Aviation in Wisconsin

Aviation in Wisconsin
Aviation in the United States
Airports
Commercial – primary	8
Commercial – non-primary	6
General aviation	74
Other public-use airports	45
Military and other airports	1
First flight
November 2, 1909

Aviation in Wisconsin refers to the aviation industry of the American Midwestern state of Wisconsin.

Wisconsin's first aeronautical event was a flight of a Curtiss aircraft by Arthur Pratt Warner on November 2, 1909, in Beloit. ^[1]

Events

• 1953 - The Experimental Aircraft Association is founded in Hales Corners.
• 1962, September 6 - Korabl-Sputnik 1 re-enters and imbeds itself into a street in Manitowoc. ^[2]
• 1970 - The Experimental Aircraft Association moves its airshow to Oshkosh. The airshow has grown to become the largest annual airshow in the United States. ^[3]
• 1984 - Cirrus Aircraft is founded in a rural Baraboo barn.

Aircraft Manufacturers

• American Champion, Rochester 1980 – present, builds modern variations of the Aeronca Champion.
• Basler Turbo Conversions, Oshkosh 1957 – present, manufactures Basler BT-67s by retrofitting Douglas DC-3 aircraft with Turboprop engines. ^[4]
• Champion Aircraft, Osceola 1954 − present, acquired by AviaBellanca Aircraft Corporation in 1970.
• DarkAero, Madison 2017 − present, building a high-performance kit aircraft design. ^[5]
• Hamilton Manufacturing Company, Milwaukee 1918 – 1929, maker of propellers.
• Hamilton Metalplane Company, Milwaukee − 1927, sold to Boeing, maker of the Hamilton Metalplane.
• Sonex Aircraft, Oshkosh 1998 − present, produces homebuilt designs and kits. Manafacutres the Sonex series of lightweight aircraft.

Aerospace

• DeltaHawk Engines, Inc. in Racine, Wisconsin, develops heavy fuel light aircraft engines.
• United Gear and Assembly Inc, is headquartered in Hudson. Producer of airspeed gauges.
• Velicon, Milwaukee-based, manufactures electric motors and generators for aerospace testing.

Airports

• List of airports in Wisconsin

Commercial Service

• Wisconsin has 8 airports which offer regular commercial airline service
• Air Wisconsin, 1965 – present. Based in Greenville. Operates as a regional airline flying for American Airlines under the name American Eagle. ^[6]
• Kohler Aviation, 1929–1934. Operated Loening C-2 amphibious aircraft between Milwaukee and Grand Rapids, Michigan. ^[7]

People

• Richard Bong, highest-scoring air ace during WWII, was born in Superior.
• Klapmeier brothers, founders of Cirrus Aircraft, started their careers in Baraboo.
• Billy Mitchell, a major general who is regarded as the father of the United States Air Force, grew up in West Allis.
• Paul Poberezny, founder of the EAA and the EAA AirVenture Oshkosh airshow, lived in Hales Corners and Oshkosh.
• Tom Poberezny, former aerobatic world champion and president of the EAA, lived in Hales Corners and Oshkosh.
• Robert Campbell Reeve, founder of Reeve Aleutian Airways, was born in Waunakee.
• Deke Slayton, USAF pilot and one of the original NASA Mercury Seven astronauts, was born in Sparta.

Organizations

• Experimental Aircraft Association – is headquartered in Oshkosh.
• Wisconsin Aviation Hall of Fame. ^[8]

Government and Military

• All flight operations in Wisconsin are conducted within FAA oversight.
• The Wisconsin Department of Transportation manages taxes and state regulations for Wisconsin. ^[9]
• The Wisconsin Air National Guard includes the 115th Fighter Wing, based out of Dane County Regional Airport.
• The Wisconsin State Patrol operates 4 Cessna 172 aircraft. ^[10]
• The Law Enforcement Aviation Coalition, Inc. is a multi-state law enforcement equipment sharing service that has a Bell OH-58 Kiowa operating at a base in Kenosha

Museums

• EAA Aviation Museum Oshkosh. ^[11]
• Fortaleza Hall, Racine, Wisconsin. A Frank Lloyd Wright style building housing the SC Johnson Sikorsky S-38 The Spirit of Carnauba. ^{[12] [13]}
• Mitchell Gallery of Flight at the General Mitchell International Airport
• Richard I. Bong Veterans Historical Center in Superior, Wisconsin
• Aviation Heritage Center of Wisconsin in Sheboygan Falls ^[14]

Gallery

• 
  Mitchell Gallery of Flight
• 
  EAA museum and headquarters
• 
  EAA airshow grounds from the air in 2011
• 
  Richard I. Bong Veterans Historical Center

References

1. "Wisconsin First Flight". Wisconsin Public Television. Archived from the original on November 10, 2009. Retrieved March 29, 2011.
2. "When Sputnik Crashed in Wisconsin Half a century later, the town of Manitowoc commemorates its biggest day ever" . Retrieved September 1, 2014.
3. Biggest Annual U.S. Air Show to Salute NASA's 50th Anniversary NASA, July 23, 2008
4. "Basler BT-67". Archived from the original on April 30, 2011. Retrieved March 29, 2011.
5. "Aircraft". www.darkaero.com. Archived from the original on June 9, 2020. Retrieved October 24, 2023.
6. "Air Wisconsin". Archived from the original on August 7, 2011. Retrieved March 29, 2011.
7. F. Robert Van der Linden (2002). Airlines and air mail: the post office and the birth of the commercial aviation . University Press of Kentucky. ISBN   9780813122199.
8. "Wisconsin Aviation Hall of Fame". Archived from the original on April 4, 2011. Retrieved March 30, 2011.
9. "Wisconsin Department of Transportation Travel by air".
10. "Wisconsin State Patrol". Archived from the original on January 3, 2011. Retrieved March 29, 2011.
11. "EAA Airventure Museum". Archived from the original on April 26, 2011. Retrieved March 30, 2011.
12. "SC Johnson unveils new architectural showpiece". Chicago Tribune. Associated Press. January 24, 2010. Retrieved January 25, 2010.^{[ permanent dead link ]}
13. Blair Kamin (January 27, 2010). "Meeting Mr. Wright: Norman Foster's new Fortaleza Hall at S.C. Johnson & Son converses winningly with the old master". Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on February 2, 2010. Retrieved January 29, 2011. In 1935, Herbert F. Johnson, then the company's president, flew the original model of the S-38 from Racine to the Brazilian city of Fortaleza in search of a lasting source of wax from the carnauba palm tree.
14. Aviation Heritage Center of Wisconsin