EAA Air Venture July 22-29, 2007

Photography and story by Jim Froneberger

Once again, the last week in July, the aviation world came to Oshkosh Wisconsin for an event that captures the breadth of aviation like no other. At EAA AirVenture 2007 – most of us just call it “Oshkosh” – you could see everything from the simplest ultralight to the super-sophisticated F-22 Raptor; the tiniest homebuilt to the massive C-5B Galaxy; and from vintage biplanes to the latest crop of Very Light Jets (VLJs).

For one week, Oshkosh became the world’s busiest airport, with over 10,000 aircraft visiting Wittman Field and other airports in the area. Included in that number were 2,647 showplanes (985 homebuilt aircraft, 1,014 vintage airplanes, 365 warbirds, 136 ultralights, 117 seaplanes, and 30 rororcraft). Total attendance for the week was estimated at over 560,000 people.

Cessna chose AirVenture 2007 to announce production plans for its new Light Sport Aircraft (LSA), now dubbed the Cessna 162 SkyCatcher, and Cirrus announced a new LSA entry of its own, the SRS. Eclipse surprised everyone by showing up with a new single-engine, four-seat concept jet.

At about 3:00 every afternoon, eyes turned skyward for the daily airshow. From aerobatic stars, to massive warbird extravaganzas, to fly-bys by the latest military jets, there is something for every airshow taste in the skies over Oshkosh. Unfortunately, Friday’s show was marred by the tragic runway collision that claimed the life of Gerry Beck.

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As one of the official events of the USAF 60th anniversary celebration, the Air Force committed significant resources to the show, including the C-5, C-17, C-130, KC-135, U-2, B-2, B-1, and F-117. Both the F-15E Strike Eagle Demo team and the F-22 Raptor Demo Team also spent part of the week in Oshkosh and participated in the daily USAF Heritage Flights. While the small Oshkosh aerobatic box didn’t allow Raptor demo pilot Maj Paul “Max” Moga to do his full routine, he flew an abbreviated, non-aerobatic performance highlighting the climb and turn capabilities of the Raptor.

The famous P-38 Glacier Girl made it to Oshkosh on Tuesday, flying in from Goose Bay, Labrador after engine problems forced pilot Steve Hinton to abandon plans to recreate her original 1942 mission (see August World Airshow News). Also on hand was another P-38, Ron Fagen’s Ruff Stuff which has only recently completed restoration. Ruff Stuff actually had its nose art applied at Oshkosh on the first day of the show.

Making their Oshkosh debut were Sergei Boriak, Gary Ward, Matt Younkin, and Kyle Franklin; and flying her last Oshkosh performance was Debbie Gary. Oshkosh 2007 was also chosen as the debut of a new four-ship act called “The Collaborators” featuring Sean D. Tucker, his son Eric Tucker, Ben Freelove, and Bill Stein. Look for more on this team in a future issue of World Airshow News.

Mark your calendars for July 28 through August 3, 2008 for the next edition of EAA AirVenture. It is truly the World’s Greatest Aviation Celebration!