To me Oshkosh is the fastest week of the year. It seems like just after we’ve set the Genesys Aerosystems booth up, the week is over and it’s time to put it all away again. And this year’s AirVenture seemed to pass faster than the last.
I guess it’s due to the week being a mix of a lot of business and a whole lot of fun. EAA has said there were over 560,000 attendees at the show this year and at times it seemed like a good percentage of them were in our booth. And while we had a lot of great conversations around displays and S-TEC autopilots, much of the excitement centered on our current Summer Sales Promotion.
If you missed our announcement: Any customer purchasing a 55X before September 30th 2016 from an authorized Genesys dealer will get big discounts off the published price of an optional autotrim or altitude preselect.
And the discounts are pretty darn good:
- $2,500 off an optional autotrim or altitude preselect for a single-engine aircraft.
- $5,000 off an optional autotrim or altitude preselect for a twin-engine aircraft.
No doubt, the Genesys Aerosystems dealers will be busier than usual for the next few weeks.
Of course, there was a lot more going on at EAA AirVenture 2016. I had the opportunity to offer my good friend, and L-3 Sales Representative, Jessica Power a ride along with the Aero Shell team. What’s more “Oshkosh” than riding in the back of a vintage AT-6 trainer with one of the most recognized aerobatic teams in the world?
While being able to share that experience with Jessica was wonderful, to me, Oshkosh is all about the airplanes. And this year there were plenty of them. In fact, EAA reported that over 10,000 flew into Wittman Regional Airport for the event. Personally, I spent a good bit of quality time admiring as many of the nearly 2,300 vintage and homebuilt aircraft on the field.
And while my duties normally keep me busy during the daily air show, I confess, I did duck out long enough to see the Martin Mars water bomber’s 7,000-gallon water drop and the Royal Canadian Air Force’s Snowbirds perform. Both were incredible.
Another truly amazing thing happened this year: Actor, pilot and aviation ambassador, Harrison Ford had the honor of piloting Joie Gawthrop as she graciously represented the two-millionth Young Eagle flight. I’ve always been a big fan of the EAA’s Young Eagle program.
And things like that are what has, and will always continue to be what has made Oshkosh my favorite, and way-too-short week of the year. No matter what you’re looking for in the world of aviation, it’s one place and one time that won’t be equaled anywhere in the world. I’m already looking forward to EAA AirVenture 2017. See you there.
Until next time, fly safely,
Jamie