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understand the latest innovations and technological developments for aircraft and avionics systems, discover new ideas and techniques from hundreds of workshop and forum sessions held throughout the weeklong event, and see and listen to some of aviation’s well-known personalities as they talk about their experiences flying airplanes of many types from around the world.
Throughout the 1950s and well into the 1980s, EAA performed daily operations from its headquarters in a suburb of Milwaukee known as Hales Corners. Eventually, by the late 1970s room was becoming tight and the decision was made to relocate to Wittman Airport, build a museum to house displays of amateur-built, commercial and military aircraft and provide facilities for conducting aviation research. Restoration shops for resurrecting old airframes and engines would be included to underscore EAA’s commitment to maintaining the airworthiness of its fleet of vintage and warbird airplanes including (but not limited to) the museum’s Boeing B-17G heavy bomber Aluminum Overcast, a faithful reproduction of Charles A. Lindbergh’s 1927 Ryan Spirit of St. Louis and a North American P-51 fighter, as well as many other aircraft.
The following list highlights important milestones in EAA and AirVenture’s 66 years of history:
= 1953: First fly-in held at Curtiss-Wright Field in Milwaukee
= 1956: Fly-in makes one-year move to Oshkosh, Wisconsin, but rain and hot weather spoil attendance
= 1957: EAA returns to Milwaukee for the next two years
= 1959: Convention relocates to Rockford, Illinois, for the next 10 years
= 1970: Oshkosh hosts the convention
= 1976: John Moody, considered the patriarch of the modern ultralight aircraft movement, displays a powered hang glider
= 1983: EAA’s new Aviation Center, museum and international headquarters dedicated
= 1984: Burt Rutan-designed Voyager, the around- the-world aircraft, was displayed before its nonstop, globe-circling flight that occurred in 1986
30 • KING AIR MAGAZINE
Vintage aircraft, such as this full-scale reproduc- tion of a World War I Fokker D-VII fighter painted in the colors of German ace Ernst Udet, represent an important era in aviation history. Antique and classic aircraft have been an integral part of EAA’s annual fly-in since the 1950s. (Courtesy EAA.org)
“Warbirds” are a favorite of the crowds and participate in the daily airshow activities at AirVenture. World War II-era airplanes such as the Boeing B-29 Fifi (owned and flown by the Commemorative Air Force) and a flight of North American P-51 Mustangs were photographed over
Lake Winnebago. (Courtesy EAA.org)
JULY 2019