70 Years of Dreamers and Doers

EAA celebrates its platinum anniversary

BY SAM OLESON AIRVENTURE TODAY STAFF

SEVENTY YEARS AGO, on January 26, 1953, EAA was officially founded. That first meeting took place in a classroom at Gran-Aire Inc. at Curtiss-Wright Airport (now Timmerman field) in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, with 36 pilots and aviation enthusiasts in attendance. Over the past seven decades, EAA headquarters have moved a few times and the annual members convention and fly-in has shifted around, but one thing has remained the same — the organization’s dedication to spreading The Spirit of Aviation. As we celebrate EAA’s platinum anniversary at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2023, each day we’ll share highlights from a different decade of our history.

The 1980s

1980: The B-17G Flying Fortress later christened Aluminum Overcast is donated to the EAA Aviation Foundation.

1981: Construction on the new EAA Aviation Center in Oshkosh begins.

August 1983: Construction on the new EAA Aviation Center is completed. The 100,000-square foot facility includes headquarters for both EAA and the EAA Aviation Foundation, as well as the EAA Aviation Museum.

January 1984: Air Academy is established as an education camp for young people ages 15-17, though the program would expand to include younger age brackets as well.

August 1984: Voyager, the aircraft that would be the first to circumnavigate the globe nonstop without refueling, visits EAA Oshkosh. Voyager would return to Oshkosh in 1986 on its way to permanent display in the Smithsonian.

July 1985: A British Airways Concorde visits EAA Oshkosh, the first appearance of the supersonic passenger jet in the Midwest, and further establishes EAA’s fly-in convention as a worldwide attraction. Concorde would return to Oshkosh in 1988, 1990, 1994, and 1998.

1986: Pioneer Airport, directly behind the EAA Aviation Center, is built to showcase EAA’s antique aircraft collection.

July 1988: A U.S. Air Force B-1 bomber attends EAA Oshkosh for the first time.

April 1989: EAA founder Paul Poberezny resigns as EAA president after 37 years. Paul is later elected chairman of the board, and son Tom is elected by EAA members as president.

July 1989: The Eagle Hangar, a 44,000-square-foot addition to the EAA Aviation Museum, opens. Originally dedicated to honor World War II veterans and aircraft, the hangar now has aircraft from not only WWII, but also World War I, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War. Also during EAA Oshkosh, a Soviet An-124 attends as the Cold War begins to thaw, and the world’s fastest airplane, the SR-71 Blackbird, visits as well.