EAA Air Venture Show Oshkosh - Tricks to Find a Hotel

One of several unique events that take place in Wisconsin that has a massive, world-wide following is EAA Convention - Experimental Aircraft Association's annual fly-in event.

For ten days each year, this tiny little municipal airport in Oshkosh, Wisconsin becomes the busiest air traffic control tower IN THE ENTIRE WORLD, exceeding more than 3400 per day, surpassing takeoffs and landings of Heathrow in London, O'Hare in Chicago, and JFK in New York.

A few years ago the main attraction was
Space Ship One. Another year the Stealth Bomber was featured. 2011 was the year of the Dreamliner debut, Boeings new 787.

This annual event draws upwards of 500,000 people from all over the world. Hotels and campsites are reserved up to six years in advance for hotels up to an hour away.  Private homes go up for rent for 10 days each year to companies looking to find convenient lodging for their employees.

A few "hidden" places to find a place to lodge here include these tricks:

1) Couchsurfing.org - This is a website where you create a profile of your interests, then request to stay in a stranger's home for free.  I've had wonderful experiences meeting kind, interestings, and well-traveled hosts and surfers.  Couch Surfing

2) There are B&B's around that do not advertise via typical channels. Here are just a few that are only one hour from Oshkosh:
The Astor House (Green Bay)
Joannes Bed & Breakfast (De Pere)
The Westport B&B (Manitowoc)

3) A new Inn has also opened in De Pere. Occupancy may still be available as it hasn't been open for more than a year yet.  Chateau De Pere (formerly James Street Inn)

4) Rent a home or rent a room in one, Airbnb offers several properties in various price ranges to fit your budget.

5) Another place to rent houses is VRBO.

6) One other option you can consider is to request a house swap.  One popular site is Home Exchange.

The EAA show is constantly evolving. One of the new attractions added in 2010 was the addition of a night airshow. Airplanes have fireworks - sparklers - at the end of each wing and only tail lights and the sparklers can be seen as the airplanes perform elaborate stunts overhead leaving beautiful patterns of light in the sky.  More then 10,000 aircraft are on display here and over 800 vendors.

From helicopters, to ultra-lights, to jets, military aircraft, vintage aircraft, and solo planes, this show has something for everyone.  The size and sprawl of this event is mind-blowing.

One of the spectacles I enjoyed the most was watching the people who watched the Dreamliner take off from the runway. Cameras and airplane enthusiasts were not going to miss this dramatic opportunity to catch a piece of history so all cameras were on deck for this event.