Well, another AirVenture has come and gone. It’s surprising how fast a week goes when you’re lost in a sea of aircraft, vendors and a lot ( and I mean a lot) of fellow aviation enthusiasts. This year, they set yet again another record for attendance. Last year they had 677,000 visitors explore the grounds and now this year, attendance rose almost 10,000 people. That’s incredible but for the lineup EAA offered, it was not a shock to see attendance rise like it did. For total aircraft movements, EAA reported that they had 16,500-plus aircraft movements across eleven days which is very impressive. One extra note that I found amazing is the number of individuals coming in that reside outside the United States. It was a record setting event which saw people from 98 different countries sign in at their International Visitors tent. EAA also goes on to state that many people don’t register at the tent so numbers are far greater than the official numbers published. To start things off with this review, I will break it down into two categories: flying displays and static displays.

To begin with the flying portion of AirVenture, it was jam-packed full of military demonstrations and some unique warbird formations. On the military side, there were twelve demonstration teams that preformed throughout the week. They are as followed: the A-10 Demo team on their last year before the deactivation of the team, the F-16 Demo team celebrating the 50th anniversary of the F-16 Fighting Falcon, the F-22 Raptor Demo team Captain (now Major) Sam “Razz” Larson at his last AirVenture as pilot, the F-35A Demo team, the Canadian Snowbirds, CF-18 Hornet, and Canadian Skyhawk Parachute Demo teams celebrating the 100 year anniversary of the Royal Canadian Air Force, the Italian National Demonstration team Frecce Tricolori visiting North America in conjunction with celebrating the RCAF anniversary, the EA-18G Growler team, C-17 Globemaster III for one day, the USSOCOM Parachute team and a NORAD Demo featuring Civil Air Patrol and a Duluth ANG F-16 Fighting Falcon. Somehow they packed ALL of that plus warbirds, homebuilt, seaplanes, and vintage all into a weeks long schedule. Warbirds came out heavy with a once in a lifetime formation of two B-29 Superfortress “DOC” and “FiFi” and the Canadian Warbird Heritage Museum’s Avro Lancaster Mk. X. Warbirds, vintage, homebuilt, seaplanes, and technology demonstrators each flew on a dedicated showcase day displaying the works of the average aviator or company.

On the static front, its hard to start at one place when you have 10,000 aircraft on the grounds. Vintage had a plethora of Cessna 170/175/180 and 190s which are always my favorite to explore. Beechcraft had numerous Model 17 Staggerwings lined up like it was straight out of the 1930’s and early 1940’s. As for homebuilt, they had a large gathering of Rutan aircraft as Bert Rutan himself made an appearance. Several other aircraft lined the north portion of taxiway Papa until you get to Boeing Plaza on the south side and Warbird Alley on the north. Speaking of Warbird Alley, this is where I send a lot of my time throughout the week. Between walking the rows of T-6 Texans and T-34 Mentors to being surrounded by premiere fighter aircraft from WWII in Fighter Town, warbird alley is the place to be. Its also home to Warbirds in Review which is host 2 times daily and features a specific topic each time with unique aircraft and their owners, world renowned restoration companies and then the veterans who flew them or their families. Fighter Town is were I always migrate to because who can beat being around ten plus P-51 Mustangs, a few Corsairs, a couple P-40 warhawks or maybe even a Yak-9 or BF-109! The best part is about it is you never know who or what will show up. If you want something louder, faster or bigger; the jet taxiway holds all the warbirds that can’t park on grass. This is where you’ll see L-39 Albatross crew or the bigger radials like the A-4 Skyraiders or T-28 Trojans. Every year, and no exception this year, that ramp is always full and the action never stops!

Staying on the topic of statics, lets review Boeing Plaza from this year. I was a little critical on the displays put forward last year but this year was not the case. My main focus was 2 aircraft: the C-130H Hercules from the 103d Airlift wing and the AV-8B Harrier II from VMA-231. This was the last showing for the mighty H model C-130 as the airwing was transitioning to the J model. The H model is near and dear as it was where I had ride along opportunities with the 920th Rescue Wing at Patrick Space Force Base in Florida many years ago. As a bonus, the 103d had their aircraft painted in the squadron centennial livery. For the AV-8B, they were on a final tour before deactivating mid-summer 2025. The “Ace of Spades” from MCAS Cherry Point were a “secrete” but word leaked and it quickly became a sought after aircraft to photograph one last time. Other than that, the US Army brought their assortment of helicopters plus the Coast guard brought out their MH-60 Jayhawk. Heavies were a C-17 from Wright-Patterson AFB, the C-130 mentioned earlier and a KC-135 from the Wisconsin ANG down the road in Milwaukee. Trainers included two T-38 Talons: one from Holloman AFB and the other was USNTPS (US Naval Test Pilot School). Fighters saw the first display of the new F-15EX Eagle II from Eglin AFB. Others were a day display of the F-16 Demo Team jet in its 50th anniversary scheme and both CF-18 Hornets for their 100 year anniversary. A few warbirds also graced the plaza in B-29 Doc and Fifi in rotation and the Avro Lancaster. Burt Rutan had a day where several examples of his work were on display.

As for the review portion, I give this AirVenture an A+. From the new restorations in the warbird community to the anniversaries celebrated throughout the week, it was one that wont be forgotten for some time. Just the shear amount of demonstration teams that were scheduled made the flying display worth it. My only downside is how they still handle the warbird portions of the show. They still haven’t quite got a good routine down for the hour long slot they dedicate to them. It does get a little tiring seeing high circle passes not getting lower for the crowd to enjoy. Other than that, AirVenture was as good as of a show that you could ask for. Going into the planning phases for 2025, EAA has a large footprint to fill to make it to the same level as this year. I will say that there are a few large anniversaries next year that EAA could bring light to that could build excitement. There are also several warbirds that are scheduled to come off multi-year restorations that could make an appearance. Airventure Oshkosh 2025 is going to be epic regardless of what the organization puts forth.