Friends of aviation came out to play at Oshkosh, Wisconsin, during EAA AirVenture 2021 in the last week of July.
The weather threw sunshine, humidity, and storms at the undaunted crowd all week. A touch of long-distance smoke from western wildfires even made an appearance.
Tributes to Air Force Special Operations included aircraft and flight demonstrations involving the simulated rescue of a downed flier.
Another feature highlighted humanitarian aviation, with a classic DC-8 jetliner from the Samaritan’s Purse organization and an eye-saving hospital MD-10 aircraft representing Orbis, an organization that provides global eye care ranging from surgery to training for medical professionals in countries where eye care is an issue.
And, as always, fleets of homebuilts, vintage aircraft, and warbirds filled the grassy acreage at Wittman Field.
Two night air shows — including one rescheduled from a stormy Wednesday to Thursday — lit the skies with LED-festooned aerobatic aircraft and massive fireworks.
Wednesday night’s storms included tornado warnings, leading officials with the Experimental Aircraft Association to open its huge museum to shelter campers for several hours. No reports of major damage — to people or planes — were heard.
Attendees did double takes when they saw a twin-engine RV called TwinJAG, the handiwork of James Tomaszeweski. (Look for a story on the TwinJAG soon).
And the only flying Kittyhawk sport biplane, a product of the Depression era, caught attention in the vintage aircraft area.
Electric aircraft, including the German Volocopter and the BlackFly, showed what they could do in the vertical takeoff realm.
Efforts were made to house fewer exhibitors indoors as one of several pandemic measures.
A number of events were canceled to reduce crowd exposure. Some visitors chose to wear masks, others went maskless.
For many, AirVenture seemed to provide a welcome normalcy after last year’s cancellation due to the pandemic.
And many are already looking forward to next year’s show, slated for July 25-July 31, 2022.
Saturday, was for our Grandson, on his 16th Birthday, the Best.