Plane Facts: Aviation Gatherings

Aviation get-togethers have been happening since flying was new.

Plane & Pilot

Wednesday, August 05, 2020 at 09:31 AM ET

Verified

An aviation gathering in Reims, France, in 1909, less than six years after Kitty Hawk.

Key Takeaways:

Aviation gatherings like fly-ins and airshows are a long-standing tradition driven by pilot camaraderie, dating back to early aviation around 1909.
EAA AirVenture Oshkosh is the largest fly-in airshow and "gold standard," growing from 150 attendees in 1953 to over 642,000 by 2019, hosting more than 10,000 aircraft annually.
Sun 'n Fun is another significant annual aviation gathering, established in 1975, known for its reliance on thousands of volunteers and its resilience in overcoming challenges like severe weather.
Both EAA AirVenture Oshkosh and Sun 'n Fun, like many other gatherings, were canceled in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic.

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Aviation is all about camaraderie, which is expressed on a regular basis in the form of pilots gathering together to celebrate what we all love to do, which is… anything about airplanes. While the gold standard for airshows today is the EAA’s Oshkosh AirVenture, with 10,000 airplanes flying into Central Wisconsin every year for the flying fun, it’s not the only game in town. There are hundreds of smaller gatherings around the country every year. Some are merely a handful of pilots and their planes, while others get a lot of traffic and a lot of love. This has happened since aviation was new. And we predict that such get-togethers will be around for a good long time to come.

First aviation meetings: Around 1909, France, U.S.
First fly-in event: Unknown
Alternate name for “fly-in:” Fly-out
Organization that chronicles fly-in history: None
Other names for different kinds of aviation gatherings: Exhibitions, airshows, static displays, air tattoos (we kid you not)
Difference between an airshow and a fly-in: Some attendees fly in
How many fly-in attendees to make it a fly-in?: Unknown

Golden Age gathering: National Air Races
Location: Usually Cleveland, Ohio
Estimated attendance, 1939, Cleveland: 100,000
Years run: Non-consecutive years from 1929-late 1940s

First EAA Fly-In Convention: September 1953
Location: Curtiss-Wright Airport, Milwaukee
Largest airshow: Paris Air Show
Largest fly-in airshow: EAA AirVenture
EAA airshow relocation to Oshkosh: 1970
Renamed “AirVenture Oshkosh:” 1998
Event length: One week
Average forums and workshops: ~1,000
Aircraft: >10,000
Campsites: 12,300
Attendees in 1953: 150
Attendees in 2019: 642,000
Attendees in 2020: 0
Reason: Canceled due to coronavirus
Economic impact to surrounding community: $170 million

First Sun ‘n Fun gathering: 1975
Attendees: 1,980
Aircraft: 365
Current location: Lakeland Linder International Airport
Event employees: ~35
Volunteers: 3,600
Hours donated: 111,749
Year of snow at Sun ‘n Fun: 1977
Number of pilots snowed in: 0
Year of Sun ‘n Fun tornado: 2011
Intensity: EF1 (86-110 mph)
Injuries: 15
Deaths: 0
Aircraft destroyed: 40-50
2020 attendees: 0
2021 Dates: April 13-18