Story and photos by Scott Jankowski
EAA, Oshkosh, AirVenture it is called many things, but to many Aviation Enthusiasts we call it homecoming week. AirVenture 2026 was held from July 20th to July 26th and saw another record-breaking attendance of approximately 734,000 people during its six-day run. AirVenture is billed as the world’s largest airshow held at the Wittman Regional Airport, which saw a total of 15,527 aircraft operations from 1200 on July 16th to 1200 on July 27th, making Wittman the busiest airport in the world.
AirVenture 2026 saw a number of first-time highlights and visiting aircraft. Highlights included the Royal Air Force Demonstration Team the Red Arrows flying the British Aerospace Hawk T1. The 535th Airlift Squadron brought a Boeing C-17A Globemaster III from Hickam Air Force Base Hawaii. The Red Bulls came all the way from Salzburg, Austria with a Douglas DC-6B and the Lockheed P-38L Lightning. Delta Airlines had their specially painted LA28 Airbus A350-941, and Southwest had their beautifully painted Boeing 737-8 MAX known as Independence One. AirVenture always brings together an amazing selection of aircraft and first-time visitors. In this article we will take a look at some of these first-time visitors and highlights of my five days on the grounds.
Military aircraft, both on static display and airshow participation were in abundance this year, even with the current conflict with Iran. Static displays this year included a Lockheed LC-130H Hercules from the 109th Airlift Wing Stratton Air National Guard New York. These LC-130’s are fitted with skis to conduct operations in Antarctica. A Sikorsky CH-53K King Stallion from Marine Test and Evaluation 1 (VMX-1) based at Marine Corps Air Station Yuma Arizona was on static display. This is the most advanced version of the Stallion that just recently entered service. Making a rare and welcome visit as a static display was no ordinary Lockheed Martin F-16D Fighting Falcon wearing the colors of The United States Air Force Thunderbirds as Thunderbird #8. This 2 seat F-16 is flown by the Advanced Pilot/Narrator Major Samuel “Razz” Larson. This F-16 was parked around various parts of the AirVenture grounds. Several Northrop T-38C Talons and Raytheon/Beechcraft T-6 Texan II’s were on static display in several unique and vintage color schemes.
Jet and Prop Warbirds are always very prevalent at AirVenture both on static display and participating in the daily airshows. A total of 360 jet, prop and rotor powered warbirds attended this year. Being the most economical to own and operate it was no surprise that trainers were the most prevalent warbird type to be seen once again. There were several examples of the North American T-6 Texan/SNJ/Harvard, North American T-28A/B Trojan and the Beechcraft T-34A/B Mentor. Observation and Liaison aircraft were also seen in form of the Cessna O-1 Bird Dog and the OV-10D Bronco. Bombers included several examples of the Douglas A-26B Invader and a return to the Oshkosh skies of the venerable Boeing B-17G Flying Fortress. As usual the fighters were well represented by several examples of the iconic North American P-51D Mustang and the Chance Vought/Goodyear F-4U-4, F4U-5, FG-1D, Corsair.
Vintage Jet Warbirds included several examples of the Aero Vodochody L-39 Albatross, the Polish license built MIG-17, the PZL Mielec LIM-5, LIM-5P, and LIM-6bis. Always a spectacular part of the airshow lineup is the MIG-29UB operated by the head of NASA Jared “Rook” Isaacman.
NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) had a significant presence this year and included on static display an example of the Northrop T-38A Talon, but two of the highlights of this year’s static display were the McDonnell Douglas F-15D Eagle and McDonnell Douglas FA-18B Hornet. Both of the aircraft based out of the Armstrong Flight Research Center located at Edwards Air Force Base California. These two aircraft currently wear a special patriotic Freedom 250 paint scheme to honor the 250th anniversary of the United States of America.
Commercial airlines played a major part of AirVenture again this year with several unique color schemes, first time visitors, and repeat favorites. Delta Airlines once again had an Airbus in the static display in the form of their Airbus A350-941 wearing the special LA28 Olympic colors. On Wednesday Southwest brought there very patriotic Boeing 737-8MAX wearing the special Independence One color scheme. On Monday Gridiron Air had their Boeing 777-232ER wearing the colors of the NFL (National Football League) Arizona Cardinals. On Friday American Airlines provided an Airbus A321-231 as transportation again this year for the Old Glory Honor Flight which saw 100 Vietnam War Veterans transported to and from Washington D.C. to tour their memorials. This Airbus is painted in a special color scheme to honor recipients of the Medal of Honor and members of our Armed Forces and is named “Flagship Valor.”
Airshow performers this year featured some of the best in the Airshow Industry and included from the United States Air Force Air Combat Command, the F-22A Raptor, and the F-16C Fighting Falcon Demo Teams, from the United States Marine Corps the F-35B Demo Team, and from the United States Army Golden Knights. Based at RAF Waddington and part of No. 1 Group “The Reds” as they are nicknamed brought their BAE Systems Hawk T.1’s in their first ever visit to Oshkosh. They use a combination of red, white and blue colored smoke during their display with 5 minutes of white and 1 minute each of red and blue. The 7 aircraft team flies several maneuvers and formations including the Concorde into Eagle Loop, Tornado into Diamond, and Twister. Civilian Airshow Performers featured Skip Stewart flying Prometheus 2, Susan Dacy in the Stearman, and Matt Younkin in the Beech 18.
A total of 1,346 vintage aircraft were present this year and included several examples of the Boeing Stearman, Beechcraft 18’s, and several different models of Fairchild Aircraft.
General aviation and business aircraft were plentiful as well with several different props and jets in and out.
The skies over Oshkosh are much quieter once again, the sound of turbojet and radial engines have faded. The AirVenture grounds are silent devoid of people and planes. Wittman Regional Airport has returned to its more normal and laid-back state. AirVenture 2026 is now in the record books with planning already under way for AirVenture 2027. In the next series of articles, I will be providing more AirVenture coverage, until next time, “Blue Skies To All!”.
