What We Do
The annual Aeromart is the world's largest swap meet for recreational aviators.
Operated by volunteers from EAA Chapter 1158, West Bend, Wi., Aeromart is the place for EAA members to bring spare parts for vintage aircraft and for enthusiasts to rummage through thousands of items in search of what they’re looking for. Sometimes you don’t even know what you’re looking for until you find it, which is part of Aeromart’s attraction.
Aeromart actively solicits any and all aviation parts, regardless of condition.
Last year over 400 fellow EAA members consigned an inventory of over 5,000 items for sale.
15,000 prospective buyers walk through the tent flaps every year!
About Aeromart
Find That Elusive Aircraft Part at Aeromart
What
do type club members and restorers want more than anything? What do
owners of World War II aircraft need more than anything else? The
answer: spare parts. And when you're talking spare aircraft parts,
look no further than EAA's Aeromart at AirVenture Oshkosh, located
in the Fly Market about two blocks west of the control tower.
Thousands of people pass through the canvas portals every year searching for-and finding-vintage plane parts, gifts for aviators, memorabilia, and even wrecked airplanes, whose attached serial number plates and registration 'N' numbers are highly sought after by aircraft restorers.
Formerly called the Parts Mart, Aeromart is really an aviation swap meet. This will be the seventh year that EAA Chapter 1158 from West Bend, Wisconsin, heads operations, along with volunteers from all over the world. Aeromart is a joint venture between EAA and the chapter, a retail business that lives for one week out of the year and thrives on its international attention. Volunteers enjoy the friendships and camaraderie they've developed over the years, and also realize that this is a very important part of EAA AirVenture Oshkosh.
Under the leadership of Aeromart Chairman and chapter member Mark Landvatter, the entire operation has been computerized. Bar coding and online transaction processing help to streamline the check-in and checkout processes. "People bring things to Oshkosh, sign a simple seller's agreement, give us a dollar per item, and we put it on the shelf," he said. "It really amounts to a simple consignment sale. When the item is sold, the Chapter and EAA split a 12 percent commission and the seller gets the rest."
People
sell gauges, propellers, wheel pants, wing struts, oxygen tanks-from
altimeters to azimuths. They go home with money or their unsold
parts, or sometimes they simply donate the part to Aeromart. Half
the proceeds from the Chapter’s Aeromart commissions are poured back
into the operation, allowing Chapter 1158 to continually improve the
process with upgraded computers and software, plus acquire retail
fixtures to more effectively and efficiently display the sale items.
For those in search of that needed part for their airplane or restoration project, EAA AirVenture’s Aeromart is unique because it concentrates thousands of airplane parts and equipment in one location. About half of the parts arrive by Sunday night-some on trailers-just before the event opens. The rest arrive on Monday or trickle in throughout the week.
Anyone interested in becoming an Aeromart volunteer can contact Landvatter at volunteer@aeromart.org. Those wishing to register in advance to display items for sale can also do so via e-mail at webmaster@aeromart.org. And for more information, visit the Aeromart website at www.aeromart.org.