USA III 2024
On 17 July 2024, a group was ready at Schiphol for a great adventure in the United States. The main program was the gigantic EAA AirVenture at Oshkosh and as a starter we visited the largest military aviation museum in the world for two full days, the National Museum of the USAF at Wright Patterson AFB air base and also the Thunder over Michigan Air Show at Willow Run Airport. On this page you can read the report of our trip and enjoy a selection of photos.
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On the morning of Wednesday, 17 July 2024, four people left Amsterdam-Schiphol early for a direct flight with Delta to Detroit. Two hours later, another eight participants continued the same route with the same airline. Two more participants had already left Frankfurt for their flight to Detroit. Upon arrival in Detroit, we went through the usual customs and baggage procedure, after which the two drivers could pick up the two vans for the week from the rental company. In the meantime, the last two had also arrived and together we headed south via a Cobra and Huey, a T-33 and a unique F5D-1 Skylancer at the Neil Armstrong Air and Space Museum. Our first evening meal was enjoyed in picturesque Wapakoneta, after which we arrived at our first hotel of the tour around 9:00 PM. It was ‘coincidentally’ next to the Wright Patterson base and if you crossed the road you had a good view of the C-17s of the local unit there from a small park.
On Thursday 18 July 2024, the National Museum of the USAF was the destination of the day, which opened its gates at 9:00 AM. The museum was only a short distance from the hotel and we didn’t have to get up very early to be there on time. The museum has a small number of large aircraft outside and four large halls that cover the entire history of the American air force, which once started as a small part of the army and only became fully independent in 1947 as the United States Air Force. All aircraft are nicely displayed and you can take a reasonable to good photo of most of them. If you want to see everything, walk around, read the signs/information and take photos without people, then two full days are definitely needed. The halls are divided by theme, with hall 1 showing the early years and in hall two mainly aircraft from the Second World War, the tour guide did not make to hall three today. At 17:00 the door was locked and we left for the hotel, now via a different route where we passed an old Navy MV-22A, which is in use at a school on the base. An ex-military O-2A also arrived on the base and there was yet another C-17 visible.
Friday 19 July 2024 looked largely the same, for the tour guide it was now halls 3 and 4’s turn with cool aircraft from the Korea and Southeast Asia era, but also, among other things, the Cold War, Research & Development, the Presidential Department and the Global Reach gallery. All the aircraft look tip-top, you can also view several from the inside and there are also quite a few volunteers if you want more information. Very impressive all of it.
At the end of the day we had to go back to Detroit and on the way there were still a number of Wreck & Relics on the wish list. That is why we left the museum at 3:00 PM and went via a Huey, a T-33 at the friendly Sidney Municipal Airport, where they also showed us an old French Fouga and a last Huey on a pole and then onto an Italian restaurant in Findlay. Then followed the last part to our hotel, again near our destination for the next day.
The Thunder over Michigan Airshow was scheduled for this Saturday 20 July 2024. The announcement for the show included a long list of aircraft that would be coming, but that turned out to be a bit disappointing on the spot. The aircraft that were present were all very nice and because we were there early, they were also easy to photograph, but the entrance fee was quite high, and we would have made a different choice if we had known that in advance. Anyway, we enjoyed it and at 4:30 PM we set course for Portage, which was about 250 km away, because that was where our hotel for the night was. Before 8:00 PM we were enjoying a meal together within walking distance of the hotel.
On Sunday 21 July 2024, we left early, because it was going to be a long, busy day. At 6:30 AM we were having breakfast at Dennies, after which we drove 90 km to a hotel near Chicago airport, where the last participant of the tour was waiting, also a nice place for a toilet break. Then another drive, about 245km to be exact, to Wittman Regional Airport to arrive at exactly 12:00, much too early, for the EAA AirVenture. The event officially starts on Monday, but there is already so much to see today that it is more than worth it.
We were now able to park the cars close to the entrance, obtaining your access bracelet went within seconds and we were on the grounds! And now, where do you start? That is different for everyone. At the airport there is an area like you may also know from the sales shows such as Le Bourget and Farnborough. Most of it relates to light and experimental aviation. You can buy complete aircraft, conversion kits, instruments, headphones and of course all kinds of other knick-knacks, etc, etc, etc.
There is also the Boeing Plaza, a piece of concrete where a number of active military aircraft are located and also aircraft from the day theme are parked every day. Furthermore, all the rest of the terrain is a large parking lot for aircraft, where there can be, and will be, an aircraft on every green and flat surface. This is divided into a number of themes, such as vintage and warbirds, and the aircraft are also in the same area, usually also in the same row per type.
The airport has two runways that are perpendicular to each other and both are used continuously, and simultaneously. Often, several aircraft will land on the same runway at the same time, for which large coloured dots have been made on the runway every few hundred meters.
In the morning, the light is best on runway 09-27 and from the afternoon onwards, the sun also turns well for runway 18-36, the runway that is also used most for the display. The tour guide’s main interest is military and ex-military aircraft and today dozens of them arrived, actually too many to mention, but here are a few (most of them multiple): A-1, B-25, C-45, C-47, L-39, O-2, P-47, P-51, S-2, T-6, T-28, T-34, T-37, HU-16, OV-10, Yak’s and also active aircraft like the A-10 & F-16 demo team, MH-6, T-38 from the Navy and a B-52. And at the end of the day a B-29 arrived, so we left the field around 19:30 and arrived at the hotel around 21:30 after a meal. A very successful first day!
Monday 22 July 2024 we left our hotel in Green Bay at 06:00 and arrived back at the airport at 07:00, the first official day of the event. The AirVenture is not a classic air show as we all know it, where there is a static and a flight program. Here the entire airport is the static and in the afternoon there is an official flight program, but there are flights all day long! The aircraft are not all there the entire week, they come and go as they please. The first half of the week most aircraft come in, aircraft that are present simply fly a bit if they feel like it or you can also book a seat, if you want to fly a P-51 for example. Many participants will already be leaving from Thursday. Depending on your interest, there is not one place on the airport where you can see everything, you will have to keep moving to see and discover things. You don’t have to walk all that, there are small tractors with trailers with seats driving around all the time. For the slightly longer distances there are also buses. That is all included in the ticket. You only pay $5 for a ride to the lake where the seaplanes are moored, which is in a very nice quiet place a few kilometres from the airport.
The air show on this afternoon has the theme ‘arrival day’. Many of the aircraft present took off and simulated as if they were arriving together in formation. This resulted in formations of, amongst others, 5x Epsilon, 13x T-6, 12x T-28, 29x T-34 and 12x Yak that pass by several times. Very impressive. You can then choose which runway you are going to stand at to photograph them, all with few millimetres and sun in your back.
Today the F-22 and F-35 demo teams also arrived and that is always accompanied by a lot of violence, various low approaches and with full afterburner going around the corner, not too shabby at all. At 18:30 we called it a day and went to the hotel via ALDI for some much-needed groceries. Then we had a delicious meal, with a few beers, enjoyed at the restaurant around the corner before closing our eyes.
On Tuesday 23 July 2024 we left an hour later. Today it was very cloudy and the least sunny day of the week, but despite that there were still plenty of beautiful photos to take. The airport is home to the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) and they also have a museum with quite a few civil experimental aircraft, in addition there are also a number of vintage hangars where maintenance/restoration is also done. You can also take a sightseeing flight there with a Bell 47, then you fly a lap over the airport and you really get a good impression of what it looks like and how many aircraft we really do not see.
Around 19:00 we arrived back at the hotel and three quarters of an hour later we had dinner together again.
Wednesday 24 July 2024 was going to be a long day, we wanted to be there early again, and an evening show was planned for this day. Today was warbird day for the flying program and also the only day that the four USAF demo teams flew over in a nice formation, an A-10, F-16, F-22 and F-35 and showed their demo one after the other. Today the Snowbirds, the Canadian demo team with CT-114 Tutors also arrived, you don’t see them that often! Today a number of Lim’s, MiG-15s built under license in Poland, also flew in formation and took off with meter-long flames from the exhaust. The Blue Angels also came by for a while, they were on their way to another show.
The start of the evening program, the sun had just set, was a formation of a Lancaster (from Canada) and two B-29s. These are formations that you will only encounter at Oshkosh, what a sound and what a sight, goose bumps! The F-22 and F-35 then flew again and the flames from their exhausts were of course extra visible. There were also several light aircraft flying with fireworks and lights and that was followed by a fantastic drone show, in which hundreds of drones portrayed different aircraft, and other shapes. The evening was concluded by a fireworks show of half an hour. The tripod came in handy here to capture aircraft together with the fireworks. We arrived at the hotel around midnight.
On Thursday 25 July 2024, we didn’t sleep in and were back at the airfield around 7:30. Three AV-8Bs came to visit, of course very welcome since they won’t be in service for much longer. The Canadian F-18 demo team had also arrived in the meantime, as well as the USN Growler team. The Thunderbirds flew by, on their way to another show, and a Charleston C-17 gave a full demo, including a short take-off and landing. Also a B-1B that flew over hard, high and far once, not a great success. Today’s theme was warbirds again and dozens of examples took to the air. Around 6:30 PM we headed back to the hotel and then had another nice bite to eat.
It’s already Friday 26 July 2024 and we still can’t get enough! This morning we first drive to the east side of the airfield, where Basler Turbo Conversions has its hangars and storage. Unfortunately a tour was not possible this time, but from the fence several C-47s can be seen and captured nicely. Before 09:00 we are back at the field to see what they have in store for us today, and that was again not bad! You can now also slowly see gaps appearing in certain areas because aircraft are going home. For fun you should look at the ADS-B website these days and see what a gigantic stream of aircraft, dozens of kilometers, is on its way to the field or is leaving again. Another team made a short visit, the Italian Frecce Tricolori came for a fuelstop and a short display on their way out. This afternoon the Wisconsin National Guard shows a very nice Air Power Demo, in which about eight Blackhawks drop troops on the runway and are supported by two F-35s and a KC-135, as well as artillery that is firing away, all wonderful! The Canadian F-18 flies a nice formation with the Snowbirds and suddenly a bright yellow operational Canadian military Twin Otter has also appeared, very unique. For the rest more flight movements and time to look for other angles and places for the photos. At 7:30 PM we are back to a nice piece of food with a drink.
Saturday 27 July 2024 is the last full day for us in the United States. In previous years, we have skipped the AirVenture on this day, but the participants could not get enough of it and we went on our way again. A disadvantage when a large demo team is present, such as the Snowbirds, is that the show line is moved back a bit. Because there are aircraft parked everywhere, you sometimes do not have a clear view of the taxiway or runway. But because several aircraft have already left, and if you are a bit creative, there are always possibilities. A nice Canadian formation today was the Hornet, together with Hurricane, Mustang and Spitfire stationed in Canada. Today also several B-25s, the S-2, HU-16 and OV-10 flew again as well as dozens of other prop and jet warbirds. Unique for today was one of the few remaining Temco TT-1 Pinto in the airshow. This is a jet trainer that once competed against the T-2 Buckeye (also present here) as the new US Navy trainer, but did not win.
We could describe a hundred more aircraft, but what you can see here is almost too much. Even if you miss half of what happens in a day, you still have the best day of your life!
Just before 6:00 PM we started driving again and stopped an hour later in Lomira for a delicious Mexican meal. Then another two hours for our overnight stay in Chicago.
On Sunday 28 July 2024, we said goodbye to the participant who had boarded in Chicago and the rest drove a few more hours to Detroit airport. There we said goodbye to the two participants who were going home via Frankfurt. The rest flew via Montreal and arrived at Schiphol on the morning of Monday, July 29, 2024.
You can make a visit to the AirVenture as crazy as you want. We were there fairly early every day, but it can be even earlier if you want. You are almost overwhelmed by the number of planes you can see, but it is a nice and friendly community, many owners have set up a tent under the wing and talk passionately about their plane or aviation.
This group enjoyed it immensely and we will definitely try to be there again in 2025!
