EAA AirVenture 2009 will be welcoming Brodhead Pietenpol Association (BPA) members to Oshkosh on Sunday morning, July 26, as the group makes a mass flight to Wittman Regional Airport. The vintage, elegant aircraft designs of Bernard Pietenpol will be recognized during AirVenture as they celebrate their 80th anniversary.

Prior to the mass arrival, BPA will be having its 34th annual reunion in Brodhead, WI, hosted by EAA Chapter 431. After the airplanes arrive at Oshkosh, they will park near Homebuilders Headquarters on the AirVenture grounds.

Bernard Pietenpol was a self-taught aircraft mechanic from Minnesota who experimented during the 1920s with two-place aircrafts using a Ford Model A Engine. His Pietenpol Air Camper and Sky Scout grew in popularity due to the availability and inexpensiveness of the design. Pietenpol enthusiasts can build one as little as $10,000, depending on the type of engine.