How worth it is Oshkosh?? Version 2.0

Salty

Salty

Touchdown! Greaser!
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Salty
I live an hour away from Sun n fun and have been there many times. Sometimes I’m there every day, sometimes I only go one day. Depends what’s going on.

So, what am I missing by not trekking all the way to Oshkosh?

I don’t really have any desire to fly in, though the long cross country is something I enjoy, it’s the headache of all the traffic I don’t relish. I don’t get a huge kick out of that, it’s just stress for me. I don’t fly in to sun n fun either.

I know it’s “bigger” and “better”, but am I really missing anything?
 
I've never been to S&F so... this is not from direct experience. Having said that, you are a pilot, right? You have to go to Airventure at least once. "Bigger and better" does not adequately describe it in comparison to S&F. JMHO.

-Skip
 
Bigger is about it.

SnF has most of what OSH has but just less of each. How man RVs and Cubs do you need to see at one time?

I have been to OSH several times and went to SnF last year for the first time. I sort of enjoyed the smaller size grounds and crowd.

I might change my mind in the future but for now I am done with OSH and plan to just do SnF fairly frequently. I hope to be there again this year.
 
I've been to SnF twice, and Airventure once. I enjoyed myself more at SnF and I really couldn't tell that OSH offered that much more, if any. I'll go back to SnF... probably not to OSH though I'm glad I went once. Part of the draw for me is that SnF's primary fundraising purpose is support of the aviation-centered high school located at KLAL... and it's Florida in the spring after I've had enough of the Mid-Atlantic winter. Not suggesting that EAA isn't worth supporting - quite the contrary. That said, if you haven't been to OSH... you ought to consider going once.
 
I've been going to OSH for several years now, but haven't made it out to SnF yet. OSH is just a load of fun and something I look forward to every year. Even the years where the wx isn't cooperative, I drive up.
 
I’ve only been to OSH once and never been to SnF. This debate is making me think I should attend SnF so I can simply have a more educated reply to this thread.

Stand by.
 
I've been to Oshkosh 15 times, the last 14 in a row, and camping on field for the last 13 in a row.

I've been to Sun 'n' Fun once, and I was kind of disappointed. SnF does have the advantage that the smaller crowd means you can get more time with vendors, if that's what you're there for, but there are a lot fewer vendors in attendance than there are at OSH.

Personally, for me, I will go to OSH every year. Someday, when I retire and don't have anything else going on, I'll start going to SnF again, because aviation, but I'm not going to go out of my way for it. I'll probably try out one of AOPA's regional fly-ins before I go back to SnF.
 
Put me in the category of loving both and intending to go to both again. But if I had to choose just one, I might choose Sun n Fun due to some of the reasons others have given. The smaller crowds are nice and allows you to spend more time talking to vendors as well as folks from AOPA and EAA. I can get more face time with a few movers and shakers at SNF than at OSH. I also like the way the grounds are laid out. It is easier to get around. I also think the food choices are better at SNF.

On the other hand, OSH does have more of everything and for pure spectacle it can't be beat.

It's a tough choice.
 
All the arrival videos and people complaining about getting cut off, having to hold forever, etc for OSH just don't appeal to me, plus I can't stand large crowds anywhere. I get to see old war birds every March here because here (Davis Monthan) are where they come to get certified to fly in the air shows. I'll just live vicariously through those of you who enjoy it.
 
Do OSH every two years and SnF every year. Two different shows but both great experiences. As an aside I usually go to the light sport expo in Sebring every year.
 
I like Oshkosh far better, but having SnF in your backyard is game changing. If I had to fly 10 hours each way to go to Oshkosh it would definitely reduce my enthusiasm.
 
Regardless of how many times you've been to SnF, if you've never been to Oshkosh, you should go at least once. That being said, I booked a room for this year's show just before the show last year and my choices were 30 minutes away in Ripon or 40 minutes away in North Appleton. In general, finding a room for Oshkosh means you have to pick any two out of close, cheap and good. As the show dates get closer, it could become a matter of pick any one.

But yeah, if you've never been you should still do it at least once IMO.
 
Timbeck2 said:
All the arrival videos and people complaining about getting cut off, having to hold forever, etc for OSH just don't appeal to me
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It's not as bad as it seems right after you watch all the videos. ;)

I've done the Fisk arrival somewhere in the neighborhood of three dozen times over the past 14 years, because I often leave to run an errand and come back in, or leave to go pick somebody up and come back in. @corjulo, @TangoWhiskey, @billwil, @Armageddon Aviator, and @AdamZ, among quite a few others, have arrived at OSH the first time with me.

I've seen some stupid pilot tricks, but never an outright cutoff, and I've never ever been sent to the hold. That said, I left the plane at home last year because of the Sunday ****-show that the weather caused, and I firmly believe that unless you just happened to arrive at Fisk right before the field opened after the airshow or something, that you should never hold - Just go somewhere else and wait it out. (I've never had to do that either, though... Just a couple times where I didn't even take off on the last leg because parking was saturated.)

Juliet Hotel said:
Regardless of how many times you've been to SnF, if you've never been to Oshkosh, you should go at least once. That being said, I booked a room for this year's show just before the show last year and my choices were 30 minutes away in Ripon or 40 minutes away in North Appleton. In general, finding a room for Oshkosh means you have to pick any two out of close, cheap and good. As the show dates get closer, it could become a matter of pick any one.

But yeah, if you've never been you should still do it at least once IMO.
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Definitely. But, IMO, everyone should stay on the field at least once. If you're not into camping, beg, borrow, steal, or rent some sort of RV. It's a completely different experience when you're on the field, surrounded by aviation and aviators, 24x7... Drinking margaritas with Patty Wagstaff, crashing in my tent and being woken up by a Ford Trimotor, that's what Oshkosh is! Being surrounded by pilots and aircraft, uninterrupted, for an entire week is heavenly.
 
flyingcheesehead said:
IMO, everyone should stay on the field at least once. If you're not into camping, beg, borrow, steal, or rent some sort of RV. It's a completely different experience when you're on the field, surrounded by aviation and aviators, 24x7... Drinking margaritas with Patty Wagstaff, crashing in my tent and being woken up by a Ford Trimotor, that's what Oshkosh is! Being surrounded by pilots and aircraft, uninterrupted, for an entire week is heavenly.
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I looked at RV rentals. Seemed like there were plenty available for that week in the area when I last checked. Rental rates weren't bad, nor were delivery and setup charges if they were available. But its almost guaranteed you won't get a camp site with power and water hookup. Which means you're running a generator (and paying an hourly rate for it) and you're using the community showers and toilets.

Maybe I'm a snob, but using a truck stop style shower and toilet just doesn't sound like something I'd enjoy.
 
There’s nothing like an old War Plane firing up its engines at 0600 and roaring down the runway.

Coffee, sunrise and watching planes take off.

A beer, sunset and watching planes land.

Every air show possible. Every aviation dealer possible.

There’s no memories like Oshkosh memories.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 
Juliet Hotel said:
I looked at RV rentals. Seemed like there were plenty available for that week in the area when I last checked. Rental rates weren't bad, nor were delivery and setup charges if they were available. But its almost guaranteed you won't get a camp site with power and water hookup. Which means you're running a generator (and paying an hourly rate for it) and you're using the community showers and toilets.
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You don't need power and water... You're right, there are not even close to enough spots with hookups, and really, the 24-hour generator area isn't all that big either.

But again... You don't need it. I had an RV for the first time this year, and the guys I camp with have always had one. Here's why you don't need hookups:

1) It's really cool at night - No A/C needed. In fact, I actually ran the furnace in mine at night to keep from getting too cold! In the unlikely event you're too warm, just opening a window will do plenty.
2) If you keep your showers to a reasonable length, your water tank will last a long time.
3) They have a mobile "honey wagon" to pump out your black and gray tanks and refill your fresh water tank right at your campsite... Or you can go to the 4-lane dump and fill site near the south exit and do it yourself. I paid for them to come by once during the week and then flushed and filled it myself on the way out, and that was plenty.
4) Refrigerator will run just fine on propane. Really well, in fact - I was pleasantly surprised, and it didn't use much propane at all.

Now, I did take a generator with me*, because I am a night owl and don't like to get up right away in the morning, so around 7 or 8 AM I would get up, fire up the generator, turn on the AC, and get another hour of sleep. But if you avoid partying too late, you really don't need one.

* I bought one from Costco - It's the Yamaha equivalent of the Hondas that everyone likes, and it was a good deal. I figured if I liked it I would buy a second one, and if I didn't I'd take it back. I did end up liking it, but decided I'm not really going to need one for much of anything else the other 51 weeks of the year in the near future, so I took it back.
 
Why not do the cross country and stop short? Store your plane at a nearby airport and bum a car ride the rest of the way. I am sure you can find someone on this site that would give you a lift.
I have been to Oshkosh once and had a good time. It is an experience pilots like to check off.
 
flyingcheesehead said:
You don't need power and water... You're right, there are not even close to enough spots with hookups, and really, the 24-hour generator area isn't all that big either.

But again... You don't need it. I had an RV for the first time this year, and the guys I camp with have always had one. Here's why you don't need hookups:

1) It's really cool at night - No A/C needed. In fact, I actually ran the furnace in mine at night to keep from getting too cold! In the unlikely event you're too warm, just opening a window will do plenty.
2) If you keep your showers to a reasonable length, your water tank will last a long time.
3) They have a mobile "honey wagon" to pump out your black and gray tanks and refill your fresh water tank right at your campsite... Or you can go to the 4-lane dump and fill site near the south exit and do it yourself. I paid for them to come by once during the week and then flushed and filled it myself on the way out, and that was plenty.
4) Refrigerator will run just fine on propane. Really well, in fact - I was pleasantly surprised, and it didn't use much propane at all.

Now, I did take a generator with me*, because I am a night owl and don't like to get up right away in the morning, so around 7 or 8 AM I would get up, fire up the generator, turn on the AC, and get another hour of sleep. But if you avoid partying too late, you really don't need one.

* I bought one from Costco - It's the Yamaha equivalent of the Hondas that everyone likes, and it was a good deal. I figured if I liked it I would buy a second one, and if I didn't I'd take it back. I did end up liking it, but decided I'm not really going to need one for much of anything else the other 51 weeks of the year in the near future, so I took it back.
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Interesting info. Still don't think I'm ready to try it just yet. But can't rule it out in the future.
 
It's Disney World for pilots. I was warned many times I wouldn't be able to see and do everything even if I stayed all week and that was absolutely true. I've only been once, but I'm excited to go again.
 
Erick Johnson said:
It's Disney World for pilots. I was warned many times I wouldn't be able to see and do everything even if I stayed all week and that was absolutely true. I've only been once, but I'm excited to go again.
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I've been going for a long time, and I think that to see everything would require 6-8 weeks. But, some people aren't interested in everything. Oshkosh has something for everybody, though. Homebuilders, aerobatic pilots, warbird enthusiasts, and everything else... And 100,000+ like-minded individuals to share the experience with!
 
I've always thought it would be cool to go to Oshkosh but lately, I've really wanted to go. Part of the fun, for me, are the problems and inconveniences. The Fisk arrival looks like a freaking blast, though it would almost be my wife's nightmare scenario. Plus, the thought of camping out for a week on an airport is not appealing for her. For me, it sounds devine.
 
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