It's A Wrap -- You Name It, It Happened At Oshkosh 2011!!

It was one for the near-record books... but in light of the economy and the political doubts that trouble so many people these days, the results of this year's Oshkosh extravaganza didn't need to be a record to be a tremendous success... and they were. And, by the way, it was officially Rod Hightower's first week as the boss of the whole works!

Despite all the worries, it was, indeed quite a great week. While official figures will come later today, EAA has posted an estimated attendance increase of 4% from 2010, an estimated number of aircraft: more than 10,000, a total of 2,500+ showplanes, 800+ exhibitors, and approximately 2,000 registered international visitors from 62 nations. Highlights include the first public showcase of Boeing 787 Dreamliner on Friday, July 29th; the Night Air Show and Fireworks featuring the "Wall of Fire" on Saturday, July 30th; the appearance of world's only airworthy B-29 Superfortress "FIFI"; the Centennial of Naval Aviation all week long (Tier I status from U.S. Navy), soaring tributes to Burt Rutan and Bob Hoover and entertainment that included REO Speedwagon, Aaron Tippin, and Gary Sinise & the Lt. Dan Band.

Yeah... a great week... but we also got the first details of what might be coming our way next year (EAA AirVenture 2012 – July 23-29, 2012). The 2012 Fly-In will celebrate the 60th anniversary celebration of annual EAA Fly-In Convention; the 75th anniversary of the Piper Cub, a Reunion of Tuskegee Airmen, with filmmaker George Lucas returning to present his upcoming film, Red Tails, telling the story of the World War II fighter group; a Salute to Richard "Van" VanGrunsven, founder of Van's RV series aircraft; and a Night Air Show and Fireworks featuring the "Wall of Fire" on Saturday, July 28th.

And think of it... its only 51 weeks away....

FMI: www.eaa.org, www.aero-tv.net, www.youtube.com/aerotvnetwork, http://twitter.com/AeroNews