About half a million members of the North American general aviation community - along with colleagues from around the world - will make what, for many, is an annual pilgrimage to the small Wisconsin city of Oshkosh next week for arguably the world's biggest air show, AirVenture.
As ever, spectacular air displays and arrays of vintage aircraft mean the emphasis will be as much on enjoyment and camaraderie as hard commerce, but this year's event takes place against a backdrop of one of the worst downturns in GA for decades.
Our Oshkosh package looks at some of the programmes, technologies and manufacturers who will be in the spotlight next week and searches for signs of optimism and recovery in a downbeat sector.
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©BillyPix
Pilgrimage: hundreds of thousands of visitors make for Oshkosh each year
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CONTENTS
Piper in tune again
GAMA upbeat on prospects
Fleet sales sustain Diamond
Cessna SkyCatcher progresses
Light relief from Tecnam Eaglet
Cirrus SR22 GTS cuts ice
Good sport: Tecnam P2006T