Honoring the Memories of WWI at AirVenture 2016
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Collings Foundation: 1909 Curtiss Pusher -
EAA: J-1 -
Old Rhinebeck: Fokker DVIII (Photo courtesy of Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome) -
Golden Age Air Museum: Fokker Dr.I (Photo courtesy of Golden Age Air Museum and Tim Haggerty) -
Golden Age Air Museum: Sopwith Pup (Photo courtesy of Golden Age Air Museum and Tim Haggerty) -
Old Rhinebeck: Spad (Photo courtesy of Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome) -
June 30, 2016 - In the time we live in, there are aircraft capable of shooting one another down at supersonic speeds and altitudes miles above the Earth’s surface. Some of them fly and fight without a pilot and can achieve an aerial victory without ever seeing one another. That is not how it always was. To get a full appreciation for how far we have come, we must look at where we started.
In the skies over the battlefields of World War I men and machines were pushed to their limits. The aircraft were mainly made of wood and fabric, and had very little in the way of creature comforts. Yet these gritty pilots would push the limits of their aircraft right up to the edge of the envelope. Remarkably they would fly to altitudes of 20,000 feet with no oxygen and often no parachutes. There, for the first time, aircraft would duel in the clouds.
It is with great excitement that we pay tribute to those brave pilots this year at Oshkosh 2016. Located across from Vintage airplane parking at south end of flightline, we are going to have a number of authentic WWI restored aircraft powered by their original engines. There will be a WWI encampment with living history volunteers who will be representing the soldiers and aviators of the World War I. Each day there will be engine runs, flights, presentations by the pilots as well as the National World War I Centennial Commission, and much more. This is your chance to see these rare machines and national treasures up close and personal and in the air!
WWI aircraft that will be at AirVenture this year include: Golden Age Air Museum's Sopwith Pup and Fokker Dr.I, Old Rhinebeck's Spad and Fokker DVIII, Fantasy of Flight's Albatros, EAA's J-1, and Collings Foundation's 1909 Curtiss Pusher.
Weekly Schedule:
Monday, July 25
10:45-11 a.m.: Tom Kozura Engine run
11-12 p.m.: Vintage in Review featuring a WWI aircraft.
8-8:23 p.m.: WWI Full Scale Flying
8:30-9 p.m.: Balsa USA RC Replica Flying
*Speaker Joe Weishaar. Twenty-six-year-old designer of the new National World War I Memorial which will be built in Washington, D.C.
Tuesday, July 26
10:45-11 a.m.: Tom Kozura Engine run
11 a.m.-12 p.m.: Vintage in Review featuring a WWI aircraft.
6-7 p.m.: Flightline Engine Run up (Mass Run Up)
WWI Centennial Commission Speaker, time TBD: Dr. Libby O'Connell with "World War One; Innovation, Change, and the American Century." Multiple Emmy-award winning producer and historian emeritus at the History Channel, Libby's remarks will be focused on the innovations generated in WWI and the war's deep impact on America and the modern world.
Wednesday, July 27
6:30-7 a.m.: Balsa USA RC Replica Flying
7-7:30 a.m.: WWI Full Scale Flying
10:45-11 a.m.: Tom Kozura engine run
11 a.m.-12 p.m.: Vintage in Review featuring a WWI aircraft.
WWI Centennial Commission Speaker, time TBD: Speaker Dr. Libby O'Connell with "World War One; Innovation, Change, and the American Century."
Thursday, July 28
10:45-11 a.m.: Tom Kozura engine run
11 a.m.-12 p.m.: Vintage in Review featuring a WWI aircraft.
6-7 p.m.: Flightline Engine Run Up (Mass Run Up)
8-8:19 p.m.: WWI Full Scale Flying
8:25-9 p.m.: Balsa USA RC Replica Flying
WWI Centennial Commission Speaker, time TBD: Speaker Commissioner Edwin Fountain with “Why World War One Matters." He serves as general counsel for the American Battlefield and Monuments Commission. Edwin has been the visionary of the WWICC and the National Memorial in DC for almost a decade; fought for the legislation that produced the commission and currently acts as the guiding organizing force behind the National Memorial to be built in DC.
Friday, July 29
10:45-11 a.m.: Tom Kozura engine run
11 a.m.-12 p.m.: Vintage in Review featuring a WWI aircraft.
WWI Centennial Commission Speaker, time TBD: Speaker Commissioner Edwin Fountain with “Why World War One Matters."
Saturday, July 30
6:30-7 a.m.: Balsa USA RC Replica Flying
7-7:30 a.m.: WWI Full Scale Flying
10:45-11 a.m.: Tom Kozura engine run
11 a.m.-12 p.m.: Vintage in Review featuring a WWI aircraft.
6-7 p.m.: Flight Line Engine Run Up (Mass Run Up)
WWI Centennial Commission Speaker, time TBD: Speaker Commissioner Edwin Fountain with “Why World War One Matters."
