Pilots who had arrived early to EAA AirVenture in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, basked in the warm, sunny weather, lying on the grass along the flight line and beneath aircraft wings as they watched their fellow aviators arrive on Wittman Regional Airport’s runways 36R and 36L.
“Welcome to Oshkosh,” the air traffic controller told a group of aircraft that had just landed as he instructed them to taxi to the grass. Loudspeakers along the flight line periodically broadcast the action from the tower for attendees to hear.
While exhibitors were putting the finishing touches on their displays, early arrivals scouted out what would be in store for the week. Damage from a storm early July 18 had been fixed, the showgrounds ready for the droves of aviation enthusiasts expected to arrive during the week.
A yellow Piper Super Cub on AOPA’s exhibit campus attracted a steady stream of admirers, while the 2015 You Can Fly Sweepstakes 152 drew people in for a closer look inside the aircraft.
Rex Taylor of Endeavor, Wisconsin, stopped by the AOPA campus to peek at the bright yellow airplanes. Taylor, who owns an Ercoupe and Lancair had already visited the Ercoupe parking area in the vintage aircraft section, where more than 70 of the classic aircraft were gathered to celebrate its seventy-fifth anniversary. But the real draw for him is the warbirds.
“I appreciate the warbirds,” Taylor said, adding that he planned to make a few different trips to the show, including Friday when the “warbirds do a lot of showing off.”
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