Photo above – Redline Airshows RV-8s performed throughout the week. Photo by Griffey Bostock.
EAA delivered again at AirVenture Oshkosh 2025. “Our theme of ‘One Week – Endless Possibilities’ certainly was true at Oshkosh in 2025,” said EAA CEO and Chairman Jack Pelton. “Whether it was aviation history or innovation or camaraderie, it was present in countless ways during the week. This year’s highlights and activities also set the foundation for what’s to come in the world of flight, and that is perhaps the most exciting development of all.”
Attendance was recorded at approximately 704,000 – the highest total on record. The previous high was 686,000 last year. “We found ourselves revising our initial attendance estimate upward once all the final weekend’s numbers were in, including from a tremendous day on Saturday, July 26,” said Pelton. “This year’s success is a credit to our 6,000 volunteers, our staff members, and our partners as they continue to raise the bar on what’s possible as we bring the aviation world to Oshkosh.”
More than 10,000 aircraft arrived at Wittman Regional Airport in Oshkosh and other airports in east-central Wisconsin. At Wittman alone, there were 16,246 aircraft operations in the period from noon CDT July 17 to noon CDT July 28, which is an average of approximately 108 takeoffs/landings per hour when the airport is open.
There were 2,543 total showplanes, including 995 vintage aircraft, 910 homebuilt aircraft, 361 warbirds, 101 ultralights and light planes, 75 aerobatic aircraft, 74 seaplanes and amphibians, 18 rotorcraft, and 9 balloons.
Introducing Griffey Bostock
All of the photos in this edition of Focus were shot by Griffey Bostock, an advanced amateur photographer based in Denver, Colorado. It all started in the 7th grade, when he began taking photography courses. “I’ve always loved aviation and after taking the photography course, I decided to photograph aircraft arriving at Denver International Airport,” said the young photographer. “Since then, I’ve traveled all over the US taking photos at museums and airshows.” He uses the Canon 90D and Rebel 850D series cameras with the Sigma Photo 150-600mm contemporary lens and 18-300mm contemporary. Along with photography he is a student pilot training north of Denver in the Cessna 172. “I plan to pursue aviation in college and hopefully make it to the airlines.” We hope you enjoy this small sampling of Griffey’s photos as much as we did at SAJ.
A Look at the Numbers:
- Camping: More than 15,000 sites in aircraft and drive-in camping accounted for more than 40,000 visitors.
- Volunteers: Approximately 6,000 contributing nearly 300,000 hours.
- Commercial exhibitors represented: 962 (record number).
- Forums, Workshops, and Presentations: More than 1,600 sessions hosted during the week at 65 venues.
- Social Media, Internet and Mobile: More than 21.2 million people were reached by EAA’s social media channels during AirVenture, with engagement of 2 million; Total social media video views: 20.3 million (up 19 percent over 2024); Nearly 44,000 social media followers gained.
- International guests: A total of 2,305 attendees registering at the International Visitors Tent from 94 countries outside the U.S., including the first-ever registered visitor from Senegal. As a significant number of international visitors do not officially register at the tent when they arrive, the actual international visitor total is much higher.
- The Gathering shines: The EAA Aviation Foundation’s annual event to support its aviation education programs attracted more than 1,000 people and raised $2.49 million dollars that will be focused on EAA’s mission of growing participation in aviation.
- Media: 901 media representatives including the State Aviation Journal, on-site, from six continents.
- Economic impact*: $257 million for the five counties in the Oshkosh region (Winnebago, Outagamie, Fond du Lac, Calumet, and Brown). * – based on 2025 University of Wisconsin Oshkosh economic impact study for 2024 event.
What’s ahead for EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2026 (July 20-26, 2026)? “There is never a shortage of ideas from EAA members, AirVenture attendees, our partners, and from inside our own volunteer corps and staff,” noted Pelton. “We’ll take a little time to enjoy this year’s accomplishments but will soon start planning for next year’s edition of The World’s Greatest Aviation Celebration.”
