Oshkosh 2023 Recap

Oshkosh 2023 was bigger than ever and didn’t disappoint! With seemingly more planes, pilots, and enthusiasts alike, #Osh23 will go down in the books as a memorable one. We caught up with old friends and made a lot of new ones. A special thank you to all who stopped by our booth, we can’t wait to see you again next year!

Here’s your recap:

From EAA:

(Read full article here)

This year’s attendance was approximately 677,000, up from the previous record of 650,000 last year. But attendance numbers weren’t the only record.

Here are some additional details from this year’s fly-in:

Total aircraft: More than 10,000 aircraft arrived at Wittman Regional Airport in Oshkosh and other airports in east-central Wisconsin. At Wittman alone, there were 21,883 aircraft operations in the 11-day period from July 20-30, which is an average of approximately 148 takeoffs/landings per hour when the airport is open.

Total showplanes: 3,365 including a record 1,497 registered in vintage aircraft parking, plus 1,067 homebuilt aircraft, 380 warbirds (up 3 percent from 2022), 194 ultralights, 134 seaplanes and amphibians, 52 aerobatic aircraft, and 41 rotorcraft.

Camping: More than 13,000 sites in aircraft and drive-in camping accounted for an estimated 40,000 visitors.

Volunteers: More than 5,500 contributing in excess of 250,000 hours.

Commercial exhibitors: 848 (another record number).

Forums, Workshops, and Presentations: More than 1,400 sessions hosted throughout the week.

Social media, internet, and mobile: More than 18.3 million people were reached by EAA’s social media channels during AirVenture (up 78 percent over 2022), with engagement of 1.9 million; More than 189,000 hours of viewing EAA video clips online also occurred during the event (more than double the 2022 total).

International guests: International visitors returned in a big way in 2023, with 2,372 attendees registering the International Visitors Tent from a record-tying 93 countries outside the U.S. Adding a significant number of international visitors who do not register at the tent when they arrive, the actual total is much higher.

The Gathering: The EAA Aviation Foundation’s annual event to support its aviation education programs attracted more than 1,000 people and raised more than $2 million dollars that will be focused on EAA’s mission of growing participation in aviation.

Media: 863 media representatives on-site, from six continents.

Estimated economic impact*: $170 million for the five counties in the Oshkosh region (Winnebago, Outagamie, Fond du Lac, Calumet, and Brown).

* – based on 2017 University of Wisconsin Oshkosh economic impact study

Watch our official Oshkosh recap video:

Pilot Your Own Adventure Contest Winner announced.

Shelbe Jarrett won this year’s contest with her entry about her aviation journey. She was able to spend the week at Oshkosh in a prime spot in the #FOCamper. Read about how she chose to become a pilot despite early hesitations and fulfilled her dream of aviation and helping others here.