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Oshkosh questions -first time flying in

jcarne

Well Known Member
Patron
I have searched the forums and it’s difficult to sort through everything to get my questions answered.

Myself and my pilot rated passenger will fly the -7A in this year. We have no desire to be in any mass arrivals. So…

1. Would Saturday at the butt crack of dawn be a light traffic arrival? What about Sunday bright and early? I’ll do what ever it takes to avoid the mess, including waking up at any hour of the day necessary. Unfortunately Friday isn’t an option unless it’s evening time. If weather is nasty like in past years I’ll prob just park elsewhere and Uber in.

2. How long of a taxi can I expect when arriving in the hopefully non busy morning? My engine runs during a hot long taxi but it’s not smooth after awhile. I have addressed the baffles and think even DanH the baffle god couldn’t find any leaks. Haha. The fuel simply heats up in the lines enough to vaporize causing the roughness. It does take a long taxi on a hot day to start doing it though. This is always during high DA ops where I live so perhaps the lower elevation will help. (Advice on addressing vapor issue I’m all ears too)

3. When are the less busy departure times? I am willing to wait until well after the show if necessary. Once again, no desire to sit in a massive line.

4. Any other tips for a noob?

PS yes we will have the notam down pat and printed with us. We also plan on practicing some approaches after a long 90kt approach before we go.

Im sure this has been asked before but I’m just trying to make sure I’m not “that guy” while flying in and out. Thanks for your help!
 
The airport opens at 7am so plan your butt crack early arrival accordingly :rolleyes:

Arrival taxiing is not usually a long affair. Make sure you have your sign. If you are arriving early, the temps won't be that bad (famous last words...)

Departures depend on the day. It is busiest right after the airshow, but don't wait too long because the airport closes at 8pm. This is where longer taxi times and warm (afternoon) temps can be an issue.
Mid week - Wed, Thu - are popular departure days.

The folks at OSH are pretty darn good at moving a LOT of airplanes in a short amount of time. The delays occur when things outside their control mess things up - weather, accidents...

If we had solid answers to your questions, there would be a lot more lottery winners, and weather forecasts would always be spot on :eek:
 
Flew in twice

Jereme,


FWIW, I flew in twice.
First time was late Wednesday, just before 8PM, so not much traffic there. Easy peasy...


Second time was just after a reopening after the field the soaked in.
From Appleton where we were waiting, I got a heads up from my controller budies as for the opening time and thought I was coming in almost first.
Well... that heads up was probably the least guarded secret cause even to leave Appleton was havoc...
Then it wasn't as bad as I thought.
We were 2 pilots on board, and my copilot was all eyes out as his main task.
With his help, we targeted a traffic at the far end of the lake, closed in and reduced speed. We were a lot of planes in trail at that time but it all went ok, although we all had to slow to about 70kts, probably congestion...
The controllers are awesome. We were given RWY 36 via the avenue, switched to TWR frequency, was given 36R, a colour dot and cleared to land.
With my copilot, watching out and repeating the landing instructions, it was not a big deal but quite an experience!!!


Taxi in to the parking is brisk, the ground helpers are very good and we were parked in a jiffy.


Avoid the Saturday departure at around 10-11 AM, we were in queue for at least 45 minutes before taking off...
My other departure was on a Friday morning, early 8AM ish and was quick.


So it's possible to avoid the big rushes but with another pair of experienced eyes, it really gets some pressure off.


Here's me and my buddy, just after landing, queued to taxi for parking. We were quite exited and proud at the same time...
then the camp site set-up about an hour later...


And don't forget to close your flight plan... Ask me why I know...:eek:
 

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Of course, both Saturday and Sunday are the peak arrival days, and Saturday can be problematic once the mass arrivals start - they take big chunks out of the day. Field opens for arrivals at 0700, and my experience has been that most guys who say “crack of dawn” actually don’t get to Ripon until about 0800 or so….in other words, I’ve had reasonably good luck at 0700. YMMV, and western rules all!

Taxi time simply depends on which runway you get assigned on landing. North/South can get you to parking pretty quick. East/west can lead to some long waits. So if you have a choice……

Departure? I always leave at the crack of dawn - departures start at 0600! Last time, I had the little jet towed to the end of 27 in the dark, and I fired up as the ATIS went hot - was Number 1 for departure and disappeared into the inky black of the west…..

Paul
 
I am sure you will get lots of input but a couple from me based on the last few year of my experience.
1. Are you camping in HBC? If so landing on 18/36 will normally be the shortest taxi time, it is quite a long taxi from 9/27
2. We normally fly in Friday and based on my observations over the weekend early arrivals do seem much less busy, get in before the mass arrivals are scheduled.
3. I have not done it (been lucky) but a number of people bring plywood squares to put under the mains in case the ground gets soggy so you can get out easily.
4. Thursday morning departure is not bad (after the wed night airshow and corn roast) but be prepped to go early as it get busier late morning.
Figs
 
Beer fest

I hope to see you there at the Beer fest Sunday and the RV get together during the week. I will be the fat, old guy whose is always in the garage building.. Wont be able to miss me.

But on this theme, what should we'all bring to keep the bugs away? Should I invest in mosquito proof pants and such?
 
The airport opens at 7am so plan your butt crack early arrival accordingly :rolleyes:

Arrival taxiing is not usually a long affair. Make sure you have your sign. If you are arriving early, the temps won't be that bad (famous last words...)

Departures depend on the day. It is busiest right after the airshow, but don't wait too long because the airport closes at 8pm. This is where longer taxi times and warm (afternoon) temps can be an issue.
Mid week - Wed, Thu - are popular departure days.

The folks at OSH are pretty darn good at moving a LOT of airplanes in a short amount of time. The delays occur when things outside their control mess things up - weather, accidents...

If we had solid answers to your questions, there would be a lot more lottery winners, and weather forecasts would always be spot on :eek:

Thanks for the tips good sir!

Jereme,


FWIW, I flew in twice.
First time was late Wednesday, just before 8PM, so not much traffic there. Easy peasy...


Second time was just after a reopening after the field the soaked in.
From Appleton where we were waiting, I got a heads up from my controller budies as for the opening time and thought I was coming in almost first.
Well... that heads up was probably the least guarded secret cause even to leave Appleton was havoc...
Then it wasn't as bad as I thought.
We were 2 pilots on board, and my copilot was all eyes out as his main task.
With his help, we targeted a traffic at the far end of the lake, closed in and reduced speed. We were a lot of planes in trail at that time but it all went ok, although we all had to slow to about 70kts, probably congestion...
The controllers are awesome. We were given RWY 36 via the avenue, switched to TWR frequency, was given 36R, a colour dot and cleared to land.
With my copilot, watching out and repeating the landing instructions, it was not a big deal but quite an experience!!!


Taxi in to the parking is brisk, the ground helpers are very good and we were parked in a jiffy.


Avoid the Saturday departure at around 10-11 AM, we were in queue for at least 45 minutes before taking off...
My other departure was on a Friday morning, early 8AM ish and was quick.


So it's possible to avoid the big rushes but with another pair of experienced eyes, it really gets some pressure off.


Here's me and my buddy, just after landing, queued to taxi for parking. We were quite exited and proud at the same time...
then the camp site set-up about an hour later...


And don't forget to close your flight plan... Ask me why I know...:eek:

Looks like you guys had a blast!

Of course, both Saturday and Sunday are the peak arrival days, and Saturday can be problematic once the mass arrivals start - they take big chunks out of the day. Field opens for arrivals at 0700, and my experience has been that most guys who say “crack of dawn” actually don’t get to Ripon until about 0800 or so….in other words, I’ve had reasonably good luck at 0700. YMMV, and western rules all!

Taxi time simply depends on which runway you get assigned on landing. North/South can get you to parking pretty quick. East/west can lead to some long waits. So if you have a choice……

Departure? I always leave at the crack of dawn - departures start at 0600! Last time, I had the little jet towed to the end of 27 in the dark, and I fired up as the ATIS went hot - was Number 1 for departure and disappeared into the inky black of the west…..

Paul

Awesome, thanks Paul. My buddy and I are early birds, I'll do circles near the first entry point if I need to so I'm there at first open. haha Ever arrived in the evening? Friday evening is an option for us as well depending when we can leave Wyoming. About a 6 hour trip for us with a stop.

I am sure you will get lots of input but a couple from me based on the last few year of my experience.
1. Are you camping in HBC? If so landing on 18/36 will normally be the shortest taxi time, it is quite a long taxi from 9/27
2. We normally fly in Friday and based on my observations over the weekend early arrivals do seem much less busy, get in before the mass arrivals are scheduled.
3. I have not done it (been lucky) but a number of people bring plywood squares to put under the mains in case the ground gets soggy so you can get out easily.
4. Thursday morning departure is not bad (after the wed night airshow and corn roast) but be prepped to go early as it get busier late morning.
Figs

Planning on HBC, thanks for the tip on runway if they give me an option.

I hope to see you there at the Beer fest Sunday and the RV get together during the week. I will be the fat, old guy whose is always in the garage building.. Wont be able to miss me.

But on this theme, what should we'all bring to keep the bugs away? Should I invest in mosquito proof pants and such?

I sure plan on it, would really like to meet some of you folk in person!
 
Of course, both Saturday and Sunday are the peak arrival days, and Saturday can be problematic once the mass arrivals start - they take big chunks out of the day. Field opens for arrivals at 0700, and my experience has been that most guys who say “crack of dawn” actually don’t get to Ripon until about 0800 or so….in other words, I’ve had reasonably good luck at 0700. YMMV, and western rules all!

Taxi time simply depends on which runway you get assigned on landing. North/South can get you to parking pretty quick. East/west can lead to some long waits. So if you have a choice……

Departure? I always leave at the crack of dawn - departures start at 0600! Last time, I had the little jet towed to the end of 27 in the dark, and I fired up as the ATIS went hot - was Number 1 for departure and disappeared into the inky black of the west…..

Paul

Paul is there a master schedule of the mass arrivals? I'm not finding anything.
 
Paul is there a master schedule of the mass arrivals? I'm not finding anything.

While there may in fact be such a schedule, in years past there have been significant last minute changes. Don't get your hopes too high on getting accurate information days in advance...

Plenty of gas, plenty of patience, lots of awareness and wariness...
 
While there may in fact be such a schedule, in years past there have been significant last minute changes. Don't get your hopes too high on getting accurate information days in advance...

Plenty of gas, plenty of patience, lots of awareness and wariness...

Roger that Ed. I was mainly wanting to see what the first one scheduled is as even though it may change I doubt a mass arrival will get shifted significantly earlier. But then again I have never flown in so my assumption could likely be wrong... haha
 
I generally tried to land around 100 miles short of Oshkosh to tank up. That let me be fat on fuel arriving and while I was there.

Once, while taxiing in a plane that ran hot on the ground, I ducked into the slipstream of the plane taxiing ahead for additional cooling. It helped.

If you are prepared to cope with traffic, you'll be properly prepared. Maybe there won't be much. But maybe the rest of the world decides to arrive as early as you. Keep your eyes out.

Have all your lights on.

Weather varied a bunch. Haze was common, compared to here in the high country. But it might be anything and they might continue to bring traffic in. Decision time.

Preflight planning included alternate fields depending on conditions. But I was lucky and never needed to divert.

The Oshkosh arrival was the one part of it all that I consistently enjoyed, even though it got crazy sometimes.

Good luck!

Dave
 
Paul is there a master schedule of the mass arrivals? I'm not finding anything.

I saw the master schedule (at least the plan) the other day - I think it was during the Oshkosh Arrival Webinar EAA did last week - the good news is that it is recorded, and it is really something folks should try and watch anyway, so you can look it up.

As for evening arrivals, yes - I have arrived on Thursday or Friday evening many times, and it can often work out. A lot of times, the evenings are easy because thunderstorms have built up all over the Midwest, and people have put down to wait them out. Thursdays used to be just regular Oshkosh tower, but this year, it will be under the NOTAM.

Paul
 
I have searched the forums and it’s difficult to sort through everything to get my questions answered.

Myself and my pilot rated passenger will fly the -7A in this year. We have no desire to be in any mass arrivals. So…

4. Any other tips for a noob?

Someone mentioned plywood to put under your tires. I opted for a couple plastic cutting boards. The cutting boards are reusable even if they get soaked all week, and the price of plywood is absurd right now.

The other thing to note is that you will probably be directed to exit the runway into the grass, so you should be ready for that. The grass is pretty decent, but that comes as a surprise to some.
 
I generally tried to land around 100 miles short of Oshkosh to tank up. That let me be fat on fuel arriving and while I was there.

Once, while taxiing in a plane that ran hot on the ground, I ducked into the slipstream of the plane taxiing ahead for additional cooling. It helped.

If you are prepared to cope with traffic, you'll be properly prepared. Maybe there won't be much. But maybe the rest of the world decides to arrive as early as you. Keep your eyes out.

Have all your lights on.

Weather varied a bunch. Haze was common, compared to here in the high country. But it might be anything and they might continue to bring traffic in. Decision time.

Preflight planning included alternate fields depending on conditions. But I was lucky and never needed to divert.

The Oshkosh arrival was the one part of it all that I consistently enjoyed, even though it got crazy sometimes.

Good luck!

Dave

All good stuff here Dave!

I saw the master schedule (at least the plan) the other day - I think it was during the Oshkosh Arrival Webinar EAA did last week - the good news is that it is recorded, and it is really something folks should try and watch anyway, so you can look it up.

As for evening arrivals, yes - I have arrived on Thursday or Friday evening many times, and it can often work out. A lot of times, the evenings are easy because thunderstorms have built up all over the Midwest, and people have put down to wait them out. Thursdays used to be just regular Oshkosh tower, but this year, it will be under the NOTAM.

Paul

Thanks Paul, I made it about half way through that webinar this afternoon while the kid took a nap, I’ll finish it up soon.

Someone mentioned plywood to put under your tires. I opted for a couple plastic cutting boards. The cutting boards are reusable even if they get soaked all week, and the price of plywood is absurd right now.

The other thing to note is that you will probably be directed to exit the runway into the grass, so you should be ready for that. The grass is pretty decent, but that comes as a surprise to some.

Now that is a great idea!
 
Someone mentioned plywood to put under your tires. I opted for a couple plastic cutting boards. The cutting boards are reusable even if they get soaked all week, and the price of plywood is absurd right now.

The other thing to note is that you will probably be directed to exit the runway into the grass, so you should be ready for that. The grass is pretty decent, but that comes as a surprise to some.

I did this in the soaking of 2019. They were small (7"X9") , thin (1/4")and conformed to the tire all too much for my liking. I thought they were going up in the pants. After sitting n the hangar for a few months they flattened back out.

You are duly warned. DanH had some .063 aluminum(same size), I noted that they worked very well.
 
Alternatively you can use the plastic squares sold in RV (the camping type) stores used under trailer stabilizers, a bit lighter than plywood.

As far as planning for OSH arrivals & departures, from my experience, don't try and over think it, do plan, but as with all things during that week relax, let it happen and expect the unexpected. That's part of the appeal.
 
Friday arrival

My experience has been that arrivals are generally no problem, unless something goes awry. I have flown in 6 or 7 times on the weekend ahead of opening day. The only time I had any issue was the Wx related cluster of 2019.
Every other arrival was a piece of cake, Saturday or Sunday, as long as you follow the Notam.

I have always departed early in the AM, and again, no problems at all.

The one thing I will mention for anyone arriving on Friday, on my only Friday arrival, there was NO food service available on the field anywhere that I could find.
I literally had to beg a hot dog from the wonderful lady serving volunteers at the red barn dining hall. Ha!

Not sure what will be going on this year, but don’t count on Friday food vendors.

Enjoy, Jim
 
Notam

The best possible advise is to make sure you read and understand the Notam. With this being the first time flying in go to Google earth and review all the land marks and go through all the possible runway combinations. This will get you the best possible information.

I flew into Sun N' Fun for the first time this year. The Google earth review made it easy to spot the landmarks and then find a plane to fly in trail with.

Good luck.
 
I did this in the soaking of 2019. They were small (7"X9") , thin (1/4")and conformed to the tire all too much for my liking. I thought they were going up in the pants. After sitting n the hangar for a few months they flattened back out.

You are duly warned. DanH had some .063 aluminum(same size), I noted that they worked very well.

Mine are about 11"x16" and I'm guessing 3/8" thick. They did bend a bit, but did well enough that I would bring them again.
 
. . .The one thing I will mention for anyone arriving on Friday, on my only Friday arrival, there was NO food service available on the field anywhere that I could find.
I literally had to beg a hot dog from the wonderful lady serving volunteers at the red barn dining hall. Ha!

Not sure what will be going on this year, but don’t count on Friday food vendors.

Enjoy, Jim
Ok, so we have flown in on Friday pretty much every time for the past 10 years. If you are flying an RV into the show (which I would expect since you are posting on this RV forum) I assume you will be in the homebuilt camping area. Given that, you have the Welcome Wagons at your service, in addition busses that are running on Friday. You can get a ride pretty much anywhere you need on the grounds. Take a ride on either and have them drive you to the north side of the “North Forty”, to the “Fryer Tuck” gate. You will not have to beg a stranger for a hot dog if you do. There are many restaurants just outside the gate, including one called “Fryer Tuck”! In addition, there is a full blown grocery store a block outside the gate. Buy some food at that store, bring it back to the HBC pavilion and grill your own hot dog or burger.
 
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This may be a stupid question but when the "home built camping" packs up even if you have an HBC sign I'm assuming you are sent to either north or south 40 which is GAC? I'm guess that doesn't happen on a Saturday but I was just curious.
 
Glad to hear you will have two sets of pilot eyes on board. Things to consider:

1.) This isn't the FAA or EAA's first rodeo and the NOTAM is very important to read. If every pilot fully read it and studied it well it would eliminate many of the rough spots that a Gomer in the crowd causes. Why is there always some Cirrus or twin pilot that starts responding on the radio with their N number instead shutting up and wing wagging? Sheesh. That being said the arrival procedure is very well thought out and once you get set up for what ATIS says are the expected runways the process runs very smooth. It is designed to be simple and safe so pilots can fly the airplane and look out the window instead of reading papers or looking at instruments.

2.) Along those lines, be ready to ignore your ADS-B traffic depiction and aural warnings. I may go so far as to say to turn off the aural warnings, and maybe even the display all together. When you are used to normal traffic densities with every-day flying the amount of traffic around you during the arrival procedure displayed in the cockpit on a screen will seem overwhelming. I wouldn't fixate on that and instead keep your eyes out of the cockpit. The arrival procedure worked easily a safely for decades prior to ADS-B. In fact it may have been less stressful before ADS-B because pilots were not dependent on computers in the cockpit or nanny warnings and more importantly everybody was looking out the window. Because of ADS-B you can now bet there is going to be some Gomer in the group again staring at something in the cockpit instead of looking for you and others out the windows. So don't let the ADS-B or nagging freak you out. There is supposed to be that many airplanes lined up close to each other in the sky as it's the safe way to do it. At the initial convergence point of the arrival procedure targets will look like they are coming from all directions at you. That's the whole point of the initial point is the allow aircraft coming in from all points of the compass to start there. Again, try to do more looking outside than at the traffic display device. One way the traffic display might be useful would be if you were to zoom "way in" on your airplane so you only see something like a 3 mile radius around you and then set your altitude filter pretty tight, like 500 feet above or below your altitude or maybe even tighter. Basically where the actual important stuff is. If you zoom your traffic screen out it will look like swarm of bees and may even cause panic. Just do yourself a favor and look out the windows instead. ATC has these same stressful alerts and swarm of bees on their radar screens which is why in years past all aircraft were asked to squawk standby. With ADS-B in effect aircraft cannot legally squawk standby so the NOTAM has been changed since around 2015 requesting only non-ADS-B aircraft squawk standby. And looks like this year they say to just turn on all transponders. Also keep in mind that all this airspace is non-rule airspace and there are ultralights and even NORDOs allowed in with their own procedures so the the fancy ADS-B traffic display will miss some of the traffic anyhow. So back to the mantra, "Keep your eyes outside the airplane".

3.) Departures are fairly stress free because the real traffic to deal with is on the ground and the ATC controllers on the ground with flags do a bang up job of releasing takeoffs. And once air borne the traffic disperses really quickly and is well spaced. In my opinion the absolute best time to depart is at the crack of dawn when the field opens. In fact get there early, pack, pre-flight and alert a marshaller that you will be doing an engine start immediately at the published airport opening time. It is strictly forbidden for any engine to start prior to that exact time. And you have to have a marshaller escort you from the tie downs to a taxiway. Unless you are close enough to push your airplane out early. On that note never start your engine in the tie down, always pull it forward and turn it 90 degrees so you don't blast any airplanes or tents. It's common courtesy and common sense (which can both seem to be lacking by brain surgeons in expensive airplanes).

4.) Oshkosh air traffic controllers who compete to work during AirVenture week are some of the most professional and smart people in the FAA. They are as much psychologists and verbal facilitators as they are technically competent air traffic controllers. If a pilot starts acting confused or nervous these guys can tell in an instant and will talk smartly to get things straight. They help reduce stress levels by encouraging and complementing aircraft rather than barking stressful orders to them. They help bolster pilot confidence and performance levels. This works very well because they are the cream of the crop from each region they come from. The controllers and their professional and confident demeanor has to be the single most impressive thing that stands out in my mind when I think of flying the approach procedure. The other thing that stands out in my mind is the very occasional Gomer who obviously never bothered to read the NOTAM or may be complacent enough, or dumb enough. to not have not even bothered to get it in the first place.
 
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This may be a stupid question but when the "home built camping" packs up even if you have an HBC sign I'm assuming you are sent to either north or south 40 which is GAC? I'm guess that doesn't happen on a Saturday but I was just curious.

EAA has that figured out. In fact they have contingency plans for contingency plans. The flightline and parking has it's own control tent near warbirds with some seasoned EAA volunteers that know exactly what to do and parking overflow is one of the easiest things for them to contend with.
 
Glad to hear you will have two sets of pilot eyes on board. Things to consider:

1.) This isn't the FAA or EAA's first rodeo and the NOTAM is very important to read. If every pilot fully read it and studied it well it would eliminate many of the rough spots that a Gomer in the crowd causes. Why is there always some Cirrus or twin pilot that starts responding on the radio with their N number instead shutting up and wing wagging? Sheesh. That being said the arrival procedure is very well thought out and once you get set up for what ATIS says are the expected runways the process runs very smooth. It is designed to be simple and safe so pilots can fly the airplane and look out the window instead of reading papers or looking at instruments.

2.) Along those lines, be ready to ignore your ADS-B traffic depiction and aural warnings. I may go so far as to say to turn off the aural warnings, and maybe even the display all together. When you are used to normal traffic densities with every-day flying the amount of traffic around you during the arrival procedure displayed in the cockpit on a screen will seem overwhelming. I wouldn't fixate on that and instead keep your eyes out of the cockpit. The arrival procedure worked easily a safely for decades prior to ADS-B. In fact it may have been less stressful before ADS-B because pilots were not dependent on computers in the cockpit or nanny warnings and more importantly everybody was looking out the window. Because of ADS-B you can now bet there is going to be some Gomer in the group again staring at something in the cockpit instead of looking for you and others out the windows. So don't let the ADS-B or nagging freak you out. There is supposed to be that many airplanes lined up close to each other in the sky as it's the safe way to do it. At the initial convergence point of the arrival procedure targets will look like they are coming from all directions at you. That's the whole point of the initial point is the allow aircraft coming in from all points of the compass to start there. Again, try to do more looking outside than at the traffic display device. One way the traffic display might be useful would be if you were to zoom "way in" on your airplane so you only see something like a 3 mile radius around you and then set your altitude filter pretty tight, like 500 feet above or below your altitude or maybe even tighter. Basically where the actual important stuff is. If you zoom your traffic screen out it will look like swarm of bees and may even cause panic. Just do yourself a favor and look out the windows instead. ATC has these same stressful alerts and swarm of bees on their radar screens which is why in years past all aircraft were asked to squawk standby. With ADS-B in effect aircraft cannot legally squawk standby so the NOTAM has been changed since around 2015 requesting only non-ADS-B aircraft squawk standby. And looks like this year they say to just turn on all transponders. Also keep in mind that all this airspace is non-rule airspace and there are ultralights and even NORDOs allowed in with their own procedures so the the fancy ADS-B traffic display will miss some of the traffic anyhow. So back to the mantra, "Keep your eyes outside the airplane".

3.) Departures are fairly stress free because the real traffic to deal with is on the ground and the ATC controllers on the ground with flags do a bang up job of releasing takeoffs. And once air borne the traffic disperses really quickly and is well spaced. In my opinion the absolute best time to depart is at the crack of dawn when the field opens. In fact get there early, pack, pre-flight and alert a marshaller that you will be doing an engine start immediately at the published airport opening time. It is strictly forbidden for any engine to start prior to that exact time. And you have to have a marshaller escort you from the tie downs to a taxiway. Unless you are close enough to push your airplane out early. On that note never start your engine in the tie down, always pull it forward and turn it 90 degrees so you don't blast any airplanes or tents. It's common courtesy and common sense (which can both seem to be lacking by brain surgeons in expensive airplanes).

4.) Oshkosh air traffic controllers who compete to work during AirVenture week are some of the most professional and smart people in the FAA. They are as much psychologists and verbal facilitators as they are technically competent air traffic controllers. If a pilot starts acting confused or nervous these guys can tell in an instant and will talk smartly to get things straight. They help reduce stress levels by encouraging and complementing aircraft rather than barking stressful orders to them. They help bolster pilot confidence and performance levels. This works very well because they are the cream of the crop from each region they come from. The controllers and their professional and confident demeanor has to be the single most impressive thing that stands out in my mind when I think of flying the approach procedure. The other thing that stands out in my mind is the very occasional Gomer who obviously never bothered to read the NOTAM or may be complacent enough, or dumb enough. to not have not even bothered to get it in the first place.

EAA has that figured out. In fact they have contingency plans for contingency plans. The flightline and parking has it's own control tent near warbirds with some seasoned EAA volunteers that know exactly what to do and parking overflow is one of the easiest things for them to contend with.

Man thanks for the awesome replies. I have read the Notam twice now (with more to come on my flight to Hawaii haha). Your explanations of things were exactly what I needed. For example the notam says pull your aircraft out to start and not before 6am but it doesn't tell me how far or that a marshal needs to escort me to a taxi way so thanks for the good explanation. I assumed it was for not blasting peoople and their camps, sad that people don't know this just out of common sense... It's one thing to read the notam and something else to have you really explain things. Thank you

I was watching a video of arrivals and wondered if it would be a good idea to turn the voice alerts off. Good idea.
 
One of the things I've learned after many OSH trips is that early Saturday departures can be concerning/difficult because:
- You need to get a refund for unused camping days. After all, 30 bucks is 30 bucks.
- You want to grab breakfast before departing. They serve breakfast right across the street from the camping refund desk at Homebuilders HQ.
- You gotta break down camp and load the plane. Note all the water on the bottom of the tent.
- You gotta be back at work on Monday and home base is far away. Plan on being back at work on Tuesday just in case.

500 other HBC'ers and 3000 other airplane campers are also wanting to leave on Saturday.

We'll be flying a parallel track to you coming from Ogden, UT. Were planning a Friday arrival and a Saturday departure. There will be hundreds of airplanes using 122.75 and/or 123.45 for air-to-air along the route. Be advised, some pilots think it's CB channel 19.
See ya at Oshkosh.
 
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On the issue of getting your camping refund back. You can check out the previous day (while noting that you will be leaving the next morning). That is an accepted practice and takes one thing off of your “to-do” list on departure day.
 
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Practice!
Load up your plane heavy and aft CG and go figure out how to fly 90 knots and hold altitude. Lock down those numbers. Don't be the Slinky guy.
Now practice a bit slower because you'll end up behind the Supercub with tundra tires.
Practice flying a tight right hand pattern at that weight and CG and practice hitting a spot down the runway, not at your normal spot. Don't be the guy dragging it to the dot at five feet.
Things get very sloppy feeling in RV's when flying around at these speeds.

Having a second set of eyes is great, but brief them on what is important and what is not. You only need to know about threats, not every airplane they see. (and look up....)

Use Googlemaps to "fly" the procedure so you know the landscape a bit before you get there. Know what the railroad tracks look like (many follow the road...). And watch the videos.

Bring something the put under the tires. I use pieces of aluminum. Couple of cookie sheets from Goodwill would work. Just need to spread the load a bit.

Buy a couple cheap power packs for recharging your phone. That way you don't have to babysit your phone at the charging station and won't worry so much about charging the packs unattended. Forget the solar nonsense.
 
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I will second on practicing slow flight! A few years ago I got behind a cub and had to slow down to 80kts several times. You're oil temps are going to rise going this slow so don't freak out... Then make normal approaches at a airport with a long enough runway to safely practice landing 1/3 to 1/2 down the runway. This was very difficult for me at first so it was nice to be prepared when they told me to land at the green dot...And last but not least, after getting our gear wet several times from a leaky tent, I sealed the seams with seam sealer and sprayed the tent with scotch guard or some other kind of weather proofing spray and has never leaked since and we weathered the 2019 storms fine. It seems every time I tried the crack of dawn arrival, there were low ceilings in and around Kosh until late morning and then everyone that had the same idea made a mad dash as soon as the ceiling lifted enough to get in so be prepared for that. I'm getting excited about going just thinking about all this! Your gonna have a great time!
 
Thanks again for all the great replies everyone! I'll be practicing up don't you worry and I can't wait to have some fun at Osh! I have been once before but not flown in so this will make for the full experience I am sure.
 
Simulated Oshkosh Arrival on Pilotedge

I am not going to Oshkosh this year but PilotEdge has a simulated Air Venture arrival from July 14 to July 18 for those who fly one of the common flight simulator programs, including MS Flight Simulator or Plane X. It has real ATC talking to you and some NATC controllers who are familiar with the Oshkosh arrival. You get to fly both the Rippon arrival procedure for the regular GA planes or the Warbird arrival if you fly turbine in the simulator. It's a good rehearsal to the actual event that happens at the end of July.

Link: https://www.pilotedge.net/pages/simventure
 
Oh yes, I forgot about this. I have MS sim so I may look into this.

I did go out today and do a bit of practice to get power settings and see what happens to my temps. 90kts for 20 miles temps all looked good with oil stabilizing around 194 and chts no problem. I even taxied a couple miles for 10 minutes with a few short stops to see what happened to the temps. Highest CHT stabilized at 352, #3 and 4 were running on vapor but surprisingly smooth. OAT was even 85. All of this at 8,000 density altitude so I'm sure things will be slightly different in the low country.

Next up, practice some tight right patterns and spot landing.
 
Anyone got their printed copy yet?

Yes. Recieved mine two days ago.
I will also print out the individual runway arrival pages as suggested in the EAA arrival video. That way, it helps to keep one from having to thumb through pages to find the one for your arrival.
 
Oshkosh Questions

Two years ago I planned to arrive at RIPON at 0700 on Saturday morning. I missed it by 4 minutes, arriving at 0704. There was hardly any traffic. I saw traffic on my Skyview but the first airplane I saw visually was on downwind. So I recommend beginning the arrival at 0700 on Friday or Saturday.
 
Two years ago I planned to arrive at RIPON at 0700 on Saturday morning. I missed it by 4 minutes, arriving at 0704. There was hardly any traffic. I saw traffic on my Skyview but the first airplane I saw visually was on downwind. So I recommend beginning the arrival at 0700 on Friday or Saturday.

Thanks for the first hand account, this is exactly what I was planning on doing. Hopefully it is the same for me. haha
 
Thanks for the first hand account, this is exactly what I was planning on doing. Hopefully it is the same for me. haha

Well, I can tell you for certain that it isn't going to go down like that this year, because WE'RE going to be there ready to pounce too :). After over a decade of arrivals in every condition, I can't wait to see what this year looks like.
 
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So true!!

Well, I can tell you for certain that it isn't going to go down like that this year, because WE'RE going to be there ready to pounce too :). After over a decade of arrivals in every condition, I'm can't wait to see what this year looks like.

I'll be flying the tour helicopters beginning on Sunday. Each year it gets more and more interesting listening and watching the arrivals. This year with all the pent up energy and desire to get out, I suspect it will be a real fur ball!!!

Lets really be careful out there.
 
Well, I can tell you for certain that it isn't going to go down like that this year, because WE'RE going to be there ready to pounce too :). After over a decade of arrivals in every condition, I'm can't wait to see what this year looks like.

haha maybe I'll get lucky then and follow my fellow RV brethren in!
 
I guess we kinda' fancy ourselves "fur ball experience" veterans. Often arriving around 4pm Sat. :). Heart rates under control. CRM protocols in full effect. Koger shade fully retracted 80mi out. A spherical traffic scan going on. One pilot flying with, "don't hit nuttin", the other pilot "I'll let you know if I see something that is about to hit us." The human TCAS has full authority for imminent avoidance for anything not directly ahead, "I have the airplane". Sometimes it feels like cheating. When someone says, "I saw your landing", there is inevitably a pregnant silence as Tanya and I look at each other with a loving smile, then challenge the commentator to continue...

However, this year, we intend to adjust our normal M.O. for a more sane plan.

Jereme, it will be totally fine. Just fall in 1/2 mi in trail and try not to do anything stupid :). The beer is on me (and Darwin, and a few others)!

Welcome to Oshkosh!!
 
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I guess we kinda' fancy ourselves "fur ball experience" veterans. Often arriving around 4pm Sat. :). Heart rates under control. CRM protocols in full effect. Koger shade fully retracted 80mi out. A spherical traffic scan going on. One pilot flying with, "don't hit nuttin", the other pilot "I'll let you know if I see something that is about to hit us." The human TCAS has full authority for imminent avoidance for anything not directly ahead, "I have the airplane". Sometimes it feels like cheating. When someone says, "I saw your landing", there is inevitably a pregnant silence as Tanya and I look at each other with a loving smile, then challenge the commentator to continue...

However, this year, we intend to adjust our normal M.O. for a more sane plan.

Jereme, it will be totally fine. Just fall in 1/2 mi in trail and try not to do anything stupid :). The beer is on me (and Darwin, and a few others)!

Welcome to Oshkosh!!

Haha sounds good to me! :)
 
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One thing I didn't see mentioned in this thread is the tie down once you're in your parking spot.

https://www.eaa.org/airventure/eaa-fly-in-flying-to-oshkosh/ground-operations/tying-down-aircraft

The recommended tie-downs are one of the following designs. I went with the claw because its what everyone seems to suggest. Remember to bring a hammer.

https://www.sportys.com/portable-tie-down-anchor-kit.html
https://www.mypilotstore.com/MyPilotStore/sep/4643

Thanks for the tip. Coincidentally I just ordered the Flyties kit which is similar to the claw.
 
There are a bunch of youtube videos testing the various tie down systems. The dog stakes work about as good as any.
 
There are a bunch of youtube videos testing the various tie down systems. The dog stakes work about as good as any.

I have seen them. I wouldn’t use the dog one because the eye deforms big time. Maybe I missed it but I only saw videos made in sandy Florida. I’m betting it’s not as representative of other soils in the country.
 
I have seen them. I wouldn’t use the dog one because the eye deforms big time. Maybe I missed it but I only saw videos made in sandy Florida. I’m betting it’s not as representative of other soils in the country.

They deform but they hold.
Haha! Well, in 2011 there was a certain event that happened at Sun-N-Fun. During that event my RV9A was tied down using the corkscrew “dog” tie downs. They did not deform. They also did not hold. The soil there is 100% sand. Of course all bets are off when dealing with tornadoes, but even so, the combination of sand and small footprint for the corkscrew tie downs was not going to hold much even without the tornado.

As for the claw, read the instructions carefully. There is only one way they can be installed and be effective.
 
There are a bunch of youtube videos testing the various tie down systems. The dog stakes work about as good as any.

Both aircraft I've seen flipped or substantially moved by storms at Oshkosh used the screw in dog stakes as tie-downs. I would not recommend those.
 
I’ve had a dog stake break at the crimp that holds the swivel. 20+ years ago I got titanium corkscrews that absolutely won’t break and hold better and only weigh 2lbs. Now I’m using the Claw for my Navion cause I don’t care about the weight.
 
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