Flying to Fields near OSH

[Rob McDonald]

I unexpectedly have the opportunity to fly to Airventure for a few days. A
friend who has done this before has recommended that I fly to a field near
OSH rather than right in to Wittman Regional. I will be flying around the
north end of Lake Michigan.

Do you have any recommendations for which field I should use? I assume I
would plan to camp with my plane if possible. Does that make sense when
based away from OSH?

Rob

[Rich S.]

"Rob McDonald" > wrote in message
...
> I unexpectedly have the opportunity to fly to Airventure for a few days. A
> friend who has done this before has recommended that I fly to a field near
> OSH rather than right in to Wittman Regional. I will be flying around the
> north end of Lake Michigan.
>
> Do you have any recommendations for which field I should use? I assume I
> would plan to camp with my plane if possible. Does that make sense when
> based away from OSH?

Both times I have flown to Oshkosh, we never saw another plane until we
swung into line at Ripon. Go. By all means.

Rich S.

[Dave S]

If you can hold altitude and airspeed, if you can follow logical and
orderly instructions, and can land on the numbers consistently (or say..
a colored dot).. then you would be best just to fly into OSH and camp
there..

Now.. if you CANT do the above.. by all means, good luck landing out.

But I would vote for camping on the north 40.. no place else compares.

Dave

Rob McDonald wrote:
> I unexpectedly have the opportunity to fly to Airventure for a few days. A
> friend who has done this before has recommended that I fly to a field near
> OSH rather than right in to Wittman Regional. I will be flying around the
> north end of Lake Michigan.
>
> Do you have any recommendations for which field I should use? I assume I
> would plan to camp with my plane if possible. Does that make sense when
> based away from OSH?
>
> Rob
>

[Rob McDonald]

Thanks for the comments folks. I haven't had my licence long. I think I am
a reasonably good pilot (so does Transport Canada apparently) but I
recognize that I have little experience, that was one reason why I was
leaning toward flying into another field. The other reason is that I would
have more flexibility to leave when I need to, since I understand that OSH
is closed for the airshow each afternoon.

Rob

[Dave S]

Yes.. the field is closed in the afternoons, but there is a period of
time after the show where arrivals are not allowed (an hour? I believe)
to allow for folks to depart. Either way, I respect you having your
personal limits. Good luck and enjoy Osh regardless of how you get
there. It is truly unlike anything else you have experienced.

Dave

Rob McDonald wrote:

> Thanks for the comments folks. I haven't had my licence long. I think I am
> a reasonably good pilot (so does Transport Canada apparently) but I
> recognize that I have little experience, that was one reason why I was
> leaning toward flying into another field. The other reason is that I would
> have more flexibility to leave when I need to, since I understand that OSH
> is closed for the airshow each afternoon.
>
> Rob

[Matt Whiting]

Rob McDonald wrote:

> Thanks for the comments folks. I haven't had my licence long. I think I am
> a reasonably good pilot (so does Transport Canada apparently) but I
> recognize that I have little experience, that was one reason why I was
> leaning toward flying into another field. The other reason is that I would
> have more flexibility to leave when I need to, since I understand that OSH
> is closed for the airshow each afternoon.
>
> Rob

I've never flown into OSH VFR, I fly IFR pretty much all the time.
However, it was trivial, even when I had an electrical system failure
about 20 miles out. The folks providing direction on the ground are
good and it was easy to follow directions to the parking/camping spot.
Leaving was fairly easy also other than having to file the IFR flight
plan a few hours in advance as I recall.

I wouldn't hesitate to fly into OSH.


Matt

[gbwez]

I'm a low time pilot too and have flown into both Sun n Fun and OSH a
few times and find OSH to be significantly less stressful...

Go ahead and fly into OSH. It's a great feeling! There are a few
things you can do to make life easier for yourself:

1) Watch the weather. If there's a crosswind you're not comfortable
with, go to Appelton or Fond du Lac instead.

2) Pick your time. Heaviest arrivals are usually around the meat of
the day. If you can get in there during the first hour (in particular)
or the last hour it tends to be easier (and less windy)

3) Take a second pair of eyes if you can - helps a lot.

[Roger Halstead]

On Fri, 02 Jul 2004 01:44:34 GMT, Dave S >
wrote:

>If you can hold altitude and airspeed, if you can follow logical and
>orderly instructions, and can land on the numbers consistently (or say..
>a colored dot).. then you would be best just to fly into OSH and camp
>there..
>
>Now.. if you CANT do the above.. by all means, good luck landing out.
>
>But I would vote for camping on the north 40.. no place else compares.

OH, but I prefer the Antique/classic camping area. It has atmosphere
and...*shade* at least in a few places and is more centrally located.

Now if you need a plane that has modern performance, lots of room, and
comfortable, but will still get you in there, I have a relatively low
time (less than 4000 hours TT) 1959 Beech Debonair (first off the
assembly line) that I'd sell for a slightly exorbitant price.
Collectors item and all that...yah know<:-)) Course I really don't
want to part with it so the price would have to be *really* high.

Roger Halstead (K8RI & ARRL life member)
(N833R, S# CD-2 Worlds oldest Debonair)
www.rogerhalstead.com
>
>Dave
>
>Rob McDonald wrote:
>> I unexpectedly have the opportunity to fly to Airventure for a few days. A
>> friend who has done this before has recommended that I fly to a field near
>> OSH rather than right in to Wittman Regional. I will be flying around the
>> north end of Lake Michigan.
>>
>> Do you have any recommendations for which field I should use? I assume I
>> would plan to camp with my plane if possible. Does that make sense when
>> based away from OSH?
>>
>> Rob
>>

[Roger Halstead]

On Fri, 02 Jul 2004 02:02:54 GMT, Rob McDonald > wrote:

>Thanks for the comments folks. I haven't had my licence long. I think I am
>a reasonably good pilot (so does Transport Canada apparently) but I
>recognize that I have little experience, that was one reason why I was
>leaning toward flying into another field. The other reason is that I would
>have more flexibility to leave when I need to, since I understand that OSH
>is closed for the airshow each afternoon.

If you can handle being relatively close to other airplanes and
following instructions such as lower gear now, turn base...Maybe make
base a steep slipping U-turn to the numbers...now, Land on the number,
or a quarter the way down on the dot, or half way down on the circle
by flying over landing planes or having them fly over you and actually
landing where instructed you should do well.

It is definitely not the place for the pilot who only does stabilized
patterns. You need to know your plane well enough to be able to do
what they tell you when they tell you and where they tell you.

Where it gets a bit exciting is when the plane ahead of you slows too
soon, or doesn't turn when told...or the guy behind has a stall speed
near your cruise...

We were listening to the tower from the home builders center and I'll
never forget the "Blue Bonanza...put your gear down now....Blue
Bonanza, turn base now....Blue BONANZA...TURN... BASE... NOW...
AWWWWHH...DON'T GO CLEAR TO THE LAKE! IFR Traffic on VOR 27 watch out
for a blue Bonanza with a base near the lake shore... Give him room".
(or something to that effect)

I wonder who owns a Blue Bonanza?

Then there was the time I flew in formation as a flight of two to land
on 36. The guy ahead of us landed and then stopped on the runway at
the first turn off.

OTOH IF you don't mind waiting till 7:00 PM or so to get out, they are
very efficient at getting planes out. I'd guess they run 4 to 6 a
minute on VFR departures. IF it's on 18 and they haven't changed,
they put planes on the right and left sides of the runway alternating
sides. It's straight out to 3000 and then you make your turn. Stay
in "your lane" and watch for traffic, particularly when you turn will
take you across the other lane. The more eyes looking out the windows
the better.

36 as I recall is a right turn out at or just prior to the
tower...climb to 3000 and follow procedure...or it used to be.

It all depends on your comfort factor. When it comes to flying close
to pilots I don't know mine isn't a high as it used to be.

Roger Halstead (K8RI & ARRL life member)
(N833R, S# CD-2 Worlds oldest Debonair)
www.rogerhalstead.com
>
>Rob

[TJ Girl]

This gives me an idea for a service someone could offer.
Shuttle bus from OSH to Appleton or Fond Du Lac, meet inexperienced
pilot afraid of flying into OSH alone at one of those airports, and
help him/her fly the airplane into OSH.
Anyone doing this?



Rob McDonald > wrote in message >...
> Thanks for the comments folks. I haven't had my licence long. I think I am
> a reasonably good pilot (so does Transport Canada apparently) but I
> recognize that I have little experience, that was one reason why I was
> leaning toward flying into another field. The other reason is that I would
> have more flexibility to leave when I need to, since I understand that OSH
> is closed for the airshow each afternoon.
>
> Rob

[Matt Whiting]

Roger Halstead wrote:

> On Fri, 02 Jul 2004 02:02:54 GMT, Rob McDonald > wrote:
>
>
>>Thanks for the comments folks. I haven't had my licence long. I think I am
>>a reasonably good pilot (so does Transport Canada apparently) but I
>>recognize that I have little experience, that was one reason why I was
>>leaning toward flying into another field. The other reason is that I would
>>have more flexibility to leave when I need to, since I understand that OSH
>>is closed for the airshow each afternoon.
>
>
> If you can handle being relatively close to other airplanes and
> following instructions such as lower gear now, turn base...Maybe make
> base a steep slipping U-turn to the numbers...now, Land on the number,
> or a quarter the way down on the dot, or half way down on the circle
> by flying over landing planes or having them fly over you and actually
> landing where instructed you should do well.
>
> It is definitely not the place for the pilot who only does stabilized
> patterns. You need to know your plane well enough to be able to do
> what they tell you when they tell you and where they tell you.
>
> Where it gets a bit exciting is when the plane ahead of you slows too
> soon, or doesn't turn when told...or the guy behind has a stall speed
> near your cruise...
>
> We were listening to the tower from the home builders center and I'll
> never forget the "Blue Bonanza...put your gear down now....Blue
> Bonanza, turn base now....Blue BONANZA...TURN... BASE... NOW...
> AWWWWHH...DON'T GO CLEAR TO THE LAKE! IFR Traffic on VOR 27 watch out
> for a blue Bonanza with a base near the lake shore... Give him room".
> (or something to that effect)

I'd have loved to have been the IFR arrival and be in a fighter. I've
always wanted to say "Switching to guns"...


Matt

[Roger Halstead]

On Sun, 04 Jul 2004 15:06:38 -0400, Matt Whiting
> wrote:

>Roger Halstead wrote:
>
>> On Fri, 02 Jul 2004 02:02:54 GMT, Rob McDonald > wrote:
>>
>>
>>>Thanks for the comments folks. I haven't had my licence long. I think I am
>>>a reasonably good pilot (so does Transport Canada apparently) but I
>>>recognize that I have little experience, that was one reason why I was
>>>leaning toward flying into another field. The other reason is that I would
>>>have more flexibility to leave when I need to, since I understand that OSH
>>>is closed for the airshow each afternoon.
>>
>>
>> If you can handle being relatively close to other airplanes and
>> following instructions such as lower gear now, turn base...Maybe make
>> base a steep slipping U-turn to the numbers...now, Land on the number,
>> or a quarter the way down on the dot, or half way down on the circle
>> by flying over landing planes or having them fly over you and actually
>> landing where instructed you should do well.
>>
>> It is definitely not the place for the pilot who only does stabilized
>> patterns. You need to know your plane well enough to be able to do
>> what they tell you when they tell you and where they tell you.
>>
>> Where it gets a bit exciting is when the plane ahead of you slows too
>> soon, or doesn't turn when told...or the guy behind has a stall speed
>> near your cruise...
>>
>> We were listening to the tower from the home builders center and I'll
>> never forget the "Blue Bonanza...put your gear down now....Blue
>> Bonanza, turn base now....Blue BONANZA...TURN... BASE... NOW...
>> AWWWWHH...DON'T GO CLEAR TO THE LAKE! IFR Traffic on VOR 27 watch out
>> for a blue Bonanza with a base near the lake shore... Give him room".
>> (or something to that effect)
>
>I'd have loved to have been the IFR arrival and be in a fighter. I've
>always wanted to say "Switching to guns"...

<:-))

I've flown the VOR 27 approach with VFR traffic joining final from
both the south and VFR base traffic from the north. They used to do
it a bit different than at present. I think they changed two or three
years ago. It was Eight Thirty Three Romeo, cleared to land 27, watch
for VFR traffic from the south up the lake shore and base traffic from
the north much closer in. That's where they used to stretch out the
spacing "just enough" for you to fit in...if every one did every thing
right.

OTOH they're kinda sensitive about some jokes now days.

Roger Halstead (K8RI & ARRL life member)
(N833R, S# CD-2 Worlds oldest Debonair)
www.rogerhalstead.com
>
>
>Matt