EAA Airventure 2014 Amazes Aviation Community

Pilot Kirby Chambliss Performs a Knife Edge 

       This July 2014,  there was a major shortage of pilots everywhere in the world; the majority of them were in Oshkosh Wisconsin for the World's Greatest Air Show. For over 60 years, pilots have flocked from all over the globe to see this amazing week long aviation celebration that over 500,000 people attend annually. This year's show had over 10,000 aircraft and over half a million pilots attend. The majority of the show is on the ground; all of the major aircraft manufacturers show off their newest space-age technology and aircraft that only CEO's and actors can afford. The favorite part of the show for most is the daily air show, where the world's top aerobatic pilots show off their amazing talent with death-defying stunts. Pilots like Sean D. Tucker, Skip Stewart and Kirby Chambliss fly their high precision planes that are equivalent to Nascars at low altitude with no room for error. This year the new aspect to Airventure was the first Air Force demonstration team to fly there; the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds. The Thunderbirds are a group of 6, F-16 Fighting Falcons that fly in tight formations with amazing precision. Though there are many people who love large aircraft at Airventure, many people come to see and build homebuilt planes. These are aircraft that are shipped to a home in a box and the customer assembles them. This year a group of 100's of volunteers built one of these planes in the week of the show; (these planes usually take many years to complete) they called it "The One Week Wonder". This is another reason why people were amazed by this show.  The homebuilt planes are the foundation that built EAA (Experimental Aircraft Association). Since a lot of pilots from around the world come to Airventure, many celebrity pilots also come to the show. A few celebrities that come to the show are Harrison Ford and John Travolta who has his own 1960's jet airliner. From the daytime show to the night show with the largest fireworks I have ever seen and a 3,000 foot tall, 5,000 foot long explosion, this show has got to be the best anyone has ever been to.  Although many argue that last year's show was better, this air show will forever go to the top of my list as the greatest air show that I have ever been to.