This year marks a remarkable milestone for Lou Seno, EAA Lifetime 31489 — his 70th consecutive year attending the annual EAA fly-in and convention. His journey began in 1956, when he was just shy of his 7th birthday, attending the first EAA fly-in held in Oshkosh, with his father, the late Louis Seno Sr., EAA 1472.
Louis Sr. had been part of the EAA community since its inception, attending the original fly-ins in 1953-1955. In 1956, he brought young Lou along, sparking a lifelong passion for aviation that has never wavered. Lou remembers visiting with his father in ’56, but the fly-in looked a lot different back then. It was mainly homebuilts with a few vintage aircraft types, he said. “It was a hundredth of the size.”
That early exposure to aviation wasn’t just about attending fly-ins. Lou’s father was a pilot and homebuilder, and the two spent countless hours together building aircraft in the basement of their suburban Chicago home. Their first project together was a Corben Baby Ace, inspired by Paul Poberezny’s article in the May 1955 issue of Mechanix Illustrated. Lou’s whole childhood involved aviation. “I just grew up as a total wing nut,” he said.
Lou’s first flight came at the age of 2 in his father’s 1946 Piper Vagabond. From there, his aviation journey took off. He soloed at 16, earned his private pilot certificate at 17, and by 18 had both his commercial certificate and instrument rating. He later earned his airline transport pilot certificate and, in 2012, added a seaplane rating to his credentials. Today, he flies his Bonanza and his Husky on floats, often using the latter to give Young Eagles flights.
In 2015, Lou was elected to the EAA board of directors, calling it “a labor of love” and a privilege to contribute to such a meaningful organization. He also served on the EAA Aviation Foundation board, further deepening his commitment to the aviation community. And in 2016, Lou received the FAA’s prestigious Wright Brothers Master Pilot Award, recognizing more than 50 years of accident-free flying.
Having seen what started as a place for experimental aircraft expand to include vintage aircraft, warbirds, ultralights, aerobatic aircraft, and more, Lou has noticed all the fly-in’s changes. “AirVenture has become all things to all people in aviation,” he said.
One thing remains constant, however. Quoting EAA founder Paul Poberezny, Lou said, “You come here for the aviation and the airplanes, but you come back for the people.”
“I don’t care if you fly an ultralight or a Global Express,” Lou added. “There’s just a camaraderie and a brotherhood in aviation. I think EAA epitomizes that. The magnitude of the show is — if you’re interested in anything at all in aviation, it’s here this week in Oshkosh.”