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Oshkosh 2026: Where the Industry Comes Together

EAA AirVenture Oshkosh wrapped its 73rd year as the World’s Greatest Aviation Celebration, and this one earned that title outright. The 2026 show drew approximately 734,000 attendees to Wittman Regional Airport over seven days, the highest attendance in the event’s history, alongside more than 10,000 aircraft on the field. Alpha Charlie was right there in the middle of it.

This year, our team supported 5X5 Aviation Insurance, NATA (National Air Transportation Association) and Pipistrel Aircraft directly on the ground. We joined Textron Aviation for their book signing and reconnected with longtime colleagues at Junkers Aircraft, FlightSafety International, Garmin, Cirrus, Piper Aircraft and Pilatus Aircraft. 

We also spent plenty of time exploring what’s next. This year’s exhibits leaned heavily into UAS and advanced air mobility, from eVTOL platforms to autonomous flight systems, giving a real look at how fast next-generation aerospace technology is moving. 

Brand Manager Jill Plumb led the charge for our team this year. As an aircraft owner herself, Jill speaks the industry’s language fluently. Her first AirVenture was back in 2012, and this year she returned in a new Business Development role with Alpha Charlie, bringing two decades of aviation marketing experience to the show. Her highlights included seeing the Cirrus SR22T G7+, the University of North Dakota’s UAS Command Trailer, and Pipistrel’s static display and Voyager world debut.

That’s the pull of Oshkosh: new business, old friendships and enough industry energy to last until next July. Two days on the ground reminded our team exactly why this week is worth the trip every single year.

See you next year.

08.18.26 · Alpha Charlie

Why Your UAS Brand Needs a Part 108 Marketing Plan

Key Takeaways

  • Final regulatory review for FAA Part 108 is underway, so the marketing conversation needs to start now – not after the headline breaks.
  • Beyond-Visual-Line-of-Sight (BVLOS) drone flight is about to become the norm instead of the exception, and customers are already asking what that means.
  • Brands that build a clear Part 108 brand strategy today will own the story instead of scrambling to react once the rule publishes.

What Is Part 108?

Part 108 is the proposed FAA rule that will make BVLOS flight (drone operations beyond what a pilot can see) a standard part of doing business instead of a special favor granted case by case.

Today, flying beyond visual line of sight means a waiver application, a waiting period and no guaranteed answer. Part 108 replaces that gamble with a real framework: permits for lower-risk missions, certificates for bigger operations. 

Why Does Part 108 Marketing Matter Right Now?

The moment BVLOS becomes routine, every operator, vendor and service provider in the space needs a way to talk about it that isn’t buried in acronyms.

That’s a marketing problem before it’s anything else. Engineers can explain compliance requirements. Legal teams can explain permits. But marketing Part 108 compliance in a way that builds trust with customers, investors and partners takes a different skill: translating “we’re ready” into a story people believe. Brands that stay quiet and technical while this rule moves through final review will lose ground to competitors willing to say something clear and confident first.

How Should Brands Approach Part 108 Messaging?

Talk about what’s changing, make sure your audience knows safety is still your top priority, and do it before someone else claims the space.

A brand with good Part 108 messaging doesn’t oversell a rule that hasn’t been published yet, and it doesn’t hide behind industry jargon. It states plainly what’s coming, positions the brand as already paying attention, and gives the audience a reason to believe readiness will translate into reliability once the rule lands.

What Happens If Brands Wait?

Wait for the final rule to say anything, and you’re walking into a conversation everyone else is already having.

Vantis, the nation’s first statewide BVLOS network, didn’t wait for a finished framework to build credibility. It built infrastructure and relationships years ahead of the paperwork, so the bona fides were already present once the rule caught up. The Northern Plains UAS Test Site, which administers Vantis, was even part of the process to write Part 108. That’s knowledge and subject matter expertise that can’t be faked.

If the mission is agriculture, infrastructure inspection or public safety, the brands shaping the conversation now will be the ones customers trust when Part 108 finally becomes real.

Let’s Build Your Part 108 Story Together

Alpha Charlie has spent years in the UAS space, working alongside operators, manufacturers and service providers as the industry moved from experimental to essential. We know how to translate technical readiness into a message people trust, and we’re ready to help you get ahead of Part 108 instead of reacting to it.

Contact Alpha Charlie to start building your Part 108 marketing plan today.

08.11.26 · Alpha Charlie