By Grace Yakuber

Picture it: You open your eyes and stare up at the small, useless vent at the top of your tent. It did not do its job, as you inevitably sweat a bit through the night, resulting in this mildly suffocating air that only vacates once you unseal the zipper to your temporary abode in the South 40. Since you flew in, and since we know all pilots are alike, you first take a glimpse at your airplane to ensure nothing went awry in the night. Your bird is still there, unmoved, but a layer of moisture has settled on the cool aluminum. You see it even has dripped down to your towel you hung on your strut to “dry,” only for it to be redampened by the night’s condensation. Great. But that is a problem we will have to solve later, because after a brief peaceful moment overlooking the sea of airplanes and tents, all little campsites full of friends, first-timers, and fanatics, you feel your stomach grumble.

Camping in the South 40 has left you rather far from any convenient food locations. Your options are slim, as you must either pack in the provisions on your already weight-limited aircraft, or hike on foot a cross-country’s distance north to find something to satiate you. Your body is demanding its calories back after it sweated them all out before 7 a.m.

But wait, what is this you see? You squint your eyes and raise your hand over your brow so as to not be blinded by the rising sun reflecting off freshly polished airplanes, and your gaze settles upon a small shack along the main road leading to the very end of the South 40. A sign reads “BREAKFAST” in big bold letters, and that is enough for you to scramble for your wallet and start tromping, breakfast-bound. 

As you approach, the sweet smell of syrup beckons you closer. It seems your South 40 breakfast woes have been laid to rest, as EAA Chapter 944 from Chillicothe, Missouri, takes your crisp $10 bill out of your hand and replaces it with a Washington. Before you even have time to put the change in your pocket, they have whipped you up a full breakfast plate complete with eggs, sausage, and the quintessential fly-in pancakes, adorned with syrup. You’ve never seen something so beautiful (except maybe several thousand airplanes parked on the grounds.)

This is as good as your landing on the green dot. No, wait, this is better than your landing on the green dot! Your gratitude for the hosting chapter is rewarded with pleasant conversation among the company of volunteers and fellow breakfast barnstormers. The breakfast may as well taste better simply because the view at the runway threshold really adds to the atmosphere. You gnaw on your sausage and watch a Cub chirp onto the numbers of 36. What a perfect start to another amazing day at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2026.

This new breakfast spot located in the South 40 is where AirVenture mornings get properly sorted out over coffee, pancakes, and the occasional Continental O-200 coughing to life. Even if you aren’t camping in the South 40, it is worth the journey to support EAA Chapter 944 as it takes on this inaugural year feeding the edge of the AirVenture 2026 map!