Attendance Beats '08 By A Substantial Margin

EAA Monday released the final attendance figures for AirVenture 2009 at Wittman Field in Oshkosh, and organizers were very pleased with the results.

Total attendance was up 12% over 2008, according to an EAA news release. 578,000 people came through the main gate or flew in during the week of the show. “When times are tough, people make choices. Those with a passion for aviation made their choice this year … Oshkosh was the place they couldn’t miss in 2009," said EAA president Tom Poberezny. "I've been chairman of AirVenture since the mid-1970s and I have to say we’ve never had a better lineup of airplanes, people and programs than we had this year. I’m pleased EAA invested nearly $4 million in site improvements over the past 11 months, allowing us to handle this year’s increased attendance. We’ve received extensive and positive feedback on those site improvements and enhancements.”

And they came from everywhere. 2,182 international visitors registered from 75 nations, with Canada, South Africa, and Australia the top three nations. The EAA says that figure only includes the folks who actually registered at the international visitors tent, so the true international contingent may be larger.

North 40 2009

More than 41,000 of those attendees camped out, either with their airplanes in the North 40 or at the drive-in campground on the airport grounds.

More than 10,000 airplanes flew into Wittman Field over the course of the show. EAA says there were 2,652 showplanes, the highest total since 2005. That figure includes 1,023 homebuilt aircraft, 1,007 vintage airplanes, 355 warbirds, 116 ultralights, 99 seaplanes, 36 aerobatic aircraft and 16 rotorcraft.

But while the cleanup from AirVenture 2009 is still winding down, Poberezny is already looking ahead to 2010. “This year we highlighted emerging new aviation technology such as electric-powered aircraft," he said. "We will continue the emphasis on those innovations at Oshkosh in 2010. In addition, there are several significant aviation anniversaries next year, such as the 75th anniversary of the DC-3, and further developments in Virgin Galactic’s space tourism efforts.”

With these attendance figures, AirVenture 2009 tracks a trend noticed at other airshows around the country this year. While not all have been successful, overall attendance has seen a marked increase. More people seem to be learning what most of us already know: Airshows are just a heck of a lot of fun.

See you next year.

FMI: www.eaa.org