What to do at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2016

Last Updated on June 29, 2024 by Datatoys

EAA AirVenture 2016 in Oshkosh is just around the corner. As always, this year features some great events all week long.

1. Bad Wolf Technologies photography contest
If you’ve been to AirVenture before, you know there are plenty of opportunities to take some amazing pictures of aircrafts. This year, make sure to enter our 2016 photography contest. We are giving away great monthly prizes and a grand prize at the end of the year. Show off your photography skill and if you win, you’ll be features in our 2017 calendar.

Enter the photo contest today

2. Third Eye Blind EAA AirVenture Oshkosh Opening Day Concert on July 25
Third Eye Blind, the San Francisco-based band that has sold more than 12 million records with a string of Top 20 hits, will get EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2016 off to an energetic start when it headlines the fly-in’s popular opening night concert on Monday, July 25.

The concert, presented by Ford Motor Company, is free to all AirVenture opening-day attendees and will be held on Boeing Centennial Plaza immediately following the afternoon air show.

3. Canadian Forces Snowbirds
The Canadian Forces Snowbirds, one of the most popular military aerial demonstration teams in the world, announced EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2016 as part of its schedule, which would be the first time the team would be back at Oshkosh in more than 30 years.

Snowbirds Air Show Schedule: First performance is a “practice show” – basically, a full dress rehearsal for the weekend – on Friday, July 29, at the end of the regular afternoon air show. On Saturday, July 30, the Snowbirds will again fly as the final performers in the afternoon air show. The Snowbirds will wrap up their Oshkosh performances on Sunday, July 31, as the closing act in the last air show of AirVenture 2016. Learn more…

4. World’s Largest Flying Water Bomber
The gigantic Martin Mars aircraft, the world’s largest flying water bomber and the last of its kind, will make its first trip to Wisconsin to participate at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2016.

During the event, the massive airplane will be parked near the EAA Seaplane Base on Lake Winnebago, just a few miles east of the main fly-in grounds. It will also fly several demonstrations throughout the week during the daily afternoon air shows.

Martin Mars Air Show Schedule: July 25, July 27, July 29, July 30 evening

The Martin Mars is the largest flying boat ever flown operationally, with a height of 38 feet, a length of 120 feet, and a wingspan of 200 feet (approximately the wingspan of a Boeing 747). Only six of the massive aircraft were built, with Coulson Flying Tankers of Port Alberni, British Columbia, owning the two remaining examples since 2007 and using them as water bombers on forest fires throughout the western United States, Canada, and Mexico. Learn more…

5. Aircraft of Desert Storm Gather 25 Years Later
The aircraft of Operation Desert Storm/Desert Shield, which formed one of the largest air power operations in history, will return to EAA AirVenture Oshkosh in 2016 for a look back 25 years after this massive undertaking.

The commemoration at Oshkosh this year will feature many of the aircraft that were highlighted at the 1991 EAA Fly-In Convention, which attracted many of the aircraft used during Operation Desert Storm. In addition, military commanders of that operation will recall their experiences during that multi-national operation, which began after Iraq’s 1990 invasion of Kuwait.

The aircraft already confirmed for this year’s AirVenture gathering include fighter jets such as the F-15 Eagle, F-16 Falcon, A-10 Warthog, and F-18 Hornet. It also includes such support aircraft as the KC-135, EA-6B, and C-5M. Many of the aircraft used during those operations remain valuable assets for the U.S. military today. In addition, the Air Combat Command F-16 Viper Demonstration Team will fly as part of the afternoon air shows on Friday through Sunday, July 29-31.

On Friday, July 29, Gen. Chuck Horner – who commanded U.S. and Allied air operations in Desert Storm and Desert Shield – will be the guest of honor at an evening “Salute to Veterans” Day program at Theater in the Woods. Horner will be joined by Gen. Gilmary Hostage, who flew combat missions during Desert Storm. Other special guests are likely to join the lineup prior to AirVenture. Learn more…

These are just a handful of the wonderful activities taking place at EAA AirVenture 2016. Visit http://www.eaa.org/en/airventure for all the details.