EAA Airventure is a yearly gathering of the Experimental Aircraft Association, held at the Wittman Regional Airport in Oshkosh Wisconsin. This gathering draws the new, the old, the modern, the vintage and the innovative sides of aviation in a weeklong celebration of all things Aviation. I was fortunate to have been assigned the duty to cover this event by PilotsPost and I look forward to sharing it all here on PilotsPost.
Getting to Airventure is an adventure in its own. This year the Johannesburg group was to travel to Oshkosh via Türkiye on Turkish Airlines. Our travel day started at OR Tambo as excitement filled the air as all the group members arrived to collect the tour hat and golf shirt. With check in formalities concluded it was time to relax before our first flight. A 9 hour stretch between the Southern Tip of Africa to the city that reaches over two continents.
With the 787 roaring down the runway at OR Tambo, the journey to Airventure had begun officially. I settled in for the 9-hour trek next to Andre' Swanepoel, who was the lucky winner of the EAA Airventure competition. This was to be Andre's first Airventure and I could tell that he was very excited to have won and to be on his way to the USA.
Our destination was Istanbul, the capital of Türkiye. A historically significant city with half of the city on the Asian continent and the other on the European side. The city is known for the Bosphorus Strait that connects the Black Sea with the Marmara Sea on the Mediterranean side. Turkish airlines offer passengers stopping over in Istanbul for more than 9 hours a selection of free tours to explore the city and enjoy the hospitality of the friendly locals. I explored the city with PilotsPost editor Willie Bodenstein and PilotsPost Natal correspondent, Brian Spurr.
After a few hours on the ground the tour concluded where it started at the spectacular iGA Istanbul Airport. This impressive facility saw 21 million passengers in 2021. It was also voted the best airport in the world by Conde Nast Traveller in 2024, no small feat!
Our next flight would take the tour group over the Eastern parts of Europe eventually crossing the Atlantic over Greenland and Iceland, coasting around Goose Bay. Greenland experience clear skies and I captured these images of the Apuseeq area. A spectacular sight from high above as I am sure it is from ground level too!
Beautiful views presented as we flew just North of the Chicago skyline on approach to Chicago's O'Hare airport. At one time, I saw another airliner abeam of our 777 on approach, an interesting experience! Also significant is the remnants of the now demolished Meigs Field. An airfield many a Microsoft Flight Simulator enthusiast will be familiar with.
Customs and immigration at O'Hare were a breeze. It was the best immigration experience I have had at this, one of the world's busiest airports. Luggage collection took some time and saw the group leaving for the two-and-a-half-hour drive to Oshkosh right at twilight. Arrival at camp Scholler was around 11pm and Neil Bowden was at the ready to welcome us with his entire set up crew. It was a heartwarming experience to be welcomed so warmly after a long travel day. There may had been some celebrations before some well-earned rest in the already assembled tents.
Sunday dawned with the traditional camp chatter and make handshakes and laughs around the buffet area in camp. After breakfast I took the opportunity to walk to the media accreditation centre to collect the required documents. All credit goes to the EAA Media Team, the process was slick and with the friendliest welcome from the staff taking control of the media accreditation centre!
Thereafter, I had to go and hunt some aeroplanes and other oddities, I captured the following moments on my walk around the grounds. Tomorrow the show starts in all earnest. I cannot wait to bring you more of the action!
