City Had Sought To Move Aviation Celebration To Aviation Capital

ANN April 1 Special Edition

The city of Oshkosh, WI has thwarted an  effort by the city of Wichita, KS to move AirVenture to the Sunflower State.

The Wichita City Council last month passed a resolution stating that because of the city’s position as the “Aviation Capital of The World”, it only made sense that the “World’s Greatest Aviation Celebration” should be held there.

The resolution reads as follows:

“Whereas: Wichita is the acknowledged “Aviation Capital of the World”, and
Whereas: The Experimental Aviation Association (EAA) has officially rebranded their convention and fly-in to remove the name “Oshkosh” from the title, and
Whereas: Kansas is more centrally located in the United States than is Wisconsin, and
Whereas: Connecticut decided that it could rewrite aviation history based on “evidence” that only it recognizes, and
Whereas: EAA’s leadership has strong ties to the Wichita area, and
Whereas: The City of Wichita needs the economic boost that AirVenture can provide
Be It Therefore Resolved That: The City of Wichita formally and officially seeks the relocation of EAA’s AirVenture to the city, and that the world recognizes that Wichita is the rightful epicenter of General Aviation.”

Wichita Mayor Jeff Longwell said that the city deserves to be the place where GA celebrates every year. “Fifty-one weeks a year, when the world thinks General Aviation, it thinks Wichita,” Longwell said. “This just brings the 52nd week to the Sunflower State as well.

But the City of Oshkosh passed a resolution of its own reaffirming its commitment to EAA and AirVenture, and even offered to sweeten the pot a pot a bit for the EAA.

“Whereas: The city of Oshkosh has hosted EAA’s convention and fly-in since its inception, and
Whereas: The name “Oshkosh” is still synonymous with the event, rebranding notwithstanding, and
Whereas:  Wichita needs to take a week’s vacation and come to Wisconsin, and
Whereas: We already have it and we’ll do whatever it takes to keep it.
Be It Therefore Resolved That: The City of Oshkosh will give up AirVenture when they take it from our cold, dead hands.”

To sweeten the deal a bit, the City offered to include an AirVenture logo on all of its marketing materials and tourism documents.

The EAA board eventually determined that they would stay put in America’s Dairyland. EAA president Jack Pelton said that he had mixed emotions about the battle. “I have some pretty strong ties to Wichita, as you know,” Pelton told ANN. “I made my home there for a long time. AirVenture could be anywhere, and EAA could stay put in Oshkosh. But I’m just as happy to not be planning a move right now.”

FMI: www.eaa.org