EAA AirVenture Show Highlights

For one week every year, Oshkosh Wittman Field is the busiest airport in the world thanks to EAA AirVenture.

The Airbus A350 XWB, one of five in Airbus’s test campaign, arrived at Oshkosh on Monday after visiting other U.S. airports on its brief American tour. Airbus typically brings its latest test aircraft to EAA AirVenture.

A quiet fly-by by the A350 XWB. The 325-passenger airliner is powered by Rolls-Royce’s latest Trent 1000 turbofan engines.

Airbus test pilot Frank Chapman landed the A350 with room to turn off from Runway 36 into Boeing Plaza, where it was parked for three days.

The Airbus A350 crew popped the American flag from the cockpit in recognition both of the U.S. airlines that have ordered the aircraft, and in celebration of its extensive U.S. content.

The Oshkosh crowd applauded the arrival of the A350 XWB.

They also applauded the Airbus crew, led by test pilot Frank Chapman (left). Englishman Chapman, who helped test the A380, is also a display pilot for the UK Shuttleworth Collection’s fleet of vintage aircraft.

This year marks the 75^th anniversary of the Ercoupe/Aircoupe family of aircraft. Easy to fly, they are more shirtsleeves than seat-of-the pants aviation, being spin-proof and stall-proof by design. Ercoupe aircraft dispensed with rudder pedals; the foot control was later re-introduced in the Aircoupe revival of Fred Wieck’s masterpiece.

Ercoupe 415-C NC28943 “White Lightning” (somebody has a sense of humor) was delivered in 1941, and is believed to be the oldest Ercoupe still flying. It was built by the Engineering & Research Co. (hence ERCO coupe). More than 6,000 were built by various companies; about 1,500 are still airworthy.

This Beech Starship, one of very few in operation, flew to Oshkosh in celebration of legendary designer Burt Rutan. The Starship proof of concept aircraft first flew in 1983 and was intended to replace the King Air; complications delayed the flight of the first production aircraft until 1989. The last, No. 53, was produced in 1995, after which Beechcraft began buying back all aircraft that it could and destroying them by bulldozer. Perhaps half a dozen are still airworthy.