[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 115 (Wednesday, July 31, 1996)]
[Senate]
[Page S9313]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




TRIBUTE TO THE EXPERIMENTAL AIRCRAFT ASSOCIATION ON THE OCCASION OF THE 
      43D ANNUAL ``FLY IN'' IN OSHKOSH, WISCONSIN, AUGUST 1, 1996

 Mr. FEINGOLD. Mr. President, I rise today to salute the 
160,000 international members of the Experimental Aircraft Association, 
based in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, on the opening day of their 43rd annual 
``Fly In'' convention, the single largest aviation event of its kind in 
the world.
  Mr. President, the Fly In, held at the Wittman Regional Airport in 
Oshkosh, is the stage for 12,000 experimental aircraft, vintage 
warplanes, showplanes, ultralights and rotorcraft. More than 700 
exhibitors will present examples of cutting edge aviation technology, 
and more than 500 workshops, seminars and forums will feature many of 
the leading figures in aviation passing along their knowledge and 
experience on subjects covering the whole spectrum of flight.
  More than 800,000 people from all over the world will attend the Fly 
In.
  This year's program includes a salute to test pilots, the people who 
strap into the latest aviation designs and push them as far and as fast 
and as high as they can possibly go, pushing the performance envelope 
in the continuous quest for better aircraft. There will also be a 
salute to Korean War and Vietnam War veterans.
  Mr. President, the Fly In is a terrific show, but it is only part of 
the ongoing work of the EAA.
  The Experimental Aircraft Association works both to preserve 
aviation's heritage and promote its future. If you are interested in 
designing, building, restoring, maintaining or flying airplanes, or if 
you simply take pleasure in watching aircraft perform, the EAA offers 
something for you through programs at the state, regional, national and 
international level, all aimed at making flying safer, more enjoyable 
and more accessible for anyone interested.
  The EAA supports a foundation dedicated to the education, history and 
development of sport flying. It maintains a large collection of 
aircraft, a portion of which is on display at the EAA Air Adventure 
Museum in Oshkosh. EAA has created the Young Eagles program to give a 
free flight experience to young people, and there's a scholarship 
program for young people interested in aviation careers.
  All this began, Mr. President, in January, 1953, a little less than 
50 years after the Wright brothers flew at Kitty Hawk. Paul Poberezny 
and a group of flying enthusiasts met at Milwaukee's Curtiss Wright 
field, now known as Timmerman Field. The first Fly In was held nine 
months later at Curtiss Wright, drawing fewer than 40 people and a 
handful of aircraft.
  Mr. Poberezny was elected the group's first president, and he held 
that post until 1989, when his son, Tom, took the reins. For the first 
11 years of its existence, EAA was run out of the basement of Mr. 
Poberezny's home in Hales Corners, Wisconsin, near Milwaukee. Now it 
operates from its headquarters in Oshkosh.
  Mr. President, flight has fascinated the human race for centuries. 
Less than a century ago, powered flight became a reality. Sixty-six 
years later, we landed on the moon. Still, the wonder of traveling 
among the clouds remains, and that spirit, along with the inventiveness 
and daring of pilots, designers and engineers, is nurtured by the 
Experimental Aircraft Association.

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