Wis. (WBAY) — The Fly Market at EAA AirVenture is more than a stop for aigns, farm and garden decor, interactive maps, RV supplies and, yes, airplane parts — something for nearly everyone who makes the trip to Oshkosh
Van Sitaras of DFWAirParts.com has been coming to AirVenture for 10 years. His business, based in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, sells used partsve closed — a collection built over more than 30 years
“We sell airplane parts mostly for small aircraft, general aed aircraft and other closeout businesses,” Sitaras said. “And also collectibles from World War II and Vietnam War era. Everything a
Buyers come with a range of needs, he said.
“Most people want something small just to collect, just to put on their desk. Or some pilot that flew a particular airplane, they want something. Or we also sell things that can go back on an airplane,” Sitaras said.
His inventory also includes larger items. Sitaras said he purchased an entire set of seats from a CRJ200 regional jet, and that one had already sold during the current event — a repeat of what happened the year before.
“People put them in their basement, in the living room. It’s just for, yeah,” he said.
AirVenture is the only in-person show Sitaras does each year. The rest of his business runs online. He said the event takes months of preparation and roughly 1,200 miles of driving from Texas, followed by nearly 12-hour days on the grounds.
When asked about the strangest customer requests, Sitaras said ejection seats come up — and that someone asked about F-35 parts the day before, which he noted would be illegal to possess.
Laura Chesney-Gadd, owner of 1331 Custom Decor Goods, is attending AirVenture for the first time. Her Minnesota-based business has been operating for 12 years, but a pivot five years ago changed its direction entirely.
“The map side of it has now been for five years, which completely changed the trajectory of my business. So 99% of what I do now are interactive travel maps,” Chesney-Gadd said.
The a pilot who asked her to create a map marking all public airports in the state. Word spread, and she was eventually encouraged to expand to other states and attend AirVenture
The maps come in three styles — high-wing tail-dragger, low-wing and high-wing tri-wheel — after pilots at an earlier event pointed out that not everyone flies the same type of aircraft.
“First time we did a pilot event, we only had the low-wing version, and we got schooled by pilots that not everybody flies a low-wing,” she said.
The Michigan airport map has been the most popular seller at this year’s event. Texas has drawn significant interest as well, though that map is not yet complete. Chesney-Gadd said about seven people have already expressed interest and plan to return next year to purchase it.
She said she plans to come back to AirVenture.
“We will absolutely be here next year. We have a lot of people who are wanting some other states who have said, ‘We’ll come back next year and find you and get that state from you,’” Chesney-Gadd said.
For Chesney-Gadd, the appeal of the product goes beyond a
“For me, it’s all about the memories that come with it for people, that they’re collecting memories as they’re filling in their maps. And then, as they walk by the map and they just glance at something, you know, a memory floods back to them,” she said.
The business also takes custom orders. Chesney-Gadd said she recently created a map marking all presidential burial sites for a customer working toward visiting each one.
Dennis Pierzina, owner of Damn Fine Stuff, is in his sixth year at AirVenture. He said the event’s diversity is what keeps him coming back — and that his La Crosse-area business fills a gap for attendees who did not come for the planes.
“This is something for the people that maybe aren’t pilots or aren’t real close to the air spouse or whatever. So we kind of fill that little niche,” Pierzina said
His inventory includes collector signs, farm-related items and what he described as oddball finds that appeal to people with a taste for the nostalgic or unusual.
“We don’t specialize in any one thing. You know, we’re almost like a Walmart, you might say, because we’ve got a variety of things that catch people’s attention,” Pierzina said. “Whether it be like an automotive or maybe a smoky, you know. There are people that collect those things. And when they see something different and unique, then they’ll purchase it.”
Pierzina, a veteran, said the camaraderie at AirVenture is part of the draw.
“The diversity of people — there’s people from all over the world here. So we get to talk with a lot of them. Myself being a vet, and there’s a lot of vets here. And we hear some fantastic stories and meet a lot of neat people,” he said.
Setup this year took a full week, he said, with heat and smoke making conditions more difficult than usual.
Jeret Burnett of Liquified RV is attending AirVenture for the first time. His company sells an enzyme- and bacteria-based holding tank treatment for RVs — no chemicals, he said — and he came to Oshkosh after realizing the event draws roughly 14,000 RVs on site.
“We’re like, you know what? There’s a whole bunch of RVers that don’t go to RV shows because they’re not looking at buying a new RV. But they go to shows like the air shows and car shows,” Burnett said.
Burnett said he has been with the company full time for nine years and attends roughly 40 shows annually. He said branching out to events like AirVenture has helped the business reach RV owners who would not otherwise encounter the product.
“Now that we’re out here, we’re getting into different areas and different regions of the entertainment for people. Because they’re really enjoying this, but they come with their RVs and that’s where we can help them out as well,” Burnett said.
Business has been steady, he said, with one consistent interruption.
“There is a lot of people here and a lot of traffic. Other than when the jets go over, everybody stops because they want to watch the jets,” Burnett said. He added that as an Air Force veteran, the military flyovers carry personal meaning for him.
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