Scaled Composites brought their Proteus. Proteus is a twin-turbofan, high-altitude, multi-mission aircraft powered by Williams International FJ44-2E engines. It is designed to carry payloads in the 2,000 lb class to altitudes above 50,000 ft and remain on station up to 14 hours. AirVenture 2017 is important to understand that the town of Oshkosh only has a population of about 66,000 people. In fact, attending was nearly the equivalent of the entire city of Milwaukee, population 600,155. Where do all of these extra people stay? A lot of them camp. Just on the airport grounds, there were 11,600 camp sites under wings and an additional number of drive-in campers which accommodated an estimated 40,000 attendees. Other camp grounds in the region filled up as did hotels and camp grounds many miles away. In fact, a unique thing about the convention is the number of residents who rent their homes to event-goers and just leave the area for the week. I am not aware of any other event in the country that does this sort of thing as commonly as it is done at Oshkosh. It takes a trusting local community along with a community of pilots who can be trusted to make something like that work. The attraction to this year’s event was almost irresistible for pilots. As the eaa’s Chairman, Jack Pelton, explained, “What an incredible year it was at Oshkosh. From the U.S. Navy Blue Angels and Apollo reunion, to new aviation innovations on display and two B-29s flying formation as part of 75 years of bombers on parade, it was a week filled with “OnIy at Oshkosh” moments. You could feel the energy as thousands of airplanes arrived early and stayed longer, pushing aircraft camping to capacity for most of the event. The aviators and enthusiasts who attended were engaged, eager, and passionate, demonstrating how Oshkosh is the best example of why general aviation is so vitally important to the country. I believe it ’s the best AirVenture week that I’ve ever seen.” But believe it or not, it isn’t just aviation. There are movies, concerts, and activities for kids. It really is a family event. You need a magnifying glass to see all of the airplanes at the Wittman Regional Airport. But the huge campgrounds to the right are hard to miss!
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