Two shows, one love

The wait is nearly over… thank goodness! For something that had been a regular annual ritual for many aviation enthusiasts including me, the opportunity to finally make a return to EAA AirVenture, Oshkosh, after what’s been a three year hiatus for us overseas visitors, leaves me feeling pretty excited.

It’s a show like no other, and it really is like living in some all-consuming aviation world for an entire week. The numbers, like the Oshkosh Airport site, are huge, with more than 10,000 aircraft and 500,000-plus visitors visiting Wittman Regional Airport during the week-long event.

It’s an opportunity to see some of the newest designs in the world of homebuilding, plus an array of vintage and classic rarities, some of which will, without fail, cause someone to utter the phrase, “Only at Oshkosh!”.

This year I’m hoping we’ll get to see the prototype Van’s RV-15, as well as the latest TSi Highwing from Sling Aircraft.

There’s a whole host of older homebuilt designs celebrating significant anniversaries, including 50 years of the AcroSport, Rand KR series, the Rutan VariViggen and Van’s Aircraft, plus 60 years of the Fly Baby and the Dyke Delta. If you’ve never come across that last one, then it’s worth Googling… ed.hicks@laa.uk.com

In the vintage world, there’s also rumour of a reproduction Lockheed Altair project that will make its first appearance, the fuselage of which will be displayed as a work-in-progress.

If you aren’t able to make it this year, don’t worry, Light Aviation will have a full report on the show in the next issue.

Closer to home, while it might be a lot smaller than Oshkosh, the LAA Grass Roots Rally, taking place at Popham on 2-4 September, promises to be a fun alternative to our usual Rally event. You can find out all the latest information on pages 12-14 of this issue.

While the venue at Popham Airfield is new, and the show display slightly smaller, I’m sure it will still provide all the same reasons to get together in September and share our love of light aviation.

I know we all enjoy looking at aircraft, but no matter what the size of the fly-in, both events have a strong common theme –catching up with old friends and making a bunch of new ones.

So make sure you keep the date clear, and I look forward to seeing you all there!

Right, I have bags to finish packing… !