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EAA AirVenture organizers think this year's show may be bigger than ever

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OSHKOSH — EAA AirVenture is back in Oshkosh this week after getting its wings clipped by COVID-19 in 2020. The week-long aviation show continues through Sunday on the EAA at Witmann Airport.

Director of Communications Dick Knapinski says this year's show may be bigger than ever. Before the gates opened on Monday, nearly 8,000 pilots had flown in for the event.

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“People have pent-up excitement about coming back to Oshkosh after a year off, and they want to talk about aviation and flying,” said Knapinski.

More than 600,000 people are expected to pass through the gates of the show before the week is over. More and more of them are women and girls interested in aviation.

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Margaret Viola, chair of WomenVenture, a mentorship group for female aviators, grew up coming to the show.

“I still remember women from 10-20 years ago in my formative journey who said very specific things at just the right time that helped unlock problems for me," said Viola.

Currently only 8.4% of pilots are women.

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EAA AirVenture goes through Sunday. Schedules and ticket information can be found here.