AirVenture Oshkosh 2022 Review
It was another record breaking year for AirVenture according to their official published numbers(*) with approximately 650,000 people passing through the gates and more than 10,000 total aircraft visiting the show over an 11 day period from 21 July to 31 July. Amongst these numbers were a record number of vintage aircraft and almost 370 registered warbirds that attended. As the premiere general aviation gathering in the world, every aviation enthusiast had a wide array of aircraft to view, workshops and forums to attend and special guest appearances throughout the week to talk with. This review will mainly focus on the airshow aspect of the fly in.
With 9 airshows situated over 7 days, the main attraction for most attendees would be the airshow aspect of AirVenture. This year's event had a few main themes including the 50th anniversary of Vans Aircraft and the 75th anniversary of the United States Air Force along with numerous smaller anniversaries celebrated at the annual fly-in.
The 50 anniversary of Vans aircraft was celebrated on the opening Monday of the show with a mass arrival of over 100 different types of Vans aircraft. Vans is one of the prominent aircraft manufactures for the general aviation sector and always a staple during the fly-in.
For this, I'm going to dive into some details about the USAF 75th anniversary theme. I would give it a grade of "C-" overall with "C+" for the aircraft they sent for static display and a "D" for the aerial displays. The return of the C-5M after a 4 year absence was the highlight for me static wise. Wisconsin ANG had a huge presence as usual with a KC-135R Stratotanker and an F-16 Fighting Falcon making its final appearance before the 115th FW retires its F-16s to other units and brings the F-35 onboard. Along with these, the Indiana ANG brought two A-10 Thunderbolt II with one being its special painted aircraft "Blacksnake" back for its second visit to the fly-in. Several T-38 Talons from Beale, Langley and Sheppard Air Force Bases respectively also made appearances throughout the week. Others include a CV-22 Osprey, KC-46 Pegasus and a couple T-6 Texan II's. For me, this years' static display was overhyped as several touted aircraft that were scheduled to appear never made it.
For the flying aspect, it was disappointing to say the least. While I love they brought in a couple single ship demonstration teams in the C-17 West crew and the F-35A crew, it was loosely put together after that. The main attraction of the USAF performers for me over the week was the U-2 demo with its 3 passes then an unrestricted climb to head back to Beale AFB. The Louisiana ANG F-15C's from the 122nd FS always brings the noise and they didn't disappoint as 2 aircraft did several missed approaches. Outside a few flybys from a KC-135R from the 128th ARW, there wasn't anything memorable that flew during the week. I would say this was the worst participation in the 7 years I've attended AirVenture.
Now onto what was surprising to me: the participation of the United States Navy and the United States Marine Corps. The best static display overall was a surprise visit from a CH-53E Super Stallion from MCAS New River. The Navy one upped the USAF in the flying displays by bringing the F-35C 2 ship demo team, the EA-18G Growler 2 ship demo team, and a rare appearance from the E-2D Hawkeye 2 ship demo team. The E-2D Hawkeye was my most anticipated military display and they delivered. While there wasn't a huge static presence from the Navy, their flying demonstrations made up for it. Overall, the military presence was above average but definitely lacked in the realm of static displays and hope the EAA crew will rectify that in 2023.
Next up in my review is the Warbird section. This is my main reason on what keeps bringing me back to AirVenture every year. Finding the wide selection of warbirds in one place nowadays is impossible. From 10-15 P-51 Mustangs to 5-10 C-47/DC-3 transports and everything in-between every year, you'll never be disappointed in wondering Warbird Alley. This year brought 369 registered warbirds to the Fly-In. Situated on the north end of the airfield, Warbirds are always a staple every year. One must visit is Warbirds in Review.
Warbirds in Review happens twice daily during AirVenture where they highlight a specific aircraft(s) and have the pilots who flew them in the respective timeframe tell stories, crews who display the last restoration projects to the community or from current organizations who own/fly them today. There were 3 reviews from this year that were a must attend. One being they honored Col. (now Brig Gen) C.E. "Bud" Anderson on his accomplishments. They had Jack Roush's 2 Mustangs ( a B and a D model) plus the Commemorative Air Force's P-39Q Airacobra. All 3 aircraft had markings that Bud flew in World War II.
Next was the debut of the Bruce "Doc" Winter's Messerschmitt Me-109G-6 restoration completed by Midwest Aero Restoration Ltd. One special presenter was Kurt Braatz, a German historian, that joined via teleconference from Germany. This aircraft went on to win the Phoenix Award as well as being crowned Grand Champion in Warbirds. Although this aircraft didn't fly in the warbird section of the daily airshows, it definitely brought the crowds out to see its authentic restoration, included myself.
The last and by far my favorite review was the Gathering of the Cats. Fagen Fighters brought their F6F Hellcat while Lewis Air Legends brought an F4F-3 Wildcat, 2 F7F-3P Tigercat, and an F8F-2 Bearcat. To my knowledge, this was the first time these 4 cats were flying in formation since World War II.
Unfortunately, I have to give a thumbs down the warbirds in the aspect of daily airshows. This year, it was severely disappointing to see what little participation there was compared to previous years. I know there has been a timing issue with warbird displays in the past but the solution of shortening their display time, sending less aircraft up and not parading them in front of crowd lines definitely isn't the solution. These operators come to display their aircraft for the masses and not being in the air hinders them from that goal. Hopefully, EAA again can come to a happy medium going forward.
The last piece I'll review is on the civilian aspects of the show. One thing I was interested in was what aircraft the major US airlines brought in. Delta Airlines brought their Airbus A330-900neo "Team USA" Winter Olympics livery aircraft for static and performed a couple fly-bys before returning to service. According to a Delta representative(**), they said this was the first time any Delta aircraft landed at Wittman Regional which I found surprising yet amazing. United Airlines brought a Boeing 777-200 to preform a capabilities demonstration of their aircraft. The display was a unique view as civilians don't get to see these types of maneuvers. This comes as United is a yearly attendee at AirVenture and supports the Women in Aviation theme EAA has and United's Aviate Academy program. American Airlines also had a presence at this years fly-in. As American is the selected airline that does the yearly Honor Flight to Washington D.C. They brought their Airbus A321 Medal of Honor livery named Flagship Valor. To top off the airlines, Boeing themselves brought their "new" 777-200 SAF (Sustainable Aviation Fuel) research testbed platform for static display early in the week. Boeing has always been a major title sponsor of AirVenture over the years and Boeing always sends products to showcase to the community. Other civilian performers included Matt Younkin, Jim Peitz, Kyle Franklin, Michael Goulian, Jessy Panzer, Patty Wagstaff, Randy Ball and many others fly their routines multiple times during the week.
The last thing I will review is the twilight/night airshows. Normally on Wednesday and Saturday night of the airshow week, the night show brings a different mood to the grounds. Single ship military demo teams preform their acts in the twilight portion of the show. As the night goes on, civilian acts like Bob Carlton, Red Line Airshows, Matt Younkin, and Nate Hammond attach pyrotechnics, strobe lights and LED lightbars to light up the night sky. To end the evening festivities, EAA puts on an extravagant fireworks show that lasts 15-20 minutes complete with fire pyro and this year, Nate Hammond actually flew around the fireworks display. On the other nights outside the night shows, the Twilight Flight Fest out at the Ultralight field on the south end of the airfield brings nightly RC demonstrations, STOL competitions, para-gliders and other ultra-light aircraft as well as a balloon glow launch. Attending these nightly shows is a great way to wind down after a full day of activities.
Now, this was just a quick overview of the airshow aspect of AirVenture Oshkosh. There are a slew of activities that one can attend from workshops and forums to the 100's of vendors and aviation themed organizations that on can talk with and learn about their products. The main theme for EAA AirVenture Oshkosh is obviously about the normal aviation fan gathering in one place for a weeks time and sharing stories and good times in what everyone comes to have in common: Flying!
I look forward to AirVenture Oshkosh 2023!
