Dan Pimentel, the force behind the Airplanista Aviation Blog, has launched the new “For the Love of OSH” essay competition to help the Experimental Aircraft Association celebrate its 50th anniversary at Wittman Regional Airport (KOSH) in Oshkosh, Wisconsin.
New for this year, the competition seeks 500-word essays from people who have attended the big show to explain what AirVenture means to them. Besides conveying their admiration for the event, those who enter also will get a chance to win part of the $3,200 in prizes, Pimentel said.
This is the 10th year Airplanista will host its #Oshbash Social Media meetup events at AirVenture, he said, adding he wanted to do something special to mark that anniversary as well.
“We are looking for essays that really describe your passion for this event in such a way that it prompts others to want to come to Oshkosh in the future,” he said. “The essay competition is free to enter, so write outside the box, be humorous, add color and flair, and weave a tale that might win you something pretty awesome.”
There will be prizes for the top five essays as scored by a three-judge panel, with the top three winners leaving #Oshbash with an art glass sculpture award ($185 value) donated by Edco Awards and Specialties. Those top three winners will also leave #Oshbash with a pair of Flying Eyes headset-friendly sunglasses ($199 value).
The “ForeFlight Grand Prize Award” winner will take home a Sentry Portable ADS-B Receiver ($499 value), and a one-year ForeFlight Performance Pro subscription ($299 value).
The winner of the “Aircraft Spruce and Specialty First Place Award” will be given a $500 Aircraft Spruce Gift Card.
The essay author who wins the “Sporty’s Pilot Shop Second Place Prize” will take home a Sporty’s Air Scan Aviation Radio/Scanner, as well as other prizes.
X-Plane 11 is sponsoring the third and fourth place prizes, with each of these winners receiving a full X-Plane product key.
All the winning essays will be published on the Airplanista Aviation Blog.
The winners will be revealed July 23 at the Airplanista #Oshbash event, from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. on the AirVenture grounds.
To enter the competition, go to Oshbash.com, read the rules of the competition, and get to work writing your best essay “For the Love of OSH.” All essays must be submitted by July 5, 2019.