EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2023: Nose Art and Unique Paint Schemes

By Carmelo Turdo

The Aero Experience continues our coverage of EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2023, sponsored by Piston Aviation, with this look at nose art and unique paint schemes we found on aircraft during our ten days on the grounds. In any large gathering of aircraft, there will be a number of examples of what is traditionally known as nose art, here loosely defined as a personalized emblem or nickname given to an aircraft and applied near the nose of the aircraft.  Finding examples of nose art at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2023, with over 10,000 aircraft in attendance, was not difficult - it was more a matter of how many examples would be missed during the week. Along with traditional nose art, we also include some very original paint designs that easily caught our eye.

Nose art is most common on warbirds, those former military aircraft that served during and somewhat after World War II, but it has become a phenomenon among general aviation and homebuilt aircraft as well in recent years. The generally accepted first example of nose art, a sea monster painted on a 1913 Italian Flying Boat, started a tradition that proliferated during World War I and later World War II until the censors made the images of unclad women off limits. The practice waned during peacetime and reemerged during wartime in Korea, Vietnam and the first Gulf War. Here we feature some examples from our on-going coverage of EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2023.