EAA AirVenture Oshkosh is next week. We’re ready and we’d love to see you there.

The “World’s Largest Aviation Celebration” is held in Oshkosh, Wis. from July 25-31. It brings more than 500,000 aviation enthusiasts and EAA members from around the world. More than 10,000 aircraft fly in, making it- for a time- one of the busiest airports in the world.

In 1953, what was then known as the Experimental Aircraft Association’s Fly-In Convention started in Milwaukee. Over the next two decades the event outgrew a number of venues, and finally landed at what would become its permanent home in Oshkosh in 1969.

There is, without a doubt, something for everyone at Oshkosh. Airshows, fly-ins, presentations, vendors, booths, and more wait along with acres of tents and hangars. There are nearly 1,000 forums and workshops. FreeFlight Systems will be presenting twice during the week.

Stop by Pavilion 08 Monday at 8:30 a.m. CST for “Benefits from ADS-B Today!” Brad Brunson will be discussing how to get subscription-free data link weather, and real-time traffic advisories from the new RANGR ADS-B transceiver from FreeFlight. The presentation will cover the life-saving benefits ADS-B offers, as well as the many services included in the technology.

On Friday, join us at 2:30 p.m. CST  for “Kannad Aviation ELTs and PLBs,” in Pavilion 11. Brad Brunson will again be presenting. The forum will cover the enhancements and benefits of the new Integra model ELTs  from Kannad Aviation. The Integra is the only ELT with a built-in GPS and antenna, as well as an external antenna. Learn why Kannad’s distress beacons are chosen by aircraft builders, airlines and pilots all over the world.

Make sure to stop by our booth too. You can find us in Hangar C, Booth 3058 CD. Come by to say “hi!” Come see our ADS-B technology and talk! You can also find the Kannad ELTs at the FreeFlight booth.

NextGen technology from FreeFlight Systems was mentioned recently in the post “NextGen benefits are coming, slowly but surely” from AIN Online.

The article by Matt Thurber discusses the status of the NextGen project, the milestones that have been reached, and the steps needed as the technology’s roll-out continues.

In the post, he says that ADS-B is here, now. And it is. The network of ground stations is already in place, covering most of the U.S. and aircraft that are equipped can already access some ADS-B services.

As we’ve discussed on this blog before, ADS-B services in the United States are broadcast on two frequencies – 1090ES and 978 UAT. Aircraft flying above 18,000 feet will use 1090ES, and those flying below that can use either 1090ES or 978 UAT. One major advantage to the 978 MHz frequency is ADS-B In-equipped aircraft can receive traffic information and datalink weather completely free. This level of situational awareness is one of the major benefits of the technology and represents a significant safety enhancement.

“With this technology, you can see the airplanes that are around you and you can see the weather that’s in front of you and around you,” says John DeBusk, FreeFlight Systems, Vice President, Engineering.

Those services, he says, are provided by the U.S. Government as part of the NextGen infrastructure.

“It’s mature technology, says DeBusk, “and it’s one that we’re bringing to bear in the marketplace.”

In his post, Thurber says that ADS-B solutions are coming soon.

“For low-altitude operations, it will soon (third quarter 2011) be possible to buy a TSO’d 978 UAT ADS-B transceiver for $4,995 from FreeFlight Systems, providing not only ADS-B out compliance but also access to free weather and ADS-B in traffic information,” he says.

Make sure to check out Thurber’s complete post HERE.

Boeing has released its deliveries report for the second business quarter and announced the opening of a refurbished 737 paint hangar.

According to the report – which covers deliveries across Boeing’s commercial and defense operations – commercial deliveries are up over 2010 numbers.

In total, the company delivered 118 commercial airplanes. That’s in comparison to 114 planes reported in the second quarter of 2010. Boeing delivered 94 737 Next Generation planes, five 767s, and 19 777s. Those numbers bring the year-to-date total to 222 commercial aircraft.

In the Defense, Space,  and Security program sectors, Boeing delivered nine Chinook (new builds), four C-17s, four F-15s, 12 F/A-18E/F and EA-18Gs, and one satellite (government and commercial).

You can find the complete report HERE. Complete second-quarter results will be release July 27.

Boeing also announced this week that they are opening a new paint hangar to help meet increased production rates for its 737 model. The hangar is near its Renton, Wash. facility.

“We identified this paint hangar as a key piece of infrastructure to support our future plans for increased 737 production several years ago,” said Beverly Wise, vice president and general manager, 737, in a press release. “We have a measured approach to meeting rate increases on the program. Bringing this facility online demonstrates our progress,” she said.

Right now, the 737 program produces 31.5 airplanes per month and is anticipating an increase to 35 planes per month in early 2012.

The hangar was originally built at the start of the 707 program in the late 1950s. The hangar was also used until 1994 to paint 727s and 757s. Now refurbished, the hangar is 165,000 cubic feet by volume. According to Boeing a crew of about eight painters can paint an entire 737 in about three days.

According to The Wichita Business Journal, about 70 percent of the 737 is built by Spirit AeroSystems in Wichita, Kan.