Visiting Oshkosh has been on my bucket list for decades. Now well into the pension years I never expected to get there. This all changed when a family member very kindly sponsored my trip with Neil Bowden's South African group. This was a dream come true.
Immediately, preparations began to get visas, baggage and camera gear ready. On the 19th of July I flew up to Johannesburg and met up with our tour group. We collected our caps and t-shirts and checked in. A while later we flew out from O.R. Tambo on a Turkish Airlines Boeing 777 to Istanbul. This was the first hurdle for me as I was allocated the centre seat, in the centre aisle. I simply could not move but managed to relocate to an aisle seat which was better but still not ideal. At 2m tall I guess it is to be expected but it seems these days, when people are getting bigger, the seat spacing is getting smaller. I saw many passengers a lot shorter than me battling for space too.
Arriving in Istanbul on a longish layover, Turkish Airlines provide a free tour of the city that, in our case, included breakfast overlooking the Bosphorus. What a magnificent city, sitting in Europe on one side and Asia on the other. It has amazing architecture and a colourful history. The tour was well designed to make you want to go back there to explore properly.
Later we boarded the Boeing 787 Dreamliner that was to take us to Chicago. Well, no dreams for me, see above. When the 'kind' lady in front of me put her seat back it was 20cm from my nose, to say nothing about the crushed kneecaps. If airlines want to cram in as many seats as possible, they should not allow seats to recline.
Eventually we arrived in Chicago and caught our bus heading north on the 260 km trip to Oshkosh. We arrived at the camp at 11 p.m. and Neil and his team were on hand to welcome us. We were given a much-needed meal and we shared a few well-earned beers. Then to our tents for some welcome sleep.
On Sunday morning most of us woke up early and enjoyed the camp breakfast before heading out to explore Oshkosh for the first time (for me anyway!) I set out to try and gauge the layout of the event and in a very short time, I realised that it was going to be impossible to see everything. Wittman Regional Airport, Oshkosh and surroundings are vast. Before I even got to the entrance gate, I was amazed to see the amount recreation vehicles and motor homes that were stretched out as far as the eye could see. It was the day before the official start of the event but there was an amazing amount of activity with arrivals flying in non-stop. I had never seen so many aircraft of all different types in one place before. It was a little overwhelming trying to decide which way to look and which direction to walk in.
I walked for just over three hours that morning before I realised that the first part of my medical agony had begun to manifest itself. I had deliberately chosen to take well-worn in shoes, that had never given me trouble before, but I started to feel pain and returned to camp to check it out. I had inexplicably developed bleeding blisters, a good start to the week. I had to switch to flip-flops and went to the EMS to be patched up. Despite this over the next couple of days my left leg developed cellulitis which became more painful and swollen as the week went on.
In spite my blisters I continued to explore the wonders of Oshkosh. This place is an aviation lover's paradise. I have seen many videos and read many articles on previous years' events but they are unable to convey the full extent of what is on offer. As a photographer it is difficult to decide where to shoot at any one time. There always seems to be something happening elsewhere and I constantly felt I was never in the right place at the right time! If you like aviation you need to visit this place at least once in your life. I met so many people that had made the pilgrimage multiple times. It is truly amazing that the organisers can sustain this event at such a high-level year after year. It is run entirely by over 6000 volunteers who were all friendly and helpful. Everything works like clockwork and all of the grounds were immaculate. Nearly 700 000 people attended in 2024, a record. Nobody crosses the crowd line, even though there are no fences and during the whole week I did not see one piece of rubbish on the ground anywhere.
Firstly, let me describe the South African Camp Klappersfontein, which is the brainchild of Neil Bowden owner of Air Adventure Tours (Pty) Ltd. Neil has been running these tours for over 20 years and in my opinion, it is the best way to experience EAA AirVenture. The camp is situated very close to the entrance gates so there is no need to fight the traffic coming in, as you would have to staying in a nearby hotel. The camaraderie between the South African visitors in camp is one of the benefits of the experience. This year some 180 people were accommodated. The tents are comfortable and can be single or double as required. The camp beds are sturdy and come supplied with new sleeping bags (they are replaced each year). Extra blankets are available on request. All you need to bring is some kind of tent light and a pillow. I did not bring the latter and just used my towel instead. The ablution facilities are a short walk away from the camp and feature hot showers. The camp has its own porta-loos on site. Near the camp is an EMS medical clinic, something I was to use a lot! It is staffed by qualified doctors and nurses who work on a voluntary basis and they do not charge unlike the local hospitals (more on that later). The camp features a well-known bar that has the best prices for alcohol and cold drinks at AirVenture. I know this as I bought a small coke for R90 at the event. The same item in camp cost R20 and a beer was R40. The bar is becoming popular with local campers. The camp has a large open sided communal tent that has charging facilities for cell phones and camera batteries etc., as well as its own WI-FI. There is another tent where breakfast (which is included in the tour price) and for supper (an extra price that is well worth it) are laid out. During the week we had great braais with prime steak and one of which featured Alaskan salmon! This year a special feature was a "fire pool!" only South Africans will get this reference. It was a good place to cool off after a hard day's walking. I cannot praise the organisation enough for their hard work and helpfulness.
The general idea each day is to explore the various displays in the morning such as the warbirds area or Boeing Plaza (favourites of mine), the microlight field or one of the numerous other aircraft type parking areas. Also, it is good to plan a morning visit to the EAA Museum and also the Seaplane Base. The museum is amazing with so much history packed into it. It is well worth a trip. There are numerous free trams (actually two trailers with seats, pulled by tractors) to the museum. These trams run all over the grounds and save you a lot of walking. The seaplane base is a fairly short and inexpensive bus ride away. All the transport is very well organised and runs at regular intervals. The seaplane base is situated in a picturesque cove along on Lake Winnebago that has lots of trees and places to relax and watch the action. It is smaller than I imagined but well worth seeing, especially for us South Africans who rarely see aircraft landing and taking off on water! Lake Winnebago itself is quite large and is 46 km long. They supplied free boat rides to get a closer look at the aircraft in the cove.
The reason I said the exploration of aircraft on display of static aircraft, hangar displays and various talks should be scheduled for the mornings is because every afternoon there is an airshow. Some of the displays are repeated but I found that every day there was something different or surprising in the mix. For photographers it is a dream and for those like me that had never seen some of the aircraft or pilots it was amazing. Also, it should be noted that on Wednesday and Saturday nights they have night airshows that are spectacular and very well attended. This year they had formation aerobatics with lights, aircraft firing fireworks, a fantastic drone display forming various pictures and ground-based fireworks.
The highlight of the week for me, was seeing the Frecce Tricolori. They only made one appearance on Tuesday afternoon but it was really worth seeing. The Italian Air Force team flies Aermacchi MB-339-A/PAN trainers. The team flies an eleven-ship formation, the largest in the world. They have 10 in the team, plus a soloist who joins the formation as well. They put out an impressive amount of smoke in the red, white and green of the Italian flag colours. This adds greatly to their show and makes for spectacular photographs.
The other stand out displays, in no particular order, were: -
The Canadian Snowbirds were great, flying their now aging Canadair CT-114 Tutor jet trainer aircraft. The aerobatic team comprises nine aircraft and they gave a polished display of precision flying.
For me seeing two F-35 (Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightnings), two F-22 (Lockheed Martin F-22A Raptors), seven F-18 (6 x Boeing F/A-18 Super Hornets, 1 x McDonnell Douglas CF-18 Hornet - 4 x Boeing EA-18G Growlers), four F-16 (General Dynamics and now Lockheed Martin F-16C Fighting Falcons - aka "Vipers") and one F-15 (Boeing F-15EX Eagle II) for the first time was incredible. The power and manoeuvrability of these machines is really awe inspiring. Also, the noise they generate on afterburner is truly is overpowering, even with ear plugs it is painful. Seeing the F-35 go from level flight to vertical in a split second is something I will not forget. Also, I believe that there are a number of capabilities that are still secret and not shown during air displays. I am sure my list is not comprehensive but this is what I recall seeing.
Other jet aircraft that arrived were three McDonnell Douglas (Boeing, BAE) AV-8B Harriers from VMA-231 "Ace of Spades" out of MCAS Cherry Point, North Carolina. They flew in on Thursday and out on Saturday. Unfortunately, I missed them airborne but did see the one parked in Boeing Plaza.
Another great formation I had never seen before were four Mikoyan-Gurevich MIG-17 Frescos. Two were actually Polish built versions, designated PZL-Mielec LIM-5.
A great surprise (as they were not scheduled) was a fly-by of the Blue Angels. I was sitting on the flight line chatting to a young Argentinian who said he was disappointed he would not see them. Then out of the blue they appeared less than a minute later! We also had an unscheduled visit by some of the Thunderbirds.
Another aircraft I had not seen before was the legendary "Warthog" (the Fairchild A10C Thunderbolt II). There were two examples flying on display and it was great to see them in "real life!" Other jets seen were the Northrop T-38C Talon, many Aero Vodochody L-39s, a SIAI-Marchetti S11 and the Cessna A37-B Dragonfly. I know I missed the Shooting Stars and I am sure many others.
In the heavy jet category, the most impressive for me was the gigantic Boeing B52H Stratofortress. What an incredible machine its drooping wings overlapping the edges of the runway. It was then moved to Boeing Plaza where it dominated the display. Another highlight was seeing the amazing Rockwell B1B Lancer bomber fly in. There were also two Boeing KC-135 Stratotankers, one giving an in-flight refuelling display. Also featured was a McDonnell Douglas C-17A Globemaster.
Heading the propellor display were the only two Boeing B-29 Superfortresses ("Doc and "Fifi!") still flying! What a privilege to see these iconic aircraft. The museum has a Boeing B-17G Flying Fortress on static display.
The Canadian Avro Lancaster Mk X was a big attraction. I will list some of the other propellor aircraft I found of interest but seriously there are just too many to mention. I have not listed any of the smaller aircraft as this article would be never-ending. North American OV-10D Bronco, Republic P47-D Thunderbolt, Supermarine Spitfire TR Mk. IX, Hawker Hurricane Mk XII, Lockheed C-130H Hercules, many P-51 Mustangs, many Douglas DC-3s (C-47s), Nanchang CJ-6As, Dornier 28, Beechcraft 18 Expeditor, Cessna T-50 Bobcat, Vought Goodyear FG-1D Corsairs, DH Canada CC-138 Twin Otter, B25 Mitchells, Navions, Epsilons and a large contingent of Trojans.
Some of the helicopters featured were at least 8 Sikorsky UH-60M Black Hawks that gave a simulated attack demonstration, a Boeing MH-476 Chinook, a Boeing AH-640 Apache, a Bell UK-1H Iroquois, a Eurocopter-Kawasaki UH72A Lakota and a Hughes MH-6M Little Bird to name a few.
Some of the displays in the afternoon were one of a kind, none more so that the incredible Waco 10 Jet Taperwing now owned and flown by Jarrod Lindemann. This aircraft has a normal Pratt and Whitney 985 radial but a jet engine has been added underneath the fuselage. This engine is a General Electric CJ610 engine like the ones used on the Learjet. This enables the aircraft to accelerate in a steep climb due to the power to weight ratio and to reach speeds of around 400 kph!
There was a great display honouring legendary designer Burt Rutan. It was wonderful to see the many creations of his imaginative work.
Some other displays during the week (not a comprehensive list) were skydiving, EAA warbirds, Jim Peitz (Beech Bonanza), Heritage Flight, Scott Urshel (Red Bull BO-105 helicopter), International Aerobatic Club aircraft, Viper demo, Kyle Franklin (crazy 'drunken' Super Cub flying), Vicky Benzing (P-51 Mustang), Frecce Tricolori, Skip Stewart (Prometheus), Susan Dacy (Boeing Stearman PT-17), Rob Holland (MXS), Titan Aerobatics Team (Texan T-6s), Kyle Fowler (Long-EZ), Jerry Kerby (T-28), Bill Stein (Edge 540), Matt Younkin (Beech 18), A-10 Demo Team, WW2 Airborne demo D-Day Squadron (C-47), Bernie Vasquez (P-47), Phillipp Steinbach (Gamebird), David Martin (Temco Super Pinto), Greg Koontz (Decathlon), Canadian Victory Flight (Spitfire, Hurricane, P-51), Jim Tobul (Corsair), Patty Wagstaff (Extra 330SC), Mike Goulian (Extra 330SC), Seaplanes showcase, Canadian Air Force CF-18 Twin Otter, Snowbirds and many others. The schedule alters each day. During the week there were a number of mass formations, the largest I saw comprised 29 aircraft.
For more photos please go to the photo slide show
As will now be apparent it is very difficult to encapsulate all that is AirVenture in one article. I keep seeing videos and still photos of all I missed. I have not touched on all the acres of visiting aircraft stretching in all directions. I tried to see as much of them as I could but it is not possible to do that in a week. Early in the week I happened to be standing near the 09/27 runway when about 60 Cirrus SR-22s in a variety of colours taxied past me. This is just an example of what you can see if you are in the right place. I doubt if this level of mass arrival happens in many places in the world.
One aircraft I came across in the South 40, sitting inconspicuously among many other aircraft was the Cub Crafters CC-11-160 Carbon Cub SS (Registration N456R). This aircraft was the one that landed on the helipad of Dubai's Burj Al Arab Jumeirah. Mike Patey of Draco fame modified the aircraft for the attempt and it was successfully flown by Polish aerobatic pilot Luke Czepiela. The helipad is only 27m in diameter and is 212m above ground level. The video of this feat is well worth watching. I would have thought it may have been located in a more prominent parking position. How many other unknown gems may I have missed?
Hopefully this gives an example of some of the attractions you can experience at Oshkosh AirVenture. It is simply the largest aviation event in the world. I really enjoyed it and would love to be able to go back and be a bit more organised. Also to have no medical issues next time. As the week went on, I can see that my ability to move around suffered and it also negatively impacted my photography. I am shaky these days at the best of times but this made it far worse! The last Saturday of the show was a bit of a write off for me as I became ill on Friday evening and went to the EMS. I suspected I had heat stroke or was dehydrated. When the EMS closed at 8pm they insisted on transferring me to an Oshkosh hospital as my temperature had not reduced. This was not a good decision financially, as my 18-hour stay cost me the equivalent of R170 000!! I forced the issue to get them to discharge me midday on Saturday. Thank goodness and I was able to catch the flight home the following day. I was not well however, battling with the cellulitis in my leg and the "heatstroke" that was diagnosed at home as bi-lateral Covid pneumonia. On arrival in Durban, I spent the next two and a half weeks in hospital and several more weeks recovering at home. As I write this, I am still having problems with the cellulitis.
Lastly, I would like to thank all the kind people who helped in so many ways. I am only going to mention three people who went above and beyond but there were numerous others who were amazing (they know who they are). First of all, I want to give special thanks to Ray Hollins. He was incredibly kind to me and let me use his mobility scooter on many occasions. Without that I would not have been able to see as much as I did. He also took me to the EMS and sat with me and arranged to collect me from hospital. He and his family went out of their way for me. The other two, Stuart and Laura McDermid, were also fantastic. They somehow got me back home via Chicago, Istanbul and Johannesburg. I don't know how they did it. Laura managed to commandeer wheel chairs at the airports and Stuart carried my very heavy camera bag as well as his own. I really appreciate everything they did for me. There were many other helpers. Everyone in camp was very kind to me giving me drinks and chocolate bars etc. One doctor from Namibia, whose name I regret I don't know, took one look at my leg and gave me a course of anti-biotics from his bag. Others took down my tent and helped me pack up. It was truly heartwarming to receive such kindness thankyou to each and every one of you.
To conclude what are my thoughts of my first EAA AirVenture, Oshkosh. It was amazing! Definitely a little overwhelming at times but an experience I would not have missed. My first reaction is simply the size and scale of the event. As I said before it is impossible to see and experience everything. It is that big. The vast number of aircraft that attend and the quality and variety of them is astounding. Some of the best equipment and best pilots in the world are there but at the other end of the scale the microlight and homebuilt aircraft share the same space and show the diversity of flying machines! If you are an aviator or an aviation enthusiast this has to be one must see event to visit at least once in your lifetime. Maybe it is a good idea not to leave it to my age to get there. The stronger and healthier you are will certainly enhance your experience but if you get the chance, get there no matter how old!
An unforgettable experience never to be forgotten. Thanks to everyone who made it possible.
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