Oshkosh: The World's Greatest Aviation Celebration Starts Today

The EAA gathers annually with a few of its closest friends for planes in the air and brats on the grill

The Experimental Aircraft Association's (EAA) annual gathering is better known as "Oshkosh" to aviation enthusiasts and every one of them has the event on the bucket list. And for good reason. Imagine a fly-in attracting 7500 airplanes. Imagine 2500 aircraft exhibits, 800 commercial exhibitors, daily world-class airshows, and 500,000 attendee who are "plane" crazy. What organizers call "the world's greatest aviation celebration" will kick off it's sixty-first version today. This map gives readers an idea of the scope and scale of Oshkosh and indicates why the event turns a rather sleepy Wittman Field into the busiest airport in the world for one week each year.

For scale, the runway at the top of the map is 8000 feet long

OTR had the privilege of attending Oshkosh several times in the last decade of his career. Energizing, informative, and significant, the show was a great vehicle for delivering an organizational message to a large, captured, and enthusiastic audience.

Believe me, if any readers have the slightest interest in flying, EAA's AirVenture needs to be on your bucket list.  The event website has plenty of streaming links that will bring you lots of the excitement in real time. I wonder how many hardcore readers who find themselves stuck at home will arrive via Flight Simulator.

Here's wishing everyone at AirVenture 2013 a safe and enjoyable experience. Sure wish I could be there! Next year looks very promising.