Oshkosh is to you like Mekka is for a Muslim.
If you haven't been there at least once in your life, you will NOT go to aviation heaven !
From Belgium, it's quite a trip but in the last five years of building, we managed to go twice to Oshkosh.
Nothing beats the experience of Oshkosh air venture in Oshkosh Wisconsin.
The first time we went, I visted sun'n fun in spring and decided to also visit Oshkosh. On sun'n fun there were rv's but the experimental parking there is kind of isolated and more difficult to make contact.
So my idea before arriving in Oshkosh was, 'wel I hope there will be some RV's'.
There are hundreds !
Most even camp next to their airplane and it's a real family style setting which is very inviting to go and have a chat to the owners.
I strongly recommend it to anyone, anywhere around the globe. Anything GA related will be represented at Oshkosh and it's definitly the only location in the world for home builders in the world where all info, resources and suppliers are availble at your fingertips. Wanne play with the next Garmin G3x hands on ? and some minutes later compare it you the Dynon skyview touch ? well... only at Oshkosh. Strongly recommend also the local hardware vendors where you feel like a kid in a candyshop having all those rivets, bolts, tools laid out in front of you. (small side remark: travel light, you will return heavy). There are often also the best discounts and deals to be found during the Oshkosh week when you buy there. Some even send it later at same price when you order there. I bought my VPX, aeroleds and lots of other stuff there.
I can also recommend the vansairforce.net gathering which takes place every time after the show in a house just outside of the airport. There 's hundreds of vans of builders there.
Another good tip: plan ahead ! there's hundreds of workshop, celebrity appearences, shows, movies, honourings, lectures, .... You will not be able to do all. Let me rephrase that: you will only be able to see a fraction of it, so it's very important to plan your trip ahead. The full agenda is available upfront and they even have a smartphone app. But save yourself the trouble in the evenings of your visits and plan ahead. You will be tired from walking all day, busy with late evening show or events so you just don't have the time for it. Do it at home, The agenda is fixed months upfront so plenty of time to prepare.
Vans aircraft has a tent withsome planes at Oshkosh, so it's a good opportunity to meet some of the well known names from van's support in real life. If you're lucky you can spot Van himself and take a picture. Also the vans dinner is a good moment to meet fellow builders but it's kind of like a static setting where once you sit, you are with the same people around your on your table.
Fir the vans dinner, you have to reserve and pay upfront via the mothership.
The vansairforce.net keg party is more like beer drinking thing in a garden outside of the house and gives much more possibilities to walk around from group to group. Ask on the vansairforce net forum for the exact time and location as it sometimes varies. Doug will be glad to help you. You will also meet some of the more famous builders like the members of the teamaerodynamix.
When organising your visit, make sure to book a student room in the local oshkosh university. Rooms are much cheaper than in the local hotels and if you book late, you might end up in cities far away from airventure as hotel infrastructure is very limited in Oshkosh itself. If you want a room in the university, book couple of months after the last airventure ended as they also sell out quite fast. The university campus will be full of aviation enthousiasts and there is a nice beer-terrace just outside of the parkinglot where a lot of them gather in the evening. Very nice place to get to know new people that share your passion. Busses to airventure are organised from the campus to the Oshkosh airfield and run in 15 minute intervals.
https://www.facebook.com/UWOEAAHousing/
If you have some spare time, the Oshkosh air museum is defenitly worth a visit as it has some of the original RV's on display like the prototype RV-1 and early versions of the RV-3 and RV-4.
Visit airventure website for details on schedule.