EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2023 Final Update #5
Photos and story by Ken Kula
Powered parachutes alight during early morning Thursday.
Well, this is the final review of my trip to the EAA’s AirVenture 2023. Thursday was my last day on the airport. I was planning to go for half a day Friday morning, but rain showers in the vicinity and a forecast of a heat index around 100 degrees Fahrenheit made me rethink my schedule. Instead, I began my trip to Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport a little bit earlier than I had planned.
Traffic jam of departures during Thursday evening.
A forecast of thunderstorms on Friday led many pilots to leave Thursday morning (before the airfield closed for the afternoon air show) and after the airshow around 6 PM. Watching those parades was almost as much fun as the air show itself… all kinds of airplanes paraded past us; many a wave was given by those on the sidelines and inside their rides home!
NASA’s Super Guppy departing over the red dot on runway 18R.
Over the next month or two, we’ll have many short features about the EAA’s 70th birthday party, some of the innovations that were displayed, and our highlights at the huge event.
Junkers A50 before the daily crowds got close to it.
Navy F/A-18F Super Hornet on Boeing Plaza.
Thursday was Devotion Day (after the movie title), with Vought Corsairs featuring in the afternoon air show. Nine aircraft of this type were at the field.
A WACO UKC cabin class biplane.
Red tailed T-1A trainer honoring the Tuskegee Airmen of World War II.
SOCATA TB30 Epsilon warbird wearing former French Air Force anniversary colors.
New Standard D-25 biplane.
Aero Commander 500B.
A 1966 Myers 200D.
A 1977 Bellanca 17-30A Viking.
Pilatus PC-6/B2-H4 Turbo Porter departing with the Misty Blues Parachute team.
Polaris Dawn’s MiG-29UB arriving at Oshkosh.
Rare three-ship MiG-17 formation during the warbird jets show.
C-121A Constellation arrived on Thursday, owned by the Air Legends Foundation.
One of nine Corsairs at Oshkosh this year!
Aeroshell team heading downward towards the completion of a loop.
The Dakota Territory Air Museum’s rare P-47D “razorback” Thunderbolt.
Pilot Bernie Vasquez shows off the Thunderbolt. Bernie also flew the P-51C Mustang “Thunderbird” earlier in the week.
Air Force Heritage Flight passes in front of a Beech 18 during late afternoon.
A 1940 WACO UPF-7 takes to the sky. To check the exact types of thousands of participating aircraft is quite a chore!
Grumman TBM Avenger departs after spending most of the week in the Warbird parking area.
