced.
Between July 21-31, Oshkosh’s Wittman Airport had witnessed 18,684 takeoffs and landings, making the control tower’s claim not a boast but a fact. Controllers had their hands full getting all those airplanes in—and out again.
Tom LeCompte’s 1962 Piper Comanche delivered us safely to Oshkosh and home again. The airplane can seat four, but we had it packed to the rafters with camping equipment.
Tom Huntington (left) and Tom LeCompte are en route to Oshkosh in LeCompte’s 1962 Piper Comanche.
On the way out we stopped at Wright Brothers Airport in Dayton, Ohio, for lunch and to keep an eye on the weather between us and Oshkosh. The airport is named after a couple of local bicycle makers.
Lodgings can be hard to find around Oshkosh during AirVenture, so thousands of people opt to camp out by their airplanes. It’s not a bad way to spend a few nights.
North American P-51 Mustangs are in abundance at Oshkosh and you often see them flying overhead or taxiing on the runways. When Tom and I landed at Wittman, the airplane in front of us was a P-51.
This P-40K Warhawk is painted in the “Aleutian Tiger” paint scheme of the 11th Fighter Squadron of the 343rd Fighter Group, which defended Alaska during World War II. The airplane belongs to the Texas Flying Legends Museum.
The F4U-4 Corsair was a carrier-based fighter at the end of World War II, in the Korean War, over French Indochina and in Honduras’ brief 1969 war with El Salvador. The reverse gull wing was a distinctive characteristic.
At Oshkosh, you may get a photo opportunity in the cockpit of a historic airplane. This is a Cavalier, which is a post-war variant of the Mustang that was converted for civilian use.
Appearing at the 2022 show was this meticulously restored Messerschmitt Me-109G-6. The restoration work was done by Midwest Aero Restorations and the airplane’s owner is Bruce “Doc” Winter.
There were North American B-25 Mitchells in abundance at the show. Here’s one example.
Miss Mitchell is a B-25J that belongs to the Commemorative Air Force’s Minnesota branch. The airplane served during World War II in Italy and North Africa and completed 130 missions without losing any crewmembers.
Devil Dog is a North American PBJ, a patrol bomber version of the B-25 used by the U.S. Marine Corps. It is painted as an aircraft of bomber squadron VBM 612.
The C-47 was a military version of the Douglas DC-3. This example, called Yukon Sourdough, is based in Hagerstown, Maryland, and returned to flight status only days before the Oshkosh show.
The Consolidated PBY-5A Catalina is a huge amphibious flying boat. Parked at the edge of the runway at the show, it also provided people with a shady place to sit and watch the activity.
The Boeing B-29 Doc is one of only two Superfortresses still flying. The airplane was a technological marvel, but its complexity led to a difficult design process.
Visitors looking for a break from the summer heat could stop by the EAA’s museum and see the collections there.
One of only two surviving Pitcairn autogiros, Miss Champion in on display at the EAA museum.
Over the course of the week, scores of people offered lectures and presentations. One of them was Gary Powers Jr., who talked about his father, Francis Gary Powers, whose U-2 was shot down over the Soviet Union in 1960.
The EAA built this replica of Charles Lindbergh’s Spirit of St. Louis. It’s on display in the museum.
Many people consider the Beech Staggerwing to be one of the most beautiful airplanes ever built. There were plenty on display at Oshkosh. And don’t park in their row!
After a thorough restoration, this Beech Model 17 Staggerwing returned to the air at the end of 2020. It was originally constructed in 1944 for the U.S. Army Air Forces.
The Howard DGA-6 racing airplane Mr. Mulligan won both the Bendix and Thompson Trophy air races in 1935. This is not the original—the real “Mr. Mulligan” crashed in the 1936 Bendix race. Jim Younkin finished this replica in 1982.
Howards—airplanes built by the Howard Aircraft Corporation—get their name from designer Ben Howard, who founded the company in 1937.
Orthopedic surgeon Buck Toenges commissioned the construction of this Fokker D.VII replica. It was completed in 2009 but did not fly until 2018.
Another beautiful airplane from the Beech stable was the twin-engine Beech 18. The airplane remained in production from 1937 until 1969. It was powered by two Pratt & Whitney Wasp Junior engines. The military version was known as the C-45.
One of the scores of talks during the show concerned this pair of Me-109 restorations. Author Kurt Braatz Zoomed in from Germany to talk about the Messerschmitt and his friendship with Luftwaffe ace Günther Rall. The third ranking fighter pilot of all time, Rall earned 275 victories during World War II, almost all over the Russian Front.
Although not noted as a pet-friendly event, there were cats on hand for the 2022 AirVenture. This one is a Grumman F7F Tigercat. The Tigercat entered service late in World War II as the U.S. Navy’s first production twin-engine fighter. (Aviation History)
An Eastern Aircraft FM-2 painted to look like Edward “Butch” O’Hare’s Grumman F4F-3 Wildcat gets some fuel at Oshkosh. O’Hare was the Navy’s first ace of World War II, but he disappeared over the Pacific in November 1943. Chicago’s O’Hare airport is named after him.
Larger and more powerful than the Wildcat, the Grumman F6F Hellcat took up the role as the Navy’s primary fighter during World War II.
The Grumman F8F Bearcat was the last piston-engine fighter that Grumman produced. Powered by a 2,100-hp R-2800-30W Double Wasp engine, it entered service late in World War II but not in time to see combat. The Bearcat served in French Indochina and later became known as an air racer.
Vietnam-era aircraft were also present at Oshkosh. The Bell UH-1 Iroquois (“Huey”) was a workhorse for the U.S. during the war. In the foreground is a Cessna 0-2 Skymaster, which served as an observation and forward air control during the conflict.
This Sikorsky UH-34D served the Marines in Vietnam and suffered combat damage there.
The British would use the Westland Lysander to drop intelligence agents into occupied Europe. This Canadian-built example didn’t see combat, but the big airplane did serve to tow gunnery targets.
The Douglas DC-3 was a true workhorse and one of the most important commercial airplanes in history. There were several examples at the show, as well as military variants, the C-47 and C-53.
Another look at the DC-3.
The Lockheed Lodestar was a transport airplane that entered commercial service in 1940. The military designated its variant as the C-60. Bill Lear modified some Lodestars into plush business airplanes and called them Learstars.
Most days at Oshkosh began with a display of skywriting. The smiley face in the sky was echoed by thousands of faces in the crowds at the 2022 AirVenture.
Watch the B-29 “Doc” fly over Wittman Airport
Check out the Mustangs at Fightertown
See an F-35 fly alongside a Skyraider and a Mustang
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