Record-Breaking AirVenture
By Ian Brown, EAA 657159, Editor - Bits and Pieces, Board member - EAA Canada Council
September 2, 2022 – What a wonderful feeling it was to get back to Oshkosh this year with no limitations. As you may have read elsewhere, it was a record-breaking event with 650,000 attendees, more than the 2019 642,000 and it was clear that in all areas the appetite for all things aviation was never stronger.
Shopping for ice cream, disposable cups,
creamers, paper towels, and what have you.
Events like a focus on youth at our Canadian Tent, strong attendance for many new presenters, and packed audiences for some of the favourites reassured us that “Oshkosh is BACK.” Your Canadian Council has a strong commitment to making AirVenture a success, and it’s on the agenda in our other meetings throughout the year, especially in the spring.
One big plus for us this year was that all the Canadian Tent volunteers and Canadian Council members were all able to camp in the same area, courtesy of Ottawa’s Chapter 245, so a big thanks to them for their hospitality. We hope to be there next year, right behind the massive inflatable movie screen. I’d especially like to mention Bill and Gord Reed for their commitment to making the Canadian Tent such a success. They were there for the set-up and for the tear-down. Jeff Seaborn’s leadership, Kathy Lubitz’ commitment to preparing the Tim’s coffee, Phillip Johnson and the other presenters — everyone deserves a big round of applause so make sure you thank anyone who was a volunteer at AirVenture 2022, at the tent or anywhere.
As usual, thanks go to all our authors, new or old. Once again you’ve put together a great series of articles. It’s quite predictable that this issue should be full of Oshkosh news but perhaps we’ll get some variation in the articles you submit next month. All in all, AirVenture was top notch. We even have a few ideas to make it even better next year.
