AirVenture 2025 Wrap-up
Jeb and Jack rundown their impressions of the whirlwind visit to AirVenture Oshkosh 2025.
Jeb and I have known for months that we were only gonna get a couple days at AirVenture Oshkosh 2025. Now that it’s over, Jeb seems to be OK with what he was able to accomplish in the short visit, but I desperately wish I could have had even one more day. This will definitely inform my future Oshkosh travel planning.
Although I could have used another day, the two that I had (two and a half?) were great. In many ways better than I was expecting.
There was the usual collection of fascinating airplanes. A handful of interesting announcements were made. And we got to get together with the friends and industry colleagues that we only see at these shows.
Apparently the weather has turned wet after we left, but for the first half of the week the weather was just about peak Oshkosh.
Let us tell you more about our short visit.
— Jack
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Jeb:
As my time at EAA AirVenture 2025 draws to a close, it's an opportunity to reflect on my visit to Oshkosh, as well as the trip here and the upcoming flight home. Rather than force you to read to the end, I'll throw out a spoiler: Despite some pre-departure misgivings last week, my several days in Oshkosh and on the show grounds turned out better than expected. To ice the cake, I accomplished a lot more than I thought I would.
Weather and logistics were my main concerns in the days leading up to my departure. A front had stalled out over Tennessee and Kentucky, which loomed like a huge obstacle. And showed few signs of moving or dissipating as some forecasters thought it might. In the end, it proved more of a nuisance than a hazard, but I chose to circumnavigate most of it anyway. The detour added abut 45 minutes to my overall trip time, but the ride was smooth and I landed at Milwaukee/Timmerman with plenty of gas after canceling IFR and proceeding up Chicago's shoreline VFR, below the Bravo.
The logistics concern hinged on Jack's arrival at Timmerman, our Milwaukee hotel and finding our dorm rooms at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh without undue drama. There's always uncertainty when so many moving parts are in motion, but this year, Jack and I were confronted with a new, untried-by-us set of circumstances. In the end, it all worked out as advertised, thanks especially to the fine folks at UW-O and Ken Peppard of the Warrenton Pilots group.
Jack:
Amy Laboda asked me to fill in for her absent side-kick on her EAARadio show, The Attitude Adjustment Hour. It was a blast.
Each morning from 11 to noon we talked with a string of guests from all aspects of the aviation industry. We talked with propeller makers, aviation real estate developer, air racers, women in aviation activists, and much more.
I believe the daily shows are available on demand on the EAARadio website.
Jeb:
Initially, the show itself seemed sparsely attended when we arrived on the Saturday before it began. For one, the airplane parking areas had several large gaps; for another, the dorms were basically empty except for us, and even our favorite drive-in-with-rollerskates, Ardy and Ed's, wasn't in high demand, closing at what seemed to us to be an early hour for a Saturday night.
All that got flipped on its head Sunday, when the dorms – and their parking lots – started filling up. When Monday morning dawned, all the holes were plugged and the pieces were in place.
Jack:
The Feds announced the completion of the long awaited MOSAIC rules, which some are referring to as Sport Pilot 2.0.
I expect we’ll be going into this in some detail in the podcast, but from what I’ve seen so far, this is going to help me.
Since the pandemic my medical and currency have been lapsed. I’ve been wrestling with the decision to get it all back. And the simplified medical approval of the new regs, and the apparent broadening of what can be flown (hello my little Cessna 150s), make this an appealing opportunity for me.
I’ll report when I know more.
Jeb:
After hitting the grounds mid-morning, I proceeded straight to the nearest exhibit hangar, where I kicked off my annual question-and-answer sessions with various vendors, large and small. And I had a short shopping list: some #8 sheet metal screws for a home project was part of it, but I suddenly was in the market for a USB power outlet. My plane's original cigar lighter wasn't powering my USB adapter, so my iPad wasn't being charged. Earlier in the flight, when I realized the battery was down to 20%, I shut it off and pulled out my backup iPad. As I neared Timmerman, I switched back to the primary iPad to navigate Chicago airspace and preserve the backup, the one with the most power remaining.
I ended up buying one of the Garmin USB power port devices and found the screws I wanted. Somewhere along the line, Monday or Tuesday, I also had several conversations with manufacturers and vendors in the hangars. But the hangars became ovens in the afternoon, thanks to near-record heat, so retreating to air conditioning and sustenance.
Jack and I didn't have high expectations for Tuesday night's UCAP Tiedown Party. We were in the original place, but a different day than usual, so we presumed attendance would be down. We were very surprised at the turnout Tuesday night and gratified that so many of our loyal listeners and friends made a point of stopping by and swapping stories. From what I could tell, a good time was had by all, and Jack and I remain humbled by the quality of our listeners.
Jack:
I’m sad to report that the Fly Market continues to decline.
This has always been one of my favorite parts of the show. Lots of little doo-dads, some aviation-related, some not. Many of them simply tools-related.
But in recent years - it seems like since the pandemic - the total number of vendors has decreased, and those present consist of a larger than ever collection of oddball consumer products. Miracle cookware, magical furniture, lotions, and even luxury travel trailers.
When I began attending the EAA fly-in all those years ago, the Fly Market really was a flea market for people who fly. But now it’s become more of a slightly sleazy, urban street fair.
Ah well.
Jeb:
The get-back flight saw me cruising on top of a layer of white fluffy cumulus at 9000 feet. I flew maybe a couple of extra miles making some short, easy, visual deviations for higher cumulus, unlike the trip up. I stopped for the night in southern Georgia, where I keep an airport car, arriving after dark, with some red Nexrad splotches off my right wing while crossing the final approach fix. But skill and daring cheated fate and ignorance once again, and I made it to the hotel with little drama.
I motored home the next morning, into a 20-knot headwind all the way.
Jack:
This was my 32rd time to the EAA Oshkosh Fly-in. I attended 30 consecutive fly-in before I missed one.
Perhaps it’s because I’ve attended so many times, but in recent years it has seemed that the sparkle of the event had faded for me. Don’t get me wrong, the event itself has never faded. I’m sure that for most people it has always been this magical brigadoon each July. But for me, I wasn’t feeling it quite as much.
But this year that seemed to change.
On my final morning at the event I paused at one point to look around and marvel at the excitement I saw all around. Excitement I had not fully, felt for a few years. But I felt it in that moment.
I noticed it at the time, and made a record of it in my notebook. I want to ponder this revival of my passion for AirVenture. I want to remember this as I plan for next year.
AirVenture Oshkosh really is Aviation’s Greatest Celebration. I’m looking forward to rediscovering that in the coming years.
Jeb:
This year's EAA AirVenture fly-in had it all. A U-2. A Lockheed Constellation, A Boeing 747SP. New products and innovations. A one-stop resource for anything associated with personal aviation, including flight training and maintenance. And everything in between.
AirVenture long ago became an institution. While so many other institutions crumble beside us, it's good to know a bunch of pilots can still get together and celebrate aviation.
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Back to real life.
That’s it for the wrap-up of our too short visit to this year’s Oshkosh. Let us know how it was for you. Leave something in the comments for this post. We love hearing from you all.
An interesting an informative read. I didn't make the trip from Australia this year but followed along including spending too much time watch the live cameras!