Ryan Long, a junior in professional flight and president of the School of Aviation and Transportation Technology’s Aviation Ambassadors, shared his experiences attending an annual gathering of aviation enthusiasts in Wisconsin.
Everyone in aviation who thinks about the Oshkosh air show but has never been to it might have a pretty good vision of what it looks like: an assortment of different aircraft from around the country, a variety of military and civilian jets, booths and tents from every vendor in the aviation industry, and a constant array of planes soaring through the air at every waking moment that turns your head from left to right.
The EAA AirVenture Oshkosh is an annual gathering of aviation enthusiasts held each summer at Wittman Regional Airport in Oshkosh, Wisc. In July 2018, we attended as exhibitors with Purdue Polytechnic’s Aviation Ambassadors, and it brought the experience into a whole new light.
We were admitted into the event before it opened to the public to assemble our booth and to park the aircraft we flew there. Once everything in our booth was arranged, we walked around to preview the prestigious companies and unique aircraft that were arriving.
That night, we were invited to the owners’ reception at the Cirrus tent. While being graciously served a barbeque dinner and listening to a presentation that welcomed us to the air show, we rubbed elbows with some of the most prestigious yet down-to-earth pilots in aviation. When we walked back to our tent, every one of us had a story about a conversation or connection to share, and we could not wait for what we would experience during the rest of the air show.
The entire week was filled with abundant opportunities, including VIP passes from Jeppesen and Airbus to their private lounges and dinners with Piper Aircraft, Cirrus and Republic. We established connections with alumni and other aviation executives who visited the Purdue tent. We got to experience incredible performances from all sorts of experimental aircraft, military planes such the C-5, C-17, B1 Bomber and F22s, vintage models like the Aeroshell Team’s T-6 Texans, P-51 mustangs, Beech-18s and many more. It was truly an experience like no other to attend an air show like this, with people who all have a passion for aviation.
Everyone gained valuable experience hosting and networking with alumni and fellow pilots both in and out of the Purdue tents, discussing future career plans and opportunities with potential employers. We talked with prospective Purdue students and families, hoping to inspire their start in collegiate aviation. We helped the PEGASAS research project team fulfill survey goals about aviation safety trends. To wind down at the end of long days, we also played an extensive amount of cornhole while waiting for air shows to begin.
The greatest part of the experience was being surrounded by people who harbor a love for aviation. After being immersed in aviation culture for a week with the most knowledgeable pilots in the world, I left Oshkosh having learned a lot about my career field and discovering passion I never knew existed. Each moment showed us both history and the future. EAA AirVenture Oshkosh demonstrated that we are part of a fast-paced industry that is moving the world forward.