Major Airshows

The two largest air and aerospace trade shows are the Farnborough Air Show (Farnborough, England), held on even years, and the Paris Air Show (Paris, France), held on odd years. In addition to displays for the general public, these two shows have important showcases and display halls for professionnals. They are traditionally one of the main occasions when major aerospace players announce deals.

The world's largest military air show is the Royal International Air Tattoo (RIAT) (RAF Fairford, Gloucestershire, England), held annually in July.

The annual Oshkosh Airshow (Oshkosh, Wisconsin), organized by the Experimental Aircraft Association, is attended by more people and by more aircraft than any other airshow. The week-long event, now known as Airventure, focuses on experimental aircraft, such as homebuilts and warbirds, but will also feature aerobatics acts, military aircraft, and airliners. The airshow also includes talks by famous or influential people in aviation, as well as a large area with booths where aircraft, aircraft parts, aircraft services, and aircraft memorabilia are sold, advertised, announced, or traded.

Almost as big as the Oshkosh event is the similarly designed Sun n' Fun, held every spring in Lakeland, Florida.

Airshows in the US that display the widest variety of modern military aircraft (helicopters, jet fighters, bombers, cargo aircraft, stealth aircraft, etc) are typically the ones held at Nellis AFB, NAS Oceana, and Andrews AFB. Each of these features nearly all frontline aircraft in service with the US armed forces, and is held yearly.

The US airshows with the most numerous and diverse (and often rare) warbirds include the Planes of Fame airshow at Chino and the "Thunder Over Michigan" show at Willow Run. The British equivalents are the airshows held in Duxford. The Oshkosh airshow, mentioned above, also features an exceptionally large number and variety of warbirds. All these events are held once a year.

Other Major Airshows