EAA AirVenture Oshkosh Wraps Up

EAA AirVenture – August 1, 2005 – SpaceShipOne, carried by WhiteKnight, soared into history books earlier this year as the first civilian-made space ship to go to outer space. It also soared onto EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2005 carrying designer Burt Rutan and pilot Mike Melvill and bringing masses to the flight line to view the aircraft arrive and depart. But if you missed those flights, you can do one better — get a ride in SpaceShipTwo. If you have $200,000 handy, that is. As proposed, the sub-orbital flights will treat passengers to about five minutes of near zero gravity. Although a schedule wasn’t announced, flights could begin as early as 2008. If you can’t afford that, however, you still have several options. One, go to the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C. to see SpaceShipOne, where it will soon be permanently displayed. Two, come to the EAA AirVenture Museum to see a replica being created by Scaled Composites, the same Rutan-owned company that made the original plane. Or third, check the EAA AirVenture video archive to see the arrival. SpaceShipOne wasn’t the only Rutan-designed plane stealing the show at the convention, however. Adventurer Steve Fossett arrived in the record-setting Virgin Atlantic GlobalFlyer on July 27, and the next morning he and Sir Richard Branson announced they would attempt to set another record in February — to go 29,000 miles, or 4,000 miles further than any plane or balloon has ever flown, nonstop and without refueling. In March, Fossett set four world records as he piloted GlobalFlyer solo around the world, or 19,880 nautical miles in 67 hours. Other convention highlights: The public got a view of two other new planes — the Eclipse 500, a pioneer in the very light jet movement, and the world debut of the HondaJet. A rare gathering of many airplanes, including nine vintage tri-motors from around the world and a collection of World War II bombers, including six B-17s, several B-25s, and a B-24. Speaking of World War II planes, the public also was able to see the Glacier Girl, a P-38 that was buried under the Greenland ice cap for 50 years. Restoration took more than 10 years to complete and the last time it came to Oshkosh it was just a pile of parts. For those wanting to fly but who are on a budget, there was lots to see in new Light-Sport Aircraft area. The FAA adopted the light-sport aircraft rule a year ago to make flying more affordable. 2,892 showplanes registered, about 300 more than 2004. Of that total a record 1,267 homebuilts were on the grounds. "This was the place to be for the last week if you love airplanes," EAA President Tom Poberezny said. To learn more about the 2005 convention and fly-in, you can read EAA’s daily convention newspaper, AirVenture Today, watch video clips or browse the photo gallery at www.airventure.org. Visit the EAA AirVenture 2005 Photo Gallery .

SpaceShipOne and WhiteKnight arrive at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh. The Virgin Atlantic GlobalFlyer, with Steve Fossett at the controls, makes a fly-by past the EAA AirVenture crowds as they arrived on Wednesday, July 27. The new HondaJet made its debut at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh. One of six B-17s on display during EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2005.

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