Every July, a quiet regional airport in Wisconsin becomes the busiest piece of airspace on the planet. EAA AirVenture Oshkosh, held at Wittman Regional Airport about 90 minutes north of Milwaukee, pulled in a record 734,000 visitors for its week-long 2026 run from July 20 to 26 — and roughly 10,000 aircraft either parked on the grounds or performed flyovers.

The numbers are wild. Event staff parked more than 68,400 cars. The EAA Aviation Museum alone welcomed 38,000 people that week, about a third of its entire yearly attendance. Between noon on July 16 and noon on July 27, controllers logged 15,527 aircraft operations — an average of about 101 takeoffs and landings every hour the field was open.

Running that traffic takes 64 air traffic controllers spread across five locations, all hand-picked from FAA facilities across the United States. Teams of four, each led by a veteran with at least three years of Oshkosh experience, work shifts handling arrivals and departures. A forward-stationed crew on a low hill six miles out assigns runways before planes reach Oshkosh Tower North or Tower South. Even the "rookies" are fully certified professional controllers at their home facilities — and many still describe their first year as overwhelming.

For visitors, the show covers nearly every corner of aviation. Restored warbirds like the Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress and Supermarine Spitfire share the grounds with modern fighters, aerobatic stunt planes, and homebuilt experimentals whose owners are happy to talk shop. Exhibit hangars showcase new aircraft and avionics, while the Forums Plaza hosts hundreds of workshops on everything from welding and composite construction to building your own hangar.

The event started small. The first Fly-In Convention in September 1953 drew fewer than 150 people to a Milwaukee airfield. After a decade in Rockford, Illinois, it moved to Oshkosh in 1969 on the advice of aviation legend Steve Wittman, and grew into aviation's premier annual gathering. Today a University of Wisconsin–Oshkosh study pegs its economic impact at around $257 million a year for the surrounding five counties.

Whether you fly, build planes, or just love watching them, Oshkosh is a genuinely one-of-a-kind week — part airshow, part campground, part family reunion for anyone obsessed with flight. Book accommodation far in advance; the area fills up fast.