Oshkosh in Winter...

Several unheard of things occurred Wednesday. We had:

- 2 days off from the hotel
- both kids off school
- widespread VFR weather forecast to last 2 days -- in December

When strange things like this happen, you don't question them, and you don't
ever pass them by. No sir, you seize upon them like the gems they are, as
if they were the last rays of sunshine on a warm Sunday summer's eve. We
simply *had* to fly somewhere.

But where?

After rejecting St. Louis (snowstorm headed that way), Minneapolis (no more
Mall of America, pleeeeeze...), Door County, WI (lake effect snow always
imminent) and the SAC Museum in Omaha (it's 60 miles from the closest
airport), we happened to gaze upon Oshkosh on our sectional.

Oshkosh? Hmmm...why not? Maybe we could even get into that new Hilton
that is unavailable (and unaffordable) during the fly-in each July? What
could it hurt to check?

Shazaam! A phone call proved that a night in the Oshkosh Hilton, in
December, is just $69.95 per night for all four of us! That's a bargain we
simply couldn't pass up -- and, with the outstanding EAA museum just across
the airport, we certainly wouldn't lack for entertainment. So OSH became
our destination.

Wednesday dawned clear and bitterly cold, with temperatures hovering around
zero degree Fahrenheit. Luckily, Atlas was plugged in, fully fueled, and
ready to go -- which is more than I can say about us. Packing our luggage
and the kids into the frigid plane was an exercise in speed and
efficiency -- it's amazing how *cold* focuses the minds of even the young --
and we were soon taxiing out for departure, trying to hold our breath so as
not to frost over the windows.

Since Mary had never flown into OSH before, she had the honor of the flight
out. Climbing effortlessly to 7500 feet through the thick, cold air, we
soon leveled out and watched as our cabin temperature gradually climbed from
5 to 75 degrees -- thanking Mr. Piper for that terrific Cherokee heater all
the way! I always marvel at how 1/4 inch of plexiglass can keep 170
mph, -20 degree temperatures out of our airplane -- it just doesn't seem
like it ought to be possible...

A 15-knot, 90-degree crosswind at that altitude gave us no help, but didn't
hurt us either, and we soon trued out at our usual 140-ish knots. This
speed would have us in OSH in about 1.6 hours -- which sure beats a 7.5 hour
drive! Once again we sat in awe as Atlas, our personal magic carpet, made
it possible for us to live in the "wilderness" of Iowa, yet remain within
easy reach of everything and everyone we hold dear.

Landing at OSH was a surreal experience. After 22 years of Airventures, we
were treated to the sight of an utterly silent Wittman Field, covered with 5
inches of fresh snow that did little to obscure the oh-so-familiar EAA
grounds.

We were the only plane in the pattern on this bitterly cold weekday morn,
and, as such, the controller had Mary enter a LEFT downwind for Rwy 27 -- an
act which would have resulted in FAA action had it occurred during the
fly-in! It truly felt weird to be flying directly over the giant (and
vacant) vendor building (A, B, C, and D), and to look down on a completely
empty Aeroshell Square -- normally the site of the most notable and famous
airplanes in the world.

There were no teaming crowds, no snap-rolling Extras, no performers, no
tents -- nothing but the outlines of cart paths and the forum tents, clearly
visible in the snow. Interestingly, the poles they string the snow fences
from alongside Rwy 27 ( in the "North Forty" camping area) were still up...I
guess I always assumed those were temporary. It didn't seem that long ago
that we were lounging in folding chairs alongside that fence, drinking a
cold one with friends and watching the arrivals and departures...

The big shower building was there, too, of course, standing alone in the
middle of a hundred acres of snow-swept North Forty tundra. The thought of
standing outside that building wearing nothing but a swimsuit and a smile
made me shiver involuntarily...

Rolling out on Rwy 27, the controller had us exit at the next taxiway -- a
real switch from the usual "exit into the grass as soon as possible and
follow the EAA flagman..." There was no hearty "Welcome to Oshkosh!" from
this bored controller, and we soon discovered that the taxiway she had
directed us onto had not yet been plowed. It took half-throttle to bulldoze
our way through the drifted snow, but we were soon shutting down on Basler's
wind-swept ramp, dreading the thought of getting out of the toasty-warm
plane.

Basler's was sooo weird. No planes on the ramp -- none. A freezing lineman
greeted us to help plug our extension cord in overnight (you don't fly in
the upper Midwest in winter without either a Tannis heater, or a pre-heat in
the morning), and a Christmas tree in the lobby made an otherwise lonely
scene more cheery. In summer these people wouldn't have given us the time
of day -- this ramp is reserved for the movers and shakers of the aviation
world during the fly-in -- but today they were willing and able to do just
about anything for us. They offered to top us off, at "only" $2.69 per
gallon, and they called the Hilton for us, even trying to negotiate a better
deal for us. Then they gave us a ride over to the hotel. All in all, they
were marvelous, and not at all like they seem during Airventure.

Not that I blame them for that -- after all, would you rather sell 500
gallons of Jet-A, or 50 gallons of 100LL? It's all about money during the
air show, and they've got to kiss the hand that feeds them best...

The Hilton was almost more surreal than the airport. During Airventure we
eat breakfast at the hotel's buffet several times during the week, and enjoy
sitting on their observation deck for a cold one a few times during the
show. More than once we've bumped into Bob Hoover, Chuck Yeager, Barron
Hilton, Paul and Tom Poberezney, and any number of lesser aviation
celebrities while standing in line for our ham and eggs....

Not today. This time, there were "no lines, no waiting" as we literally had
the place to ourselves. We ran into a couple of employees we recognized
from the fly-in, and enjoyed a few laughs with them as they told us what a
nightmare the last week of July was for them each year. The cook quite
literally was cooking for us alone this day -- a far cry from the 500 ham &
cheese omelets he made each morning during Airventure!

The money they make during the air show boggles the mind. They are already
sold-out for 2005 -- with a TEN night minimum stay, at $269 per night, plus
tax! That's $3000, boys and girls, just to avoid a week of camping on the
field under the wing? Amazing...

Multiply that times 200 rooms, plus the restaurant, plus the bar, and they
make enough during that one week to carry them through the rest of the year,
when they are almost literally empty. Either that, or Barron Hilton is
simply willing to lose a bucket of money in order to have his own little
clubhouse off of Rwy 27.

The folks at the hotel gladly shuttled us to the museum, despite the bitter
cold. The ride over in the not-yet-warmed-up van was mercifully brief, and
we were soon enjoying the world-class displays, movies and (new!)
full-motion flight simulators that can be found in this marvelous museum.
Best of all, being EAA members, admission was absolutely free!

The EAA museum never fails to amaze me. I've been there a dozen times over
the years, going back to the very first year it opened, and yet each visit
is better than the last. They never seem to sit on their laurels, and are
always striving to display better and more educational (yet entertaining)
displays. Everything from air racers, to World War II bombers, to a
full-scale replica control tower greet the visitor -- pleasing callous old
pilots and wet-behind-the-ears kids equally.

The only thing that always baffles me is that there has never been -- and
there still is no -- food available for sale in the museum. Since we hadn't
eaten lunch, we had to make do with some vending machine chips and candy --
not exactly what we had hoped for. Someday it would be nice to see them add
a sandwich shop to the otherwise top-notch mix of items for sale in the
museum.

After a solid five hours at the museum, a night of swimming and basking in
the hot-tub flushed away all of our aches and cares (although a night on
their brick-hard beds put a few of those kinks back in my neck). This
morning a wonderful breakfast followed by a brief (if frigid) ride back to
Basler soon had us airborne and winging our way home. The sun shone
brightly, and we were soon in shirtsleeves despite the -20 degree
temperatures at 6500 feet.

This time a tiny bit of a tailwind had us zipping along at 148 knots, and we
quickly passed through sector after sector of controllers, wishing (and
being wished) a Merry Christmas all the way home...
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"