'Up Close And Personal' Sessions Promised

EAA is promising that the daily afternoon air shows at Oshkosh 2006 will be even better for audiences in 2006. The 54th annual Fly-In, which will be held July 24-30 at Wittman Regional Airport in Oshkosh, will feature informal sessions with the top air show performers and others on the event's showcase AeroShell Square.

More than a dozen of the world's top air show performers have already committed to flying at EAA AirVenture 2006. At various times throughout the event, those pilots and their airplanes will be available on AeroShell Square for "up close-and-personal" sessions, allowing air show performers to meet their fans, sign autographs and be available for photos.

"The performers who fly during EAA AirVenture's daily air shows are all headliners in their own right, who become part of an unmatched lineup each year at Oshkosh," said Tom Poberezny, EAA president and AirVenture chairman.

"EAA AirVenture attendees have often asked us for ways to meet their favorite air show pilots in person. EAA will host these popular air show pilots and their airplanes, as well as other aviation personalities, at AeroShell Square, which is the true crossroads of the event."

Among the air show performers who have already committed to be at Oshkosh in 2006 are nearly all of the air show community's top award winners from the past decade. That list includes such luminaries as Sean D. Tucker, Gene Soucy, the AeroShell Aerobatic Team, the Red Baron Squadron, and many more. Exact daily performance schedules will be finalized in the weeks prior to EAA AirVenture.

That list will also be expanded as other top performers confirm their appearances. In addition, EAA AirVenture will feature even more unique aircraft and performances during the daily "showcase" flying schedule that immediately precedes each afternoon's air show.

"Each afternoon's showcase and air show flying create a daily attraction that simply cannot be seen anywhere else but EAA AirVenture," Poberezny said.

"Oshkosh is the place where the airplanes, people and innovations come together each year in aviation's family reunion."

FMI: www.eaa.org, www.airventure.org