This will be Joe Schumacher's 15th year coordinating the daily air shows at AirVenture, and so far, from the looks of things, 2009 is shaping up to be one of the best ever. "That's right," he said this week, as he was making the schedules. "What's really got me fired up is the sheer variety we have this year. We have a great mix of aircraft, some lesser-known (to Oshkosh) performers, three wing-walking acts, two parachute teams - this is shaping up to be a real winner."

Schumacher said that acts this year are being limited to eight-minute routines, which allows him to schedule more performers without extending the length of a given day's air show program. In fact, there are more performers scheduled this year than any other year since he's been organizing the daily Oshkosh air shows.

This also results in a pretty decent mix, with monoplanes, biplanes, barnstorming acts, and others every day of the event. On Friday, July 31, an all-women's air show will be featured. The first half of Sunday's closing day air show also will be all-women, Schumacher said.

Some of the lesser-known performers include: Bud and (ex-Canadian Snowbird) Ross Granley in their Yaks; Greg Koontz flying the Decathlon; outgoing ICAS President Jim Pietz flying his aerobatic Bonanza; and Bob Carlon in a jet-powered sail plane.

Another twist for this year is having two parachute jump teams, the Liberty Parachute Team and the all-women Misty Blues team perform at the same time, opening the Thursday and Saturday shows. "The field will be filled with divers and much more color," Schumacher said.

For more information on individual performers, visit the AirVenture website.