Why Oshkosh brings us all
together
By J. Mac McClellan
I
have been expecting it. And it’s happened. Gulfstream is exhibiting at
Oshkosh with its new midsize business jet, the G150. The premier maker
of large cabin business jets has recognized what homebuilders knew 50
years ago—every aviation enthusiast is interested in every type of
airplane.
The trend has been in
place for many years with Cessna, Beech, and other manufacturers
displaying their corporate airplanes, not just their models intended for
personal flying at Oshkosh. And now the circle has been closed with
every type of airplane from top to bottom represented here this week.
Aviation is such a small
activity when measured by number of participants. There are only about
200,000 airplanes of all types registered in the U.S., and that number
is the big majority of all airplanes in the world. There are only about
10,000 turboprops, and another 10,000 business jets. And just 600,000
people have received an FAA medical certificate—the most basic
requirement needed to fly a non-light sport aircraft—in the past two
years. And that number includes airline pilots, as well as student
pilots. We are a small group.
But aviation has been
able to chop itself up into more small pieces than any other activity I
can think of, except perhaps religious groups. There are associations
and affinity groups for every segment from gliders to bizjets. The
aviation media picks off a small chunk and targets it for readers and
advertisers. And other fly-ins and trade shows cater to small segments
of aviation enthusiasts.
But, over the years, the
EAA has been able to bind together aviation’s various segments at
Oshkosh. What’s the secret?
I believe the reasons for
the unity that EAA has created go back to its roots and founder Paul
Poberezny. Paul was a homebuilder and that was his reason for bringing
other airplane builders together to form the organization. But Paul was
also a military pilot. Can you imagine airplanes further apart on the
spectrum than a front line fighter and a Pober Pixie homebuilt? But,
there it was. From the beginning, proof that pilots and aviation
enthusiasts of all stripes may have a primary interest in one segment of
aviation, but still want to be involved with and learn about everything
that flies.
Though the founding
fathers of EAA welcomed all types of airplanes and people from the
beginning, it was the rest of the industry that was slow to understand.
The establishment looked at Oshkosh and saw thousands of personal
airplanes, homebuilts, warbirds, and antiques, and looked at the way we
dress at the fly-in, and wrote the whole thing off as just a bunch of
airplane buffs coming together to celebrate their hobby. The
establishment was right about the celebration, but wrong about the
breadth of aviation involvement of people at Oshkosh.
Over the 30 years I have
been coming to Oshkosh, I have talked to many from the aviation
establishment who have made their first visit here. Invariably the
comments are about people who participate at every level of aviation.
The guy who flew his homebuilt, antique, warbird or personal airplane to
Oshkosh is very likely to be a chief pilot for a major corporation. Or
even the CEO of that organization.
Just as Paul Poberezny
successfully mixed his military flying with his homebuilding those many
years ago, other pilots don’t drop their love of other kinds of
airplanes just because they move up to the next rung of performance and
price. A pilot who expects to spend much of his time here studying
antique biplanes is still very interested in a business jet, or a new
personal airplane. And Oshkosh is now home to both.
Several years ago I wrote that the
various organizations and branches of government that have struggled to
create a U.S. national air show should stop wasting their time because
we already have it at Oshkosh. I was right then, but even I didn’t
expect the aviation industry to react as quickly as it has and recognize
the importance of Oshkosh. But it has happened. It’s all here.
Everything from a hang glider to a Gulfstream is at Oshkosh this week,
and it’s the most important place for any pilot, aviation enthusiast
or aerospace manufacturer to be is here.
