Managing editor Larry Anglisano took the accompanying photo as we were on final for runway 27 at Oshkosh. It was at 3:15 PM on Sunday, the day before the official opening of AirVenture, a time when the airport has historically been bursting at the seams with airplanes, regardless of the weather. I was astonished by the relative absence of airplanes on the right (north) side of 27.
I later learned that the overall number of visitors was consistent with previous years, and the vendors I spoke with said crowds and sales were good. Nevertheless, the aircraft parking areas told their own story through the show—there was room for a lot more airplanes. For many years, my private measure of overall general aviation health has been how full OSH gets at AirVenture.