I was able to snag a flight to Oshkosh, Wisconsin to see the busiest airport in the world (for the week) - EAA AirVenture 2024! Thank you so much to Tony Hurst for making this happen!
EAA AirVenture is the largest airshow in the world, and it was truly a great experience. There were a huge variety of aircraft, from the USAF's new and shiny F-35A and F-15EX, to the venerable B-52 and KC-135 - and that's before even leaving the active duty pad!
The section that surprised me the most was the warbirds, though - it's incredible to see so many of these planes still in good condition, even 80 years or more after they saw service. Flying in a plane with folding wings would be a bit too far for me personally!
My tour of the warbirds was interrupted by the landing of a USMC Harrier jump jet, which was incredibly hilariously loud. They parked the over on the active duty pad, and I was able to come back and see it later in the day along with some CF-18 Hornets.
After that landing, I walked back towards the center and took a meander through some of the more esoteric civilian aircraft, including quite a few with unconventional wing layouts.
And around 1:40 in the afternoon, the ThunderBirds showed up! Only for two passes before they left for their real show to our north, but they're always a great sight.
While this was all going on, I was wandering the vendor areas - it's amazing the displays that some companies put up! I've seen plenty of "planes on a stick" in front of airports, but never with something someone's trying to sell.
And here's the promised Harrier and CF-18 photos!
There had been an airshow going on for a while at this point, but the parts I was more interested in seeing were the C-17 Globemaster III and F-22 Raptor demonstrations. The C-17 is of course enormous, but it was able to land, reverse, and take off in a remarkably small amount of runway.
The F-22 was also loud, but in a slightly different way than the Harrier earlier. Much more variable as the plane turned to have the afterburners face towards the crowd or away from it. It was incredibly maneuverable!
The last things I saw before leaving were a few classic airliners - these were another thing I was amazed to still see flying, and I wish I had had more time to explore them.
Overall, this was a fantastic day trip, and I'm glad I had this incredible opportunity!