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Airventure 2022 - first trip plans

tbone40x

Member
Starting to plan for my 1st trip to Airventure. I'm still reading through alot of posts. Here's my 1st overall plan draft. Any other ideas/best practices? Is C47 a good place to stop for fuel (I picked it for the fuel $ and vicinity to the Fisk arrival).

Plan -

Fly up to Airventure in Arrow N1073X and camp. Arriving OSH Sunday 24th, Departing Wed/Thur.

Saturday 23 July Depart KGTU (Georgetown, TX) ~ 9am
pickup Craig (buddy) in St Louis 1H0 on Sat 23rd.
Craig flying commercial into St Louis
Stay overnight in St Louis
Craig to Uber and meet at the plane, load camping gear.
Tyson and Craig Uber to hotel/restaurant
Sunday 24th
Depart 1H0 at 5am, fly to C47 (Portage Municipal, WI) to top off fuel.
Depart C47 to Fisk arrival. Planning to get into OSH before 9am (is that before the mass arrivals?)
Aiming to get into the North 40 for camping.
Once settled, where is the beer?

Return - Wednesday 27th or Thursday 28th
drop Craig off in St Louis 1H0
Fly back to KGTU
Camp
Tent
sleeping pad
summer weight sleeping bag
Sundries
Bug spray
Sunscreen
Shower kit with flops
Cooler (buy at the convenience store?)
Clothes (Hand wash and hang dry?)
IE re-wear, take ~ 3 sets of clothes and wash/dry.
Does anything dry out if hanging in the tent?
quick dry shoes
Sandals
Boonie hat
 
9am will get you in before the mass arrivals. If the weather is bad on Saturday guaranteed that Sunday will be a cluster no matter when you show up,

SOS bros on Waukau Ave is a great place to hang out and grab a beer. Just look for the yellow smiley face balloon over towards the museum from N40.

You can rinse out clothes, but best bet is just bring enough so you don’t have to.
 
My first time was last year, with my son, in my first RV, our RV-6. I had lots of help and suggestions however from the group here and my local airport has quite a few RV-heads.

It all depends on what you want to do. These are just my observations from one year, and never having been before:

North 40 Camping didn't look like nearly as much fun as Homebuilt camping. Homebuilt camping seemed to have way better amenities, but the guys (Jay, Jim, Jerry, others I can't remember the names of) at HBC have done a lot of work over the years making it that way, and keeping the atmosphere in HBC welcoming and friendly. So step 1 is to ditch the Arrow and come in an RV :D

North 40 camping is probably more centrally located if you like to go to the booth's and vendors and see the airshow, but there is still going to be a _lot_ of walking, so prepare for that.

You can buy a cooler there, but I was successful in liberating a foam Omaha Steaks cooler from the trash pile, and it worked great all week, and I was able to break it down and throw it away when it was time to leave. They sell ice at various places, so you can keep things cold.

You can hitch a ride with someone to the local grocery stores outside the event. This year, I plan to not bring nearly as much food ahead of time, and rely more on that. It was a hassle trying to figure out how to bring cold stuff with me on the flight up. I could have just bought it once I arrived.

Not sure about North 40, but you might need to beg and borrow a way to cook your food, or rely on restaurants or fair food. Over in HBC, we have grills and a pavilion :cool:

Depending on the WX, things seemed to dry fine, but we brought clothes pin type things so that we could clip our towels and stuff on the prop, the breeze each night dried them by morning.

For fuel, I would consider fueling a little further away from OSH, or more to the West. When done fueling, this might help you get into the conga line streaming East, especially if they are using the Western entry points. Some local places ran out of fuel not long after it started, so you definitely want to check ahead of time. I arrived with enough fuel to get back out and to a fuel stop at least 30 minutes away once we left, so basically I tried to plan it to arrive with half tanks. There is fuel available at the event if your plan goes awry.

If you plan on doing anything IFR, you want to get your FAA IFR reservation account set up ahead of time. I had some problem creating an account, and the FAA helpdesk was slammed, and I couldn't get into the system until the day before I left. Turns out I didn't need it, but you want to verify you can get in before you need it.

Other random things: I don't drink, but if I did, I saw no shortage of drinks floating around. There was an RV beer social event, but don't be like my camp neighbors: we were walking back from the event, and they were sitting at their tent chatting and getting drinks out, and I said "You guys aren't going to the free beer social?". I haven't seen people move that fast in a while :p

We brought camping chairs, to OSH and to Reklaw. I will no longer waste baggage space on camping chairs. We never even got them out at either event, there were so many camping chairs floating around, there was always a place to sit. Worst case, I would just sit in the nice grass. That being said, I would bring a moving blanket for under your tent, the grass and ground can wick up some serious moisture, and be quite chilly in the morning, and you can also use moving blankets to spread under your wing for that glorious mid-afternoon nap.

You probably want some way to cover the cabin of your plane, the sun will heat it up pretty seriously each day.

As far as planning when exactly to arrive, you really have to play it by ear. If the WX is good like it was last year, things will go according to plan. If not, all bets are off, and you need to be on your A game for sequencing and landing in the conga line streaming in. Really though, I was worried about it, but it turned out to not be that big a deal. If you are pretty current and proficient, it's easier than an IFR arrival at a busy airport. If WX is looking iffy coming up on that weekend, you might want a plan to fly closer and camp at a local airport, or wait in STL until it clears.

My son jumped right in and went to the volunteer hut and they put him right to work. He had a really good time, and is planning on doing it again this year. It allowed him to get up close and personal, and meet some people you wouldn't meet just walking around. They have plenty of ways to get involved, and it's pretty low commitment, and wouldn't divert from your trip. You could volunteer for a couple hours, or for the whole week, there's lots to do.

For departing, you should have a plan for contingencies and having to stay an extra day if needed. If you are not IFR for example, and there is WX in the morning, and then it clears, but the airshow is going on, you might not be able to get out in the evening window and be stuck until the next morning. I wouldn't make any hard plans for exactly when you are going to leave.
 
I had to divert to Portage one year due to IFR conditions at OSH. Nice folks and easy fuel. So not a bad spot. However, you can easily get fueled at OSH, they'll come by and fuel you at your camp. Just don't be fuel critical on the arrival.
 
I think leaving St. Louis at 5 am and arriving at OSH at 9 am, with a stop for fuel and the Fisk Arrival is ambitious. You will more likely get to OSH closer to noon, especially if there is fog or severe weather on the way. I haven't flown in, but I've been a Sheetmetal Workshop volunteer since 2003, and have seen all kinds of conditions on Sunday. One year nobody could get in Friday afternoon or on Saturday, due to weather, so they all arrive Sunday. You will need to be flexible.

Your Arrow will need to park in General Aviation Camping, which is the North 40 or South 40 (not with the RV's). By Sunday late morning the North 40 could be pretty full. The South 40 is pretty spartan, and many tram stops from the main action, but EAA has been making improvements down there. Probably no beer nearby at the South 40.

To be closer to the action, try to get in a day earlier.
 
Being based at Creve Coeur Airport (1H0), I have several times left 1H0 at 5am and made OSH (Ripon) just when arrivals open at 7am. Of coarse I was in my RV-6A and did not stop for fuel. Usually buy fuel on field (I feel worth the extra cost to avoid a stop).
 
Saturday if possible

I don't know how flexible you are but I'd suggest moving up to Saturday if you can. I have an interesting perspective as I fly the Bell 47's on the tours. We start flying the public on Sunday. Last year was the biggest cluster I've ever seen in the 12 years I've been flying the helicopters there. Not in a bad way so much but the pent up energy of people wanting to be there. It was simply sheer volume.

Friday was like Sunday usually is. North 40 was reaching capacity, camping was packed and the arrivals were backed up to Madison. Good thing they added the many additional check points because it would have likely been dangerous. We were watching on FlightRadar24 and were shocked at the volume. It was this way Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

North 40 is pretty complete now. You'll have walking to do. There is a shuttle that will drive you around the North 40 to the tram pick up locations. Learn the tram routes right away and you'll maximize your time.

Bring extra towels. If it rains hard you'll get water in your tent. Store as much stuff in your plane as you can to keep it dry.

As somebody said, dump the spam can and get an RV for the best camping experience.

Sunday night social at HBC. Monday is the RV social!!!
 
Hands down, the most important camping gear is an eyemask and some earplugs.

Sunday usually has a large beer trading session at the HBC pavilion. Bring a contribution. Contribute slop and you may expect the Oscars treatment.

RV Social is Monday evening. Back yard of the second private home just outside the Waukau Ave EAA gate. Home in on the control tower, then take up a heading of 270. We're starting a bit early this year, probably 4PM, due to another event later.

Campsite beer? From the North 40, ask how to find the "Friar Tuck gate" in the north fence. Easy walk to restaurants, convenience store, grocery, Target, etc. Generally no gate guard Sunday night (Cue the Eagles, "Smugglers Blues").
 
You folks have convinced us to back up our arrival to Saturday morning. Thanks for all the input and keep any best practices coming!
 
When:
• The official days are Monday through Sunday.
• The first Sunday is an unofficial day, but if you have your Monday wrist band on you can get in and take a pre-walk around the grounds

Who/Where:
• If you fly commercially, you can fly to Milwaukee, Wisconsin and get a rental car there. You can also fly into Appleton, but it’s usually more expensive.
• If you fly your own aircraft into Airventure there is a published NOTAM that you MUST download and follow! Operating at OSH is like nothing else on the planet and there are strict procedures that are specific to OSH, and are geared to keep you OFF the radios.
• The Oshkosh (OSH) campground (Camp Scholler), if you stay there, is like no other. They guarantee camping, it is so huge. Lots of bath houses, camp stores, port-a-potties, roads on a grid pattern, and it’s directly adjacent to the Airventure grounds.
• The down side to camping are the legendary thunderstorms and rains that sometimes hit the event.
• Camping at Camp Scholler:
o One camp site is big enough for a camper or tent, and a car. Only 1 tent/car is allowed per camp site.
o You pay up front for the entire week, from the day you arrive. When you leave, you get a refund for the days remaining.
o If you arrive by car you will go to the “Camp Scholler Camper Registration” entrance (see map) and wait in line (come early in the morning if you want to avoid the rush).
o There are NO assigned camping spots. You just drive around and look for one. The spaces closest to the grounds are usually already full by the first Sunday.
o If you fly in they are expecting you will be camping with your airplane, so you pay for your parking spot just like a regular camping spot.
EXCEPT “show planes” which includes your homebuilt. Those you don’t pay for a parking spot.

What is Airventure?
• Aircraft: here is some of what you will see there, parked in the grass.
o Owner-flown aircraft. They fly them in, park in the grass tiedown areas, and camp next to or under their airplanes.
o War Birds. They have their own area, and includes everything from WW1 replicas to WW2 bombers, fighters, reconnaissance, trainers, to Korean, Vietnam and modern era prop planes, helicopters and jets.
o Vintage. This includes any kind of “old” planes from the 1920’s through the 60’s (or so).
o Amphibs. There is a seaplane base off site that you can get to by bus. Other Amphibs park at the main event at the south end.
o Light Sport and Ultralights. These have their own grass runway on site and are located so they can operate all day long.
• Vendors: There are vendors under tents ALL OVER the grounds. There are also 4 huge hangars with hundreds of vendors displaying and selling their wares.
• Show Center (Boeing Plaza): At the end of the main drag (Celebration Way), this huge concrete plaza where BIG aircraft and really cool and interesting aircraft park. Some aircraft stay all week, but many are changed out each day.
• Opening Concert: On Monday night a nationally known band plays live at the Boeing Plaza. Your show admission gets you there; no added cost.
• Museum: At the entrance to the Airventure grounds is a world class aviation museum dedicated in large part to home building, but also a healthy dose of civil and military aviation history and aircraft. It takes at least a half day to see the whole thing. With your wrist band that’s free, also. It is a MUST visit!
• Across the grass runway from the museum is Pioneer Air Park where the sight seeing helicopters fly out of, and where KID Venture is held.
• Air Show: EVERY day there is an afternoon airshow. Some of the performers perform more than one day, but on the whole there is something different every day. These shows are awesome and last for 3 hours.
• On Wednesday and Saturday there will be NIGHT air shows!
• Food:
o Lots of food on property for eating during the day. The quality has gotten much better the last several years.
o For dinner we often eat off site at the local restaurants around the airport.
• Learning (all FREE):
o All take place under metal structures with chairs and multi-media, with some at the Museum.
o Forums: Lots of informational forums about airplanes, building, combat vets telling their stories, etc. HUNDREDS of these!
o Workshops: Hands-on demonstrations and instructions on every aspect of every type of aircraft building and maintenance.
• Fly In Theater: each night there is an aviation-related feature film outside on a sloped area of ground with a HUGE inflatable movie screen. Free popcorn is provided!

Links:
http://www.airventure.org/
https://www.eaa.org/airventure/plan-your-eaa-airventure-trip
https://www.eaa.org/airventure/eaa-airventure-schedule-of-events
http://www.airventuremuseum.org/
https://www.eaa.org/airventure/plan-your-eaa-airventure-trip/eaa-camping-and-lodging/camp-scholler
https://www.eaa.org/airventure/plan-your-eaa-airventure-trip/maps

OSH Tips:

- Look at the forum/lecture schedule BEFORE you get there to decide what things you really want to see/hear.

- Some of my favorite lectures have been:
- WWII vets talking about their experiences
- SR72 Blackbird talks
- Anything with Burt Rutan
- Historic flights

- Favorite hands-on (even if you'll never use them):
- Fabric covering
- Welding
- Mike Busch lectures on maintenance (HIGHLY recommended)

- HYDRATE! Bring/obtain a water carrying device. Don't depend on the drinking fountains alone.

- Each lunch at off-peak times

- Allow some quality time out at the War Birds section. Some of the big aircraft ask for something like a $5 or $10 donations to take a tour inside.

- While at the Warbirds, hang out under a wing close to the runway and watch the GA aircraft land. If you have an aviation radio it's even more fun when you can listen in.

- GO TO THE EAA MUSEUM! You need at least a half day to go through it. If you pick a rainy day everyone else will be there, too, so choose.

- On the event map make note of the flush toilet locations. They have been adding more each year. Needless to say they are much nicer than the port-a-potties.

- Bring a hat with a brim for sun protection, as well as sunblock.

- Eat at one of the nearby restaurants. One of my favorites is next to the Hilton Hotel on the other side of the runway (9/27) is the Hangar Bar and Grill. Recommended for quality and price (NOT decor)! They have a back deck overlooking the runway with a bar and often karaoke, if you end up waiting for a table (get there not long after the show closes and you won't have to wait).

- Go to the Fly-In Theater! If you can get a chair you will be more comfortable, but even a towel or blanket will do. There is free popcorn. There is always room, but for the really good movies get there early to get a good location.

- Partake of the other evening activities, like Theater in the Woods. There are often some REALLY good entertainment or guest speakers.

- If you are going to buy an event T-shirt, don't wait too long. They begin to run out of the most popular designs before the end of the week.

- If you are camping:
- Shower right after the show grounds close for the day, or right after the Fly-In Theater lets out. If you wait until the morning to shower you are going to be in for a long wait.
- Bring shower shoes
- Liquid soap is a better option. If you drop the bar soap you probably aren't going to want to retrieve it.
- If you pitch a tent, stay away from the major road (Schaick Ave). It's busy, noisy and kicks up a lot of dust.
- If you pitch a tent, stake it down WELL. During the day keep things you want to stay dry, either in your car if you have one, or raised up off the tent floor. OSH is famous for some of its thunderstorms.
- Meet people. If you see something or someone that interests you, stop to say hello.
- Have a battery-powered lantern, or an LED flashlight.
- If you are sound-sensitive when sleeping, bring ear plugs. There’s always noise of some kind in Camp Scholler.

- If you have electronic devices such as tablets or phones, there are charging stations on the Airventure grounds (next to the Vintage Red Barn). For a dollar or two (optional) donation you can leave your charger and device with them and they will charge it. Come back later and pick it up. There are also electric outlets at the shower houses, so many people plug in while showering. Lately there have been charging kiosks around the grounds, too.

- The on-site breakfasts are not going to win any awards (they never bothered me), but the best full breakfasts (eggs, pancakes, etc.) are at the War Birds Cafe and the one in the Forums Plaza on Waukau Avenue.

- The airshow is very similar each day, though there are certainly variations. Pick a day where you want to watch the whole show. Under the wing of an aircraft, for shade, is where you want to be, as close as possible to the flight line. But you have to get there EARLY; well before the show starts, to get a good spot. Everyone else is trying to get the same spot you are!

- Personally I like to wear a small backpack to carry things in, rather than carry around a bag in my hands. I also have a small, light collapsible camp chair that I clip onto my bag and carry around. Yes, it adds a little weight, but it's very handy.

- Use sunscreen! You can buy it there.

If You Fly In a Homebuilt:

- If you arrive in a homebuilt you can park in the general camping areas, or with the other “show planes.” There tend to be a few RVs there... :)

- Once you arrive, go to the Homebuilt registration building. You’ll get a welcome package. If you are camping in Camp Scholler you can grab a free ride there (it’s a long way away). Note you can also call them to get a ride back.
 
+5

On what Mike said ^^^^^^.

Look into last fuel stop in Clinton Iowa.

Big runway and take a well needed break.

Boomer
 
Shipping

Take advantage of the shipping services.

https://www.eaa.org/airventure/plan-your-eaa-airventure-trip/guest-services/shipping-services

My wife joins me in the RV6 and likes to camp “comfortably”. We’ve been able to load a small tent and all we need for the trip, but it’s a lot, and can add up quickly. The past couple years we ship a better tent and all our more glamorous camping stuff up a few days before we leave. Time the drop off at UPS or FedEx for the box to arrive on site one day before your arrival. The pick up point is centrally located on site. We take essentials with us in case we get stuck somewhere or have to wait out. When it comes time to leave, pack the box back up and have a pre made return label ready. Drop it at the shipping services tent and it will make it home in a few days.
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Once settled, where is the beer?[/B]
[/INDENT]

Bring a few with you for use while setting up camp and toasting your first arrival to the big show.
As others mentioned, remember the Sunday eve beer swap in the HBC pavilion and the Monday eve house party on Waukau Ave.
Beer is sold in the North 40 store and other camp stores starting Monday.
Beer is free at the Homebuilders Dinner on Thursday. Beer is sold at the Van's Dinner on Wednesday. Check the schedule for actual days.
The SOS Brothers tent - beer, food, live music.
There is a Target and a Pic n' Save grocery store about 3 blocks out the Friar Tuck gate. You'll see a stream of folk schlepping beer back to camp from those stores. Especially true if you want to bring a case of Spotted Cow home with you.
 
You tube videos

If you haven’t done so, I highly recommend watching some Fisk arrival video to really get in tune with what to expect. Most of it is simple but I found it really help me to be so familiar with what to expect.
 
Don't plan on cell phone data working at all. That was my biggest surprise from my 1st trip last year. Apparently when you cram 600k people into a couple square miles there's not enough signal for everyone.
 
I also have Verizon but even having 4 bars I could only get things to work between 12AM and 6AM in Scholler.

I guess I've just been lucky then as I've not had any issues on the field or from Sleepy Hollow. I haven't camped in Scholler since 2011 so really don't remember if I had reception issues back then or not.
 
I flew in last year for the first time (twice) here is my take.

P.S. Here is my trip write-up if it helps you get the feel for it.

1. you can get fuel a fair ways out (talking RV here) and still have plenty for the trip in and out without paying OSH prices. I got mine in Minnesota and upon leaving OSH I still had enough fuel to make it to Iowa with reserves. I liked landing with about half tanks.
2. Sunday will be busy busy busy but doable. Earlier the better. Although on Sunday no matter how early it's going to be busy to some degree. Make sure you understand the NOTAM well, the starting point will most likely be way at the end of the line.
3. Understand the NOTAM or risk being "that guy". You know, the guy in a group that everyone hates with a passion.
4. There will be "that guy" in every line so try not to get too mad about it. haha
5. Weather is a game changer. I flew the approach again on Wednesday after leaving for the big storm on Tuesday with everyone else having the same idea. That arrival was chaotic!
6. The stress of the arrival lessens quite a bit once you sequence into the line, then it's just maintaining speed and altitude and not hitting the guy in front of you (or the d-bag violating rules and makes big S-turns in front of you).
7. Definitely wait until Thursday to leave, you don't want to miss the night air show! It is legendary!

As far as items in your list go I personally bring enough clothes to not have to wash anything. Sandals for the shower a must. Sun screen is a must as well as one of those goofy big hats that keeps the sun off of your neck. (now I know after a google search that they are called Boonie hats, learn soemthing everyday :)) Finally, I personally cherished my lawn chair, can't imagine life without it. I took it everywhere.
 
I also have Verizon but even having 4 bars I could only get things to work between 12AM and 6AM in Scholler.

Hahaha, yeah. If I get up at 4am when they empty the port-o-lets, I can get all my work done online and check out the schedule on the EAA app. By 7, forget about it. But it's airplane summer camp, so you take what you can get, and it is way better than it used to be.
 
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