EAA Air Venture Oshkosh 2023

[Adambadger88]

On July 29, 2023, a 1944 North American AT-6D Texan (N49961) with two persons on board crashed into Lake Winnebago, WI, five minutes after takeoff from EAA AirVenture Oshkosh.

https://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/318480

https://www.thenorthwestern.com/story/n ... 492162007/

[Adambadger88]

On July 29, 2023, a 2012 RotorWay Exec 162F (N193AZ) and an ELA Aviación Eclipse 10 (N221EL) collided mid-air at the Fun Fly Zone airstrip during EAA AirVenture Oshkosh in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. The Rotorway Exec 162F came down on a parked and unoccupied 1966 Mooney M20F Executive (N9391M). All three of the flying machines received various levels of damage.

https://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/318484

https://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/318483

https://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/318486

https://www.wbay.com/2023/07/29/reports-crash-eaa/

https://www.avweb.com/air-shows-events/ ... collision/

https://fox11online.com/news/local/fox- ... airventure

https://www.eaa.org/eaa/about-eaa/eaa-m ... nt-updates

http://aopa.org/news-and-media/all-news ... -accidents

[Adambadger88]

The Twilight Flight Fest at the Fun Fly Zone airstrip sort of happened on Friday, July 28th. The only act that did perform was Gravity Industries. The EAA STOL Demonstration, Parachutes, Airythmia, and the large-scaled 3D aircraft did not happen due to the incoming storms that cut it short. Also, it was windy for most of them to perform.

The Navy Legacy Flight got scrubbed due to the Warbird pilots sitting idle and not having enough fuel due to the rain delay on Day 6. The rain delay occurred at 4:36 PM and ended at 5:00 PM.

[Tpinky17]

Anyone know what happened to Polaris’s Mig 29? I saw it taxi for the warbirds, but it started taxiing back on 36L and didn’t part take in the airshow.

[columbus_spots]

I’ve heard rumors of a helicopter/ultralight crash on the ultralight field. Is Flagship gonna be a bit because of it and most importantly is everyone ok?

sadly there have been two confirmed fatalities, there were four people involved and the other two are in the hospital in stable condition

[RyanS]

Anyone know what happened to Polaris’s Mig 29? I saw it taxi for the warbirds, but it started taxiing back on 36L and didn’t part take in the airshow.

The FAA somehow determined that his backseater had not signed the proper paperwork and that meant the jet could not fly in the show. One of the more ridiculous things I've ever seen at an airshow

[Nick Walbrun]

Does anyone know why the warbird shows are getting smaller every year? I can remember in years past the extravaganza's and multiple formations all in the sky at the same time. I'm sure there could be various reasons and as a civilian/fan I'm curious to know if I will see that again in the future.

[Tpinky17]

Does anyone know why the warbird shows are getting smaller every year? I can remember in years past the extravaganza's and multiple formations all in the sky at the same time. I'm sure there could be various reasons and as a civilian/fan I'm curious to know if I will see that again in the future.

Pretty sure for this year it was due to the smoke/haze? But other than that I’ve been wondering about it myself..

[Pyrozak]

Does anyone know why the warbird shows are getting smaller every year? I can remember in years past the extravaganza's and multiple formations all in the sky at the same time. I'm sure there could be various reasons and as a civilian/fan I'm curious to know if I will see that again in the future.

Pretty sure for this year it was due to the smoke/haze? But other than that I’ve been wondering about it myself..

It's multiple factors: from the show side it is caution about visibility after the terrible accident in Dallas last year. Also with a new Airshow Director team, I'm not sure how much of a handle they had on coordinating such a large moving thing like a Warbirds of America show. From the pilot side it was smoke/haze early in the week that gave a lot of concern (for the same reason as above). Also, much like last year, there was a threat of severe storms Friday that made many pilots decide to leave early instead of chancing putting their aircraft in the middle of a hail storm. From an owner/operator standpoint it is the cost of fuel/maintenance to even bring the aircraft. Also the weekend shows are smaller I feel because the crowds are really starting to lean toward the early part of the week. So Wednesday/Thursday the Warbird area is at max but Thursday PM/Friday Am SO many start to make the journey home and decide not to stick around for the weekend shows. Warbirds are pretty much halfway empty by Saturday. EAA, in my opinion, really needs to either find a way to incentivize the Warbird owners/pilots to stay for the big shows on Saturday OR start putting the bigger warbird shows earlier in the week.

[kalamazookid]

I have also heard from multiple warbird owners and pilots that briefing and flying is kind of a pain in the ass, and many of them would rather just fly informally during the morning (if they're going to fly at all) and not deal with the hassle of flying in the airshow. Many would rather just come, park their planes for the week and enjoy the show - which is totally understandable. Fuel/maintenance costs have to be a factor, too.

I agree with @Pyrozak about incentivizing warbird owners to stick around until Saturday or hold bigger warbird shows earlier in the week.

Did the fighters get any solo passes during the Warbirds of America segments this year or was it only formation passes like last year?