The EAA AirVenture is turning 50 and Apollo 11 astronaut Michael Collins will be in Oshkosh to help celebrate

The organizers of EAA AirVenture — the huge aviation convention and daily airshow that transforms the skies and terra firma of Oshkosh for one week each July — have much to be thankful for.

Like the patience and fortitude of the city of Oshkosh for hosting the massive gathering for the last 50 years.

Which is why all Oshkosh residents, for the first time, can go to AirVenture for free on Monday in celebration of the golden anniversary.

"We're offering free admission for Oshkosh residents for those who haven't run out of town or rented their homes," said EAA CEO Jack Pelton. "We're very thankful of the city’s support to let us grow this the way we have."

The weeklong convention opens Monday.

Also in commemoration of the convention's 50th anniversary in Oshkosh, volunteers who have come to the event for 50 consecutive years will be honored. And organizers found 50 people who currently own planes that appeared at the first Oshkosh convention or are the children of the plane owners who flew to EAA that first year. Their planes will be parked in a designated area on the sprawling grounds.

AirVenture is hosting Apollo 11 astronaut Michael Collins on Friday, a week after the 50th anniversary of the first manned moon landing. Collins, command module pilot for Apollo 11, has appeared at AirVenture in the past for Apollo reunions.

"He has just been really supportive of us. It was 'Michael, would you like to come to Oshkosh for the anniversary of Apollo 11?' and there was no hesitation on his part," said Pelton.

Famous aircraft designer Burt Rutan, who dreamed up Voyager, the first plane to circle the globe nonstop on one tank of gas, as well as the spaceplane SpaceShipOne, is returning to AirVenture for the first time in a few years. He'll speak at several forums.

Pelton noted that EAA began as a club for people building their own planes and Rutan, the creator of numerous memorable aircraft designs, is the "epitome of the home-building movement."

AirVenture organizers redeveloped the homebuilt area, consolidating all of the owner-made planes in one spot, expanded parking on the south end of the grounds to accommodate 300 additional planes plus another 100 parking spots for people not camping next to their aircraft, and cut daily admission prices for students ages 6 to 18.

Other AirVenture highlights:

• Three U.S. Air Force Air Combat Command demonstration teams will perform during the daily airshows. F-35 Lightning II, A-10 Thunderbolt II and F-22 Raptor teams will perform abbreviated demos and some will fly in the Wednesday and Saturday night air shows.
• To commemorate the 75th anniversary of the D-Day invasion, planes that recently took part in anniversary flights in Europe will come to Oshkosh. The D-Day Squadron of 15 C-47 and DC-3 aircraft flew from the U.S. to England and other European countries to re-create the Normandy landings and also participate in the 70th anniversary of the Berlin Airlift, dropping 5,000 pounds of Jelly Belly candy in tiny parachutes. Among the 10 D-Day Squadron planes scheduled to appear in Oshkosh is "That's All Brother," a C-47 that led the D-Day parachute drops. 
• Aerial firefighting planes, including some used by the U.S. Forest Service, will be on display and demonstrate water drops during air shows. Normally, firefighting planes work in restricted areas because of wildfires but AirVenture visitors will get a chance to see some of the aircraft up close.

If you go

EAA AirVenture runs Monday through Sunday. Gates open at 7 a.m. each day. Exhibit buildings are open daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Airshows are held each afternoon. A night airshow is scheduled to start about 8:15 p.m. Wednesday and Saturday, followed by fireworks.

Daily rates for non-EAA members are $50 for adults; $20 for students 6-18; and free for children 5 and younger. Parking is $10.

For more information: eaa.org/en/airventure