Attendance Record From 2018 Topped By Nearly 7 Percent

A record number of aviation enthusiasts attended AirVenture Oshkosh 2019 last week. Some 642,000 people came through the turnstiles over the course of the week-long event, an increase of 6.8 percent above of 2018’s record total.

“EAA members and aviation enthusiasts attended in large numbers, and stayed throughout the week. On July 22, we thanked Oshkosh residents for 50 years of support with free opening-day tickets and more than 8,700 of them attended – which equates to 13 percent of the city’s population," said EAA Chairman Jack Pelton (pictured). "Throughout the rest of the week, our efforts to create unique attractions and aviation highlights across the grounds were incredibly successful in creating ‘Only at Oshkosh’ moments.”

More than 10,000 aircraft arrived at Wittman Regional Airport in Oshkosh and other airports in east-central Wisconsin. At Wittman alone, there were 16,807 aircraft operations in the 11-day period from July 19-29, which is an average of approximately 127 takeoffs/landings per hour.

There were a total of 2,758 showplanes, including 1,057 homebuilt aircraft (including a record 592 homebuilt aircraft campsites), 939 vintage airplanes, 400 warbirds (6 percent increase), 188 ultralights and light-sport aircraft, 105 seaplanes (40 percent increase), 62 aerobatic aircraft, and 7 in other categories.

Other statistics:

• Camping: More than 12,300 sites in aircraft and drive-in camping accounted for an estimated 40,000 visitors.
• Volunteers: More than 5,500 contributing in excess of 250,000 hours.
• Commercial exhibitors: 863.
• Forums, Workshops, and Presentations: A total of 1,500 sessions attended by more than 75,000 people.
• EAA aircraft flights: 3,051 people flew aboard EAA’s Ford Tri-Motors, while 3,173 people flew aboard EAA’s Bell 47 helicopters and 669 flew aboard EAA’s B-17 Aluminum Overcast.
• Social Media, Internet and Mobile: More than 17.6 million people were reached by EAA’s social media channels during AirVenture; EAA’s website had more than 2.1 million page views; EAA video clips during the event were viewed 4.5 million times; and EAA’s 2,740 photo uploads were viewed more than 13.3 million times. Additionally, EAA web streams were accessed more than 1.6 million times by viewers in more than 200 countries, who watched more than 315,000 hours of activities from the AirVenture grounds. The AirVenture app was downloaded and used by nearly 47,000 attendees. EAA Radio reached more than 104,000 listeners in 158 countries with 6,735 hours of audio, and more than 47,000 viewers of 405,000 minutes of streaming video.
• Guests registered at International Visitors Tent: A record 2,772 visitors registered from 93 nations, also a record total. (Actual counts are higher since international visitor registration is voluntary.) Top countries represented by registered visitors: Canada (561 visitors), Australia (386), and South Africa (177).
• The Gathering shines: The EAA Aviation Foundation’s annual event to support its aviation education programs attracted some 1,400 people and raised more than $2.8 million dollars that will be focused on EAA’s mission of growing participation in aviation.
• Media: 851 media representatives on-site, from six continents.

AirVenture accounts for $170 million in economic impact for the five counties in the Oshkosh region (Winnebago, Outagamie, Fond du Lac, Calumet, and Brown), based on 2017 University of Wisconsin Oshkosh economic impact study.

“What I’m most proud of this year is how our volunteers, staff, and the community joined to overcome the challenges resulting from the massive storms that hit the airport and campground just prior to opening day. It took a true team effort to meet the additional demands on time and resources to provide services to our members and visitors,” Pelton said.

"“Planning is well underway for next year’s event, including discussions during AirVenture 2019 about possible features and attractions for 2020. In the next few months, we will be finalizing highlights in all areas to make the 68th annual EAA fly-in convention the World’s Greatest Aviation Celebration.”

(Source: EAA. Staff image)

FMI: www.eaa.org