Starting with meager beginnings from September 1953 (a year before I was born) with fewer than 150 registered visitors...the EAA Air Venture of 2012..."The World's Greatest Aviation Celebration" brought over 500,000 aviation enthusiasts including 2,100 international visitors from more than 69 countries to the EAA 1400 acres including the Wittman Regional Airport in Oshkosh,
Wisconsin this week; and my husband and I were two of them. Although we
drove only 30 miles to get to the air show, for many, arriving at
Oshkosh is a
rite of passage that can only be satisfied by being one of the more
than 10,000 aircraft flying in, landing at what becomes the busiest
airport in the world. What brings these visitors on sometimes an annual
pilgrimage is: daily air shows with aerobatics and pyrotechnics, 1000
vintage or antique planes including the most popular war-birds, 1000
home-builts and ultra-lights, more than 2500 show-planes, 800 exhibitors
and more importantly the opportunity to rekindle friendships and celebrate the past, present and
future in the world of flight.
Surprisingly, the small force of 4800 volunteers take on the daunting
task of celebrating the history of aviation with a kinship unknown or
unrivaled anywhere else in the world...right here in Oshkosh, Wisconsin!
In the week long tribute to the "Greatest Generation in the Air" "Super
Saturday"....lets just say "DELIVERED". We started our day at the EAA
Museum after which we caught a bus to the EAA grounds. We took pictures
until our feet hurt and then we caught the 3:30pm "Rockwell Collins
Air Show" and the War-birds Extravaganza including the: "Tora, Tora,
Tora"
aerial reenactment of the
December 7, 1941, attack on Pearl Harbor, presented by volunteers and
aircraft of the Commemorative Air Force that included professional
narration, ground operations, maintenance, pilots and pyrotechnic
experts. Its purpose to create a dynamic interactive historic lesson
about the event that propelled the United States into World War II;
where we did not only see and hear multiple explosions, but also felt
and smelt the smoke and heat of - definitely one of the most dazzling war-bird air show performances ever!
The Canadian Skyhawk's Parachute Team performed not only once on
Saturday but twice: flying in formation performing "para-batics" completing tricks like the Canadian T, Candy Cane, Three Stack Drag and even a Tri-Bi-Side canopy. We
just missed taking pictures of the "Red Bull Helicopter" that does back
flips and barrel rolls (we were standing in line for food, the line was
a mile long and we had to eat sometime) but we did see the performance!
The Rockwell Night Air Show and Fireworks Show started at 8:30pm and
concluded with a "Wall of Fire" that spanned the entire length of the
airfield at 10:30pm. It was an amazing day and ended in an even more
amazing evening! Planes outfitted with lights, smoke and fireworks lit
up the sky including: Elgin Wells, Starjammer Aircraft equipped with
250 super bright LED lights, 5 smoke streamers, fireworks, and a 4,000
watt amplifier and onboard loud speaker; Gene Soucy Airshows, with
fireworks mounted on all four of the wing tips of the ShowCat; and the
AeroShell Aerobatics Team 4 of the best T-6s performing in unison to
music with lights and smoke at dusk. And the weather couldn't have been
more cooperative. I haven't been attending the airshows since the
kids were in middle school, so most of the performances were a total
surprise....now days its close to being on a movie set....very
dramatic....sure to please....I definitely recommend you catch a show
next year! (Hint: Consider Super Saturday, if you can tolerate the
crowds)
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