Vintage Contemporary Category Extended Through 1970 This
Year
EAA tells ANN that the
presentation of their "Lindy" aircraft trophies and other
aircraft awards will take on a different look in 2007.
EAA claims that the Lindys are regarded as the highest honor in
aircraft construction and restoration, and are awarded each year at
EAA AirVenture Oshkosh. The 55th edition of the EAA fly-in
convention will be held July 23-29 at Wittman Regional Airport
in Oshkosh.
In 2007, each of the individual aircraft category areas, such as
homebuilt, vintage, warbirds, ultralight and seaplane, will hold
individual award presentations. This will replace the combined
program that traditionally took place on the evening before the
last day of EAA AirVenture.
"When the Lindy awards were first developed, it was easy to have
all the awards presented in one relatively brief ceremony. In
recent years, however, the increasing numbers of showplanes and
awards have made it more difficult to keep the program brief," said
H.G. Frautschy, executive director of the Vintage Aircraft
Association, who worked with all areas to develop the new
schedule.
"In addition, we heard from many EAA members and aircraft owners
who preferred to hold their category's awards presentation within
their own peer group, where the program could be tailored to a
group's specific needs."
The following individual awards
presentations will be held on Saturday evening, July 28:
- Homebuilts: 6 p.m. at Remos Aircraft Forums pavilion No.
11
- Vintage: 7 p.m. at EAA Theater in the Woods
- Warbirds: Eagle Hangar in conjunction with the Warbirds Award
Banquet (tickets required)
- Ultralight: EAA Nature Center, in conjunction with the
Ultralight Party (tickets required)
- Seaplane: EAA Seaplane Base on Lake Winnebago, in conjunction
with the group's Watermelon Social (tickets required)
In addition, the Rotorcraft awards program will be held on
Friday, July 27 at 7:30 p.m. at Theater in the Woods.
The EAA AirVenture judging process, the most stringent and
competitive in the recreational aviation community, will be
assisted this year with new handheld computers. These new devices
and upgraded software will allow the aircraft judges to complete
their tasks in a more efficient fashion.
In a related note, Frautschy announced that the Vintage Aircraft
Association board of directors has approved an expansion of the
Contemporary category beginning at EAA AirVenture 2007. The
category will be expanded by three years and will be open to
aircraft built from January 1, 1956 through December 31, 1970.
"EAA and VAA members love to share their newly restored aircraft
with their fellow members and the general public. This change will
allow members with beautifully restored airplanes from the late
1960s to display their restorations in the Vintage parking and
camping areas," said Frautschy.
The other two vintage aircraft categories will remain the same:
Antique (aircraft built before September 1, 1945) and Classic
(aircraft built from September 1, 1945 through December 31,
1955).