Experimental Aircraft Association CEO, Jack J. Pelton, hails the return of the globally recognized annual EAA AirVenture fly-in and convention in church-like terms.

“The dates have been set, the tickets are being sold, the tents are going up, and the service will start!” Pelton says.

His enthusiasm is warranted. America’s general, business and enthusiast aviation communities have waited almost two years for Oshkosh and other major in-person aviation events to return. When AirVenture kicks off on Monday, July 26, it will symbolize a return to normalcy for much of the community and industry.

The weeklong event (to be held this year from July 26 to August 1) draws 10,000 aircraft and 600,000 visitors from around the world to Oshkosh every year. It generates an estimated $170 million in economic activity for a five-county region, according to the Wisconsin State Journal.

Last year’s pandemic-driven cancelation broke a continuous 68-year run for Oshkosh. It was a break people wanted over as soon as possible Pelton says.

“There isn’t a place I can go in [the local community] where I don’t get the question, ‘You’re not waffling on this at all?’ Their financial losses last year were significant.”

He adds that the event is a part of local culture with restaurants, hotels, retailers and many other businesses developing longstanding relationships with attendees. EAA itself seems to have weathered pandemic relatively well. Pelton says its financial position remains “financially strong and sustainable” thanks to reserves built over the last decade in anticipation of a weather related cancellation or other event.

The organization didn’t miss a beat in keeping its member-services, publications, and virtual events ongoing according to Pelton who notes that EAA will permanently institute more virtual/distance-learning offerings.

Nonetheless, in-person meetings are fundamental to EAA and judging by pre-event sales, the public is clamoring to return to Wittman Regional Airport where AirVenture is held.

“2019 was a record year for us and we’re anticipating [2021] will be the same or bigger based on early ticket sales and what we’re hearing from the aviation community about wanting to get back to normal,” Pelton says.

Normality will include attendance, exhibitors and airshow performers at full capacity. EAA is increasing space between exhibits and limiting crowd capacity for some exhibitor events and organization workshops. A Monday evening concert which kicks off the event will not be held but everything else will, with a full schedule.

Attendees, Pelton says, will follow their own inclinations in how they choose to participate and interact.

“As we move through June, AirVenture is becoming more of an event wherein people as individuals will decide how to manage it. We’re recommending masks but not mandating or policing them. We think people are, as in the broader community, making their own personal decisions.”

Among those most happy to participate is the slate of airshow performers represented by the International Council of Airshows (ICAS) whose livelihoods Covid-19 dramatically affected.

“The ICAS group really needs this badly,” Pelton acknowledges. “It reestablishes their purpose and gets their brand kicked off again, going to other airshows.”

The show at Oshkosh will include notable participation by Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC) with displays from mobile hospitals and humanitarian relief assets to spec-ops demos from CV-22s, MC-130H, and other aircraft. A celebration of the 75th anniversary of the end of the Second World War, planned for last year, will go forward as well with WWII fighters, bombers and support aircraft from all theaters.

The WWII and AFSOC elements mesh with the usual general aviation participation and contribute to a broader theme Pelton adds.

“I think we’re sticking to a theme we call ‘The wait is over.’ It’s been 24 months since the last [AirVenture]. I think there will be a noticeable vibe of people just glad to be able to get back together doing what they enjoy.”