Oshkosh

Oshkosh is in east-central Wisconsin on the shores of Lake Winnebago. Its unusual name has travelled far as the name of "Oshkosh b'gosh" clothing, and as a synonym for EAA Airventure, one of the world's great celebrations of aviation, held at the Wittman Regional Airport here.

By plane


Commercial air service for Oshkosh is provided by

By car
Oshkosh is approximately 45 minutes south of Green Bay, 20 minutes south of Appleton, and 1.5 hours north of Milwaukee. The main north-south route is Interstate 41 and the main east-west route into Oshkosh is State highway 21.

Get around

 * Oshkosh City Cab Co. +1 920 235-7000
 * Yellow Cab Co. +1 920 235-1950
 * Yellow Cab Co. +1 920 235-1950

AirVenture
The AirVenture grounds stretch for kilometers, literally. You will walk a lot. There are helpful trams that run north and south parallel to the flight line, and stop near many of the main attractions. The AirVenture map lists the routes. Cars aren't allowed on the AirVenture grounds, except by certain staff.

If you can bring a bicycle, it will make travelling around much easier. There is a bike corral about 200 m from Theatre in the Woods in the direction of Camp Scholler. However, there aren't other bike corrals. This means that you may not be able to lock your bicycle in other places; you'll need to keep it with you as you explore.

For people who have a hard time walking, electric carts are available for rent from near the main gate.

EAA AirVenture

 * Air show every day at 3:30PM-5PM. Features a mix of world-class aerobatic performers, military aircraft demonstrations, and other rare and notable aviation demonstrations. The performers are all volunteers; AirVenture is to airshow performers as Carnegie Hall is to musicians. The schedule of performers is different every day. See the AirVenture Today newspaper for details. Just before the airshow at 2:30PM, there is a showcase of various classic aircraft flying by.
 * Boeing Square, on a direct line from the main gate to the flight line, has an assortment of particularly notable military, historic, or record-making aircraft. For instance, in 2007 AeroShell square was filled by a huge C-5 Galaxy cargo plane, a slender glider which carried Steve Fossett to the world glider altitude record, a B-24 Liberator bomber, and a dozen more. In the past, Concorde and SpaceShip One both were here. Several of the planes allow walk-throughs.
 * Warbirds in the north end of the show area. Hundreds of aircraft from the 1930s to the 1970s. P-51's, L-39's, DC-3's, a huge smorgasbord.
 * Homebuilt aircraft park just behind the flight line from the control tower south to AeroShell square. This area is also a great place to watch the air show.
 * Vintage aircraft, a way to the south of AeroShell Square, feature hundreds of aircraft from the early 1900s through 1970.
 * AirVenture is so large, it's pretty much impossible to see and participate everything there in the week available. Read the schedule, look for what interests you, or just stroll around and make discoveries. But don't fret about what you miss.
 * Evening presentations at Theatre in the Woods feature historical or famous aviation figures.
 * Fly-in Theatre features a different aviation-themed film each night at 8:30PM, projected on giant outdoor screen, located just north of Camp Scholler. Frequently an aviation celebrity introduces the film. Film and popcorn both free.

AirVenture
EAA AirVenture, last Monday in July through Sunday. Sometimes known simply as "Oshkosh", it is one of the world's great aviation gatherings. A week-long aviation event offering seminars, product demonstrations, aircraft tours and daily airshows. One of the largest airshows in the world. Hundreds of thousands of people drive in, tens of thousands of aircraft fly in. A tent city sprouts under the wings of parked aircraft and beyond. Be on the alert for closed roads all around Wittman airport and Highway 41 during the festival. Hotels can be filled for tens of miles around, but local universities open their dorm rooms, and private homes their spare bedrooms, to the visitor. See the AirVenture and Chamber of Commerce websites for leads on housing. If you plan to fly into Wittman airport during AirVenture, you must absolutely get the AirVenture NOTAM and follow it carefully. Flights originating from international destinations must stop at either Appleton International Airport (KATW) or General Mitchell International Airport (KMKE) to clear customs before continuing onto Oshkosh.

Volunteering at AirVenture is a great way to experience the event at a whole different level. Flight Line Operations volunteers, clad in fetching orange vests, direct incoming and departing aircraft as they taxi between runway and parking. It's an exciting way to be close to a huge variety of noisy, smelly machines. Protect Our Planes volunteers walk among the planes on display, reminding visitors not to touch and perhaps damage the planes, or smoke near them. It's a way to help the festival while getting a good look at planes you wanted to see anyhow. And there are many other possibilities, too. Come to the Volunteer Information Center on the grounds and offer your services.

Forums are a held in a dozen open-walled lecture rooms to the north of AeroShell square. Experts and enthusiasts volunteer to deliver hundreds of talks on every conceivable aviation topic. Frequently the audience contains experts every bit as authoritative as the presenters. The AirVenture Today newspaper contains the full forum schedule for each day.

Buy
Most of the retail in Oshkosh is mostly your traditional hardware, grocery type stores, etc. Most of the clothing shopping is located within the Outlet Mall, A large amount of retail can also be found with-in the Fox River Mall district in Grand Chute, about 20 minutes north via I-41.



AirVenture

 * Hangars A, B, C, D are filled with hundreds of vendors offering everything from T-shirts to turbochargers. The major aviation retail vendors and equipment makers tend to be here. There are usually excellent show special prices on the latest and coolest gadgets.
 * Fly Market, between AeroShell Square and the Forums area, have small booths with vendors of parts, junk, memorabilia, and dozens of other products. Look for especially good deals in the last day or two of the festival, as vendors try to move merchandise so they don't have to cart it home.
 * Aircraft vendors have elaborate booths along the road from the main gate to AeroShell Square, and spilling north and south along the festival area. It's not an exaggeration to say that every significant manufacturer of general aviation aircraft for North America are present here. They may feature their latest, coolest craft which were just announced at AirVenture.

Eat


If sit-in dining is not your thing Oshkosh also has plenty of chain restaurants like McDonald's, Culver's, Chick-fil-A, Subway, Jersey Mikes, Five Guys, FireHouse Subs, and many more.

AirVenture
Food courts are scattered at a dozen locations throughout the grounds. They can be broken into the "Brats and Burgers" and "Cafe" groups, each of which have similar menus. Prices are a bit inflated; a full lunch will be $8-10. All vendors operate out of stalls, and you eat on nearby picnic tables.

Vegetarian food and healthy food is hard to find at AirVenture. "Park Cafe", "Warbirds Cafe", and "Classic Cafe" offer a vegetarian wrap which is reasonably tasty at $8, but their "Chef's Salad" sadly has a stratum of ham. Pizza vendors usually have a cheese pizza option: see for example the pizza counters on the northeast corner of Hangar B and the southwest corner of Hangar A.

AirVenture
There are no bars or nightlife on the AirVenture grounds, except perhaps for private parties at various campsites.