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70 Years of Dreamers and Doers
EAA celebrates its platinum anniversary
BY SAM OLESON AIRVENTURE TODAY STAFF
SEVENTY YEARS AGO, on January 26, 1953, EAA was officially founded. That first meeting took place in a classroom at Gran-Aire Inc. at Curtiss-Wright Airport (now Timmerman field) in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, with 36 pilots and aviation enthusiasts in attendance. Over the past seven decades, EAA headquarters have moved a few times and the annual members convention and fly-in has shifted around, but one thing has remained the same — the organization’s dedication to spreading The Spirit of Aviation. As we celebrate EAA’s platinum anniversary at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2023, each day we’ll share highlights from a different decade of our history.
1960s
1962: The EAA Air Museum Foundation is incorporated in April to permit tax-deductible donations.
1964: EAA headquarters moves from the Pobereznys’ basement to a new building in nearby Franklin, Wisconsin.
1966: The offices at the new EAA headquarters quickly outgrow the building, resulting in a new museum, office complex, and restoration facility being built.
1968: Bill Fornof’s precision flying in a Grumman F8F Bearcat is one of the highlights of EAA’s years in Rockford, Illinois, with the fly-in convention establishing itself as a national draw.
1969: In November, the EAA board of directors votes to move the fly-in convention from Rockford, its home for the past decade, to Oshkosh, Wisconsin.
