Making the OSH Arrival Safer

As many of you know, this was our 24th consecutive Airventure -- and
our 8th flying in. I've seen the RIPON/FISK arrival from all angles,
both from the ground and in the air, and have seen pretty much
everything that could be thrown at us. Although it's always tense,
due to the proximity of aircraft and the unusual arrival procedures,
the OSH arrival is usually a piece of cake.

This year, however, was different. Due to a fatal accident on Rwy 27,
the normally orderly stream of aircraft up the railroad tracks was
turned into a multi-hour hold around Rush and Green lakes. With
temperatures and tempers flaring, I witnessed radio discipline
completely break down at Oshkosh, for the first time. Worse, as the
lakes melee deteriorated, frustrated pilots were cheating the hold and
flying up the tracks DESPITE specific instructions from controllers to
remain in the hold.

Worse yet, IMHO, the controllers were doing nothing about it. They
were simply clearing these bold scoff-laws right into OSH, leaving the
rule-abiding pilots to circle endlessly. This really ground salt into
the wounds of the many who were circling the lakes for nearly two
hours, and made a tough situation downright ugly. I've never heard such
language on an aircraft radio -- and I hope to never hear it again.

Speed, as always, became a critical issue. With literally dozens of
aircraft circling nose-to-tail, the cha-cha line began to break down.
Dissimilar aircraft, varying from Champs to RVs, were all trying to
stay in line, but -- over time -- the line simply broke down. A Cub,
going full bore, can barely do the required 90 knots in a dive, let
alone in cruise, and with so many airplanes in the same line, the
speeds gradually deteriorated into a dangerous situation.

At one point I was forced to drop 2 notches of flaps, and was hanging
on the prop, trying not to over-run a gaggle of Kitfoxes, with other
planes on both sides AND above me. The single line around the lake at
one point was actually THREE lines abreast, and it was an absolutely
mess.

I don't ever want to see anything like that again, so, here are my
suggestions to make the EAA Arrival Procedures safer and easier next
year:

1. Add an LSA Arrival Procedure.
Currently, there are just two procedures for "non-ultra-light"
aircraft: 1800 MSL and 90 knots, or 2300 MSL, and 130 knots. Trouble
is, a Cub or a Kitfox (or many of the new LSAs) are not capable of
maintaining 90 knots in cruise. This results in an ever-slowing
approach, which ALWAYS results in trouble. (Was that poor Europa
pilot who was killed impeded by someone going 60 knots? Will we ever
know?)

We need a third speed/altitude, just for slower planes. For 2007 I
suggest adding an "LSA Arrival" at 70 knots, and 1800 MSL, to keep
these slow-pokes out of the bunch. This will make things MUCH safer
for the majority of pilots. Keep "GA Arrivals" at 90 knots, but move
'em up to 2100 feet, and bump the 130 knot "Fast Mover" arrivals up to
2400 MSL.

2. Stop the "Keep in Tight" Commands.
Every year I've landed on Rwy 27, the controller spends most of his
time admonishing arrivals to "keep it inside the blue water tower" on
downwind. This always results in a "Corsair approach" to land, meaning
that you're banked steeply in a constantly descending right turn all
the way to touchdown.

Face it, everyone is loaded at (or beyond) gross, it's hot, nerves are
frazzled, and then you're forced to perform an abnormally tight pattern
to land -- all (apparently) for the convenience of the controllers. I
didn't see it, but the guy who stalled and spun in was performing this
arrival, and it's tough. (We landed on Rwy 36 later, which is a much
simpler -- and safer -- approach.)

IMHO, there is no reason for this to happen. If the pattern gets a bit
wider, who cares? Pilot safety should be paramount, not controller
convenience. If they're worried about the pattern expanding beyond
their ability to see from the tower, they're just gonna have to move
their butts out onto a flat-bed, just like FISK.

3. COMMUNICATE Problems.
The multi-hour mess that followed the accident was exacerbated by the
fact that the controllers NEVER (while I was in it, anyway) explained
what was going on. If they had simply said "Guys, there's been an
accident, we're down to half the runways, it's gonna be a while till
they clean it up." -- a whole bunch of pilots would have diverted to
other airports to wait it out.

Instead, all they said was "Guys, we're doing the best we can, but if
you don't give us the proper 1/2 mile spacing, we're gonna send you
back to the lake to do it again." This gave pilots no useful
information, and essentially made the problem worse by making pilots
think that the hold might end at any minute.

That's it. Nothing earth-shaking, but I feel these three changes would
be easy to implement, and would help make the Oshkosh approach safer
and more enjoyable for everyone.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"