Monthly Archives: August 2015
August 10, 2015
Wichita has been claiming the title of the “Air Capital of the World” for nearly 90 years–since it first started appearing on products manufactured in the city during the late 1920s–but it’s compelled to share the spotlight with Oshkosh, Wisconsin each summer during the Experimental Aircraft Association’s annual AirVenture. The week-long gathering of aviation’s most ardent devotees attracts more than half a million people to Wittman Regional Airport and seemingly every available campsite, bed & breakfast, hotel room and rental property in a 100-mile radius for seven straight days focused on defying gravity. And let’s not forget the 10,000 airplanes that blanket Wittman’s “North 40” and all those who camp beneath their wings, too. It’s a festival of flying, an annual mechanized aviary migration that must be experienced to be believed. What’s great about it is that it’s as intimate as it is enormous. It’s like a massive planetary family reunion. No one’s really a stranger at Oshkosh…with the possible exception of the rare bird who happens to show up, however briefly, in a suit and tie. He will be quickly disabused of the notion that anything more formal than khaki shorts and T-shirts are appropriate and, language barriers aside, he’ll be on a first-name basis with virtually everyone he sees in the time it takes him to consume a “Brat and Brew.”
Oshkosh is a great place to conduct business–and have a great time doing it, so it’s no wonder most of Wichita’s aviation companies find an excuse to be there, either as exhibitors or attendees. For those who haven’t had the opportunity to attend or didn’t get to go this year, Wichita Aero Club Board Member Visual Media Group took some time out of their very busy schedule at AirVenture 2015 to vista a few of the other Kansas companies who were also in attendance. They’re also members of the Wichita Aero Club, and we’re extremely proud of our member companies’ presence at the world’s largest aviation gathering. We hope you enjoy this brief look at AirVenture 2015 and will make plans to join us at next year’s show!