Encore Performance Will Be Held On Opening Day

Eclipse Aviation announced Friday a new sponsor for the second annual Beach Boys concert at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2007. One of Eclipse's newest suppliers, Innovative Solutions & Support, Inc. (IS&S), has joined Eclipse Aviation and Ford Motor Company to return the opening-day highlight to Oshkosh, WI on Monday, July 23.

The performance, which will be free of charge to all AirVenture guests that day, will start at 5:30 pm at AeroShell Square, next to the Ford Motor Company Hangar.

"Last year's Beach Boys concert was a big hit, and we want to make this fun show a tradition at AirVenture," said Vern Raburn, Eclipse Aviation president and CEO. "AirVenture is now becoming a destination for families as well as maintaining the title of ultimate aviation event in the world, and we're happy to sponsor such a major attraction with two wonderful partners."

The Beach Boys are a legend in music history. Led by co-founder Mike Love and longtime band member Bruce Johnston, the Beach Boys are an American original that has gained a devoted international following through the past 40-plus years... just like AirVenture, Eclipse notes.

Over the past four decades, the Beach Boys have sold more than 100 million albums. In 1988, they were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, and in 2001, they received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (NARAS). The band continues to tour and play their "California surf sound" at more than 100 shows a year.

As ANN reported in March, Eclipse selected IS&S as one of its partners on the Avio NG avionics package on the Eclipse 500. IS&S will provide hardware and select software for the Eclipse 500 PFDs and MFD.

"It is a pleasure to join Eclipse and Ford Motor Company in bringing a memorable new AirVenture tradition to life," said IS&S chairman and CEO Geoffrey Hedrick. "The strongest teams not only create exceptional results, they make time to celebrate shared interests and experiences along the way. This will definitely be an opening day to remember, and it will be great to share it with our new partner Eclipse." 

More than 10,000 AirVenture goers attended the Beach Boys outdoor concert last year despite bad weather on the opening day of the event (see above). Thousands of 2006 guests also gathered on the grounds nightly to watch aviation movies, compliments of Eclipse and Ford. The duo will also bring back this popular Fly-In Theater at Oshkosh in 2007.

FMI: www.eclipseaviation.com, www.innovative-ss.com, www.airventure.org, www.fordvehicles.com