Anybody been to the Oshkosh fly in?

N801BH said:
Ok... post a link so I can make up my mind if it is as bad as described..:yesnod:

lil ben
Click to expand...


I like the gerbil version better, and it's been around since the Richard Gere scandal so I think it predated the straw version. I'm guessing some form of the trans-sphincter version was what she found. One day right after the Richard Gere story I had to pick up Cindy Crawford and her friend and take them out to the Southward for a Pepsi commercial. I so wanted to ask her "So, was that you sticking the gerbil up Rick's a-s?" but she was too nice. She looked so much better getting out of the helicopter than getting out of makeup, ugg, she doesn't need it lol.
 
The first time I went to Oshkosh was in 2007, almost by accident because a friend of a friend wanted to go and was looking for someone to carpool with and share costs.

I went again with the same carpool group in 2008.

2009: didn't go because I was saving up money for my PPL
2010: didn't go, same story

2011: flew in with a friend. :)

I'm going to try to fly in this year if anybody out there in the vicinity of MSP wants to go with a <200hr non instrument rated private pilot in an Archer. :yikes:

This was taken on the Saturday in 2011 BEFORE the show officially started.

IMG_8639.JPG
 
Nice picture. Were you PIC on your first trip? I will also be looking for someone to fly with me for my inaugural first trip to Oshkosh.
 
Many times. I gave seminars on structural icing and multiengine flying.

Bob Gardner
 
MSPAviator said:
Nope, I wasn't PIC, but being able to fly in with somebody else who knew what they were doing was a great learning lesson.
Click to expand...

There are lots of great videos out there showing the arrival procedures, too; those are helpful for the first timer. Watch them, follow along with the NOTAM and your charts, plan what-to-do-when (like Kent did with his one-page summary), and then just go do it.
 
Remember this, Fly the assigned speed for the altitude you take. If you take the upper altitude you better be able to do the speed, otherwise slow it down and drop it into the lower track, especially when they have everyone holding around the lake.
 
Henning said:
Remember this, Fly the assigned speed for the altitude you take. If you take the upper altitude you better be able to do the speed, otherwise slow it down and drop it into the lower track, especially when they have everyone holding around the lake.
Click to expand...

That was good advice before I went--Kent said "go out with the airplane you're taking to OSH, and figure out and KNOW the power / pitch settings for the plane to fly the RIPON approach speeds at the weight you'll be arriving." It sure removed a lot of guesswork or fiddling around with things on arrival.
 
TangoWhiskey said:
That was good advice before I went--Kent said "go out with the airplane you're taking to OSH, and figure out and KNOW the power / pitch settings for the plane to fly the RIPON approach speeds at the weight you'll be arriving." It sure removed a lot of guesswork or fiddling around with things on arrival.
Click to expand...

Or at least, if you don't fly that heavy most of the time (GRIN!), figure it out 300 miles away in cruise... for those of us that are coming from any real distance... :) :) :)

Sitting "on the beach" as friend Doug and Alan (who's notably quiet around here lately) call it... watching stuff arrive while listening on a scanner and shooting (lots of) photos, the most common problem was folks "stacking up" both laterally and vertically... even though they're in THEORY all doing the same airspeed at the same altitude...

And then someone shows up over Warbird Island... :)

It's fun to watch from "the beach".
 
Oshkosh is to airplanes what Sturgis is to Harley-Davidson motorcycles.

It's not a fly-in, it's a lifestyle event.

Been going there each year for the past 5 years, looking to make it my 6th this year.
 
Henning said:
You might have it, but you won't be able to use it...:rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl:

The cell phone situation for OSH is a freaking travesty and always has been. Whoever owns that local service has some powerful friends, that's for damned sure. He has a lock there that is J. Edgar Hoover Award worthy.
Click to expand...

Each major carrier has their own equipment and coverage there.
I'm on US Cellular and had no problems at all the past 5 years. Plenty of signal... voice calls, messaging and 3G data all worked just fine on my android phone last year. All my friends with iPhones (AT&T) just gave up on any hopes of service.
 
Two years ago when the rains flooded much of the field and we had temporary parking out on the taxiway it was me and a friends job to call the pilots to return to move their planes. I had AT&T and she had Verizon. It worked most of the time, but at times it was a 50-50% shot as to which of us could get through.

It's gotten better. A few years ago (when I got my iPhone originally) as soon as the show started, the entire AT&T network pretty much collapsed.
 
Tracey said:
I would really like to go, if I can swing it. But I'd most likely be going solo... so we need to make Kim go so I'll have a pal to hang around/annoy.

Kim? What say you? :)
Click to expand...

I am not in every thread. Send a PM next time.

Oh and to the original poster, who is new to aviation, where are you in California? I'm in the SF Bay Area. We do have shows in CA:

Fleet Week (SF)

Travis AFB show (Travis Air Force Base, East)

Wings Over Wine Country Air Show (Santa Rosa)

Dream Machines (Half Moon Bay)

Those are the only ones I know of without using google.
 
OMG I just finished reading the whole thread. I can't believe this somehow involved two girls and a cup. Long ago, I didn't know what that was. And no, Google doesn't help. It took me hours of deep searching. Now I know the video.

Only Henning would put that in a G rated OshKosh thread.
 
kimberlyanne546 said:
I am not in every thread. Send a PM next time.
Click to expand...
I should have done that. Well, hopefully you can go, I think it'd be fun. The more girls, the better! (I think Sac Arrow might agree with me there). :rofl:
 
Tracey said:
I should have done that. Well, hopefully you can go, I think it'd be fun. The more girls, the better! (I think Sac Arrow might agree with me there). :rofl:
Click to expand...

Don't drag him into this - I don't think there is enough room in the van.
 
I'm not driving from the right coast to the left coast to pick you up, Kimberly. But if you need a pick-up from an airport near OSH (ORD, MDW, GRB, MKE, etc) you can count on it.

As for how many girls fit in the van? I'm too old and wise to go there. (especially since Tracey has made axe murderer jokes)
 
TMetzinger said:
I'm not driving from the right coast to the left coast to pick you up, Kimberly. But if you need a pick-up from an airport near OSH (ORD, MDW, GRB, MKE, etc) you can count on it.

As for how many girls fit in the van? I'm too old and wise to go there. (especially since Tracey has made axe murderer jokes)
Click to expand...

OK, I'll bite. But don't answer this if you have to do any research.

How much does it cost (as in, not including me buying my airplane ticket there, or me buying my own food when I'm there)? Like, are there entry fees? Or fees to do activities / attend events? Does it "sell out" / do I need a reservation? What days are you going? What airport(s) nearby would be cheapest for me from SFO?
 
You buy the admission band for a week for just over $100. That gets you into the show, for everything. Once in, you pay for food, or something like a ride in the Trimotor or the Bell helicopter (each less then $50).

You'd also have to pay for a camping site, but I THINK that if you camp with us it's a lower fee for just your tent than it would be if you'd brought a vehicle.

Everything about the show at www.airventure.org.

My guess is that SWA would be cheapest to MDW.
 
Wait, non EAA members don't get weekly pricing?

I was going to join my local chapter, does that count? Or is there a "chapter" fee and then a "national" fee? I'm not an EAA member right now.
 
TMetzinger said:
You buy the admission band for a week for just over $100. That gets you into the show, for everything. Once in, you pay for food, or something like a ride in the Trimotor or the Bell helicopter (each less then $50).

You'd also have to pay for a camping site, but I THINK that if you camp with us it's a lower fee for just your tent than it would be if you'd brought a vehicle.

Everything about the show at www.airventure.org.

My guess is that SWA would be cheapest to MDW.
Click to expand...

OK, what days are you going though? I don't have a tent or sleeping bag, or air mattress, or even anything, and I'm not an EAA member, and if I brought camping supplies I'd have to check my luggage.

Don't think I will go. Too many complications.... sorry. I like planning and all, but - this just seems like a "big deal" and I'm content now to stick with something easy like fly with the BF to Philly for some awesome cheese steaks and POA friends.
 
kimberlyanne546 said:
OK, what days are you going though? I don't have a tent or sleeping bag, or air mattress, or even anything, and I'm not an EAA member, and if I brought camping supplies I'd have to check my luggage.
Click to expand...

You can buy an admission without EAA membership (though I think you get a discount).

You can't buy camping credentials without being an EAA membership, but if you want to buy it at the same time you register, they'll take care of that for you.

Basic camping is the same whether you are in the North 40, Vintage, Homebuilts, or Scholler.

There's usually off-field housing of some sort (often someone's spare room or a room in the convent I got one year), there's a housing hotline on the site. Hotels are available further out, but if you rent a car you can be on the grounds in 45 minutes to an hour and it's not that bad.

I was *NOT* a camper. I hadn't spent more than one night in a tent since I was a kid. My wife brought her tent the first year (6' x 6' and I'm 6'1"). We got larger tents in subsequent years. They don't get used other than Oshkosh. Several of us went in together and rented a storage locker just off the field, so everything just stays there now.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top