A stowaway cat, space exploration and Wisconsin female pilots: Here are highlights from EAA AirVenture 2022

OSHKOSH - Hey there, Delilah, what's it like in Oshkosh, kitty?

The Experimental Aircraft Association's annual AirVenture convention and fly-in draws aviation-lovers from all over the world — including a new four-legged plane enthusiast who snuck into a camper to make the almost 1,400-mile drive from Saint Albans, Maine, to Oshkosh.

Delilah, who made noise among the AirVenture crowd on social media by being the #stowawayoshkoshcat, wasn't discovered until her family made their first stop — after 15 hours of driving — in Toledo, Ohio.

"She's having the time of her life," said one of her owners, Andrea Scholten, who came to AirVenture with her husband, Jason, and kids.

Back in Maine, Andrea said, Delilah normally doesn't venture far from home, especially compared to the Scholtens' other three cats. Delilah is more of a homebody.

That is, Andrea's daughters Amber and Marissa Scholten told USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin, besides that one time she tried to board the school bus with them. She was less successful that time.

The Scholtens weren't sure how Delilah would do after they finally found her, but they scrambled to get all the feline necessities and said she's enjoyed just watching the planes go by from the beds inside their camper.

Word spread fast of Delilah's attendance, even prompting one pilot to draw a cat in the sky with the white contrails his plane left in its wake.

The biggest question people keep asking, Andrea said, is if they are going to bring her again next year.

"We might have to," she said.

While the stowaway cat added a layer of unexpected joy for the Scholtens and other AirVenture-goers, the week was jam-packed with memorable moments.

At a media briefing Saturday morning, Dick Knapinski, EAA's director of communications, gave a conservative total of more than 2,000 international guests from 83 countries over the span of the week.

As of the end of the day Friday, there were over 15,500 take-offs and landings just on-site in Oshkosh — there were over 22,000 when including the site in Fond du Lac.

This year's convention had highs and lows over the course of the week and was blanketed by beautiful weather nearly the entire time.

Here's a look back on some of the highlights from AirVenture 2022.

A somber start with the death of Tom Poberezny

The week started off with somber news that Tom Poberezny, 75, a longtime EAA president and son of EAA founder Paul Poberezny, died around 2 a.m. Monday after a brief illness.

Poberezny was known as the man who elevated the convention to a "world-level aviation event." His recognizable Volkswagen Beetle, "Red 3," was displayed during the week, alongside other memorabilia from his time with the association.

The people in the planes

And while AirVenture is overflowing with planes — quite literally becoming the busiest control tower in the world for the week — the aviation celebration is just as much about the people who fill the grounds.

Like Margaret Viola, a 2006 Oshkosh West High School graduate who started selling T-shirts at AirVenture when she was 14 and has gone on to dedicate her career to the aviation industry.

As a high schooler, Viola witnessed the start of WomenVenture 15 years ago that turned into an annual event that draws hundreds of women together each year during AirVenture.

Viola wasn't the only Wisconsin woman who got her start at EAA at a young age before soaring off to a successful flying career.

A northern Wisconsin native, 1st Officer Sheila Baldwin, returned to EAA this year for the first time since she attended 35 years ago as a kid to be part of the flight demonstration. This time, she was flying the Team USA  Delta Airbus.

Speaking of young attendees, EAA's Young Eagles celebrated 30 years of taking kids on their first flights. The program introduces and inspires children between 8 and 17 to consider aviation and is now even seeing some of its earliest fliers coming back after making their own careers in aviation, such as David Leiting, who helps coordinate flights after taking his own as an 8-year-old in 2002.

Aviation industry updates

Although hundreds, if not thousands, of airplanes were on the grounds this week, there were conversations during the convention about the pilot shortage driven by work conditions, low wages and disrupted schedules.

There was also thoughtful conversation and questioning of the environmental cost of the beloved hobby.

Greenhouse gas emissions may just be a drop in the bucket in the grand scheme of global emissions, but the lead emissions from aviation gasoline accounted for about 70% of lead air emissions in the United States, according to a 2021 study.

EAA has a rich history, but this year's convention also carved out time to talk about the future, particularly the future of space exploration. Crew of the Polaris Dawn mission, which plans to put civilians in a low Earth orbit, were on-hand, as well as representatives from the Artemis I mission, which plans to land the first woman and first person of color on the Moon.

Honor flight returns

This year marked the return of EAA's honor flight. Before Friday, there hadn't been one since 2019 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The flight, which left EAA ground at 5 a.m. Friday, took veterans to Washington, D.C., to visit, among other sites, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. For many of the veterans involved, it was their first time visiting the memorial.

The special day was made possible by Old Glory Honor Flight, a nonprofit based in Appleton that flies veterans to Washington, D.C., as well as hosts special missions to Vietnam and Pearl Harbor, in conjunction with EAA AirVenture and American Airlines.

So whether you came to reminisce with old war planes or marvel at the prospects of space exploration or fuel your child's dream to fly their own plane someday, AirVenture 2022 went off without a hitch and is in position for a smooth landing.

Reach AnnMarie Hilton at ahilton@gannett.com or 920-370-8045. Follow her on Twitter at @hilton_annmarie.

This article originally appeared on Oshkosh Northwestern: EAA AirVenture 2022 in Oshkosh featured stowaway cat, other takeaways