Osh PIREP

That was a nice shower and lightning show Friday night. I was overhearing some camps this morning have very wet gear.
 
Initial Fix said:
That was a nice shower and lightning show Friday night. I was overhearing some camps this morning have very wet gear.
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I added extra tie downs and lines to support my tent, but still had a problem of wind collapsing it down.
I’m very lucky that my tent is a flexible-pole arrangement, so it bent inwards but didn’t break the poles. I spent most of the evening sitting against the wall of the tent to keep the wind from collapsing it.

Still, we stayed dry. Only a few drips at some seams, nothing a towel couldn’t fix. I’ve definitely got my money’s worth out of this last-minute replacement tent.

(For those who missed my previous post, this my second tent this week at OSH).
 
Initial Fix said:
That was a nice shower and lightning show Friday night. I was overhearing some camps this morning have very wet gear.
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Is it just me, or was there no forecast of this (Friday evening) storm when I checked Friday morning?
I specifically checked weather on Friday morning because I said “if there’s another storm I’ll leave this afternoon” and I didn’t see any indication of a thunderstorm in the forecast.
It wasn’t until maybe 5pm or 7pm I saw a notice for thunderstorms Watch, and by then it was too late for me to leave (since airport closes at 8pm and I was away from the plane at the time)
 
I got home yesterday morning. First off, that has to be the hottest most humid Airventure I can remember. The RV grounds were packed to the brim even Saturday morning before the show. Most campers I have ever seen that early in the week. Initially it felt light on the aircraft attendance but by Sunday evening it had filled in. I do feel this year felt a little less special than others. Due to the smoke there was a lack of overhead traffic from things like skywriters, photography flights, and such. I also felt there weren't really any "special" moments like years past. Otherwise still the same ol Oshkosh full of airplanes, old friends, and new friends.
 
Lots of tents and canopies filling the dumpsters this morning. The lightening wasn't too bad but the wind gusts snapped many tent poles. None of our 3 tents made it out unscathed but thankfully we stayed dry are heading home this morning anyways.

Any damage on the showgrounds?
 
flyingron said:
I sent this to our chairman this morning and he sang it during a meeting this morning. Pretty much everybody at the airport (FAA, airport, parking folks, etc...) admits to having a part in the screw up and he's going to arrange some meetings to make sure it doesn't repeat.

Name: papa.jpgViews: 25Size: 19.9 KB


One bright Thursday morning in Oshkosh,
The pilots decided to split,
They got stuck on taxiway Papa,
The airport had turned into sh...

Shaving Cream.
Be nice and clean.
Shave every day and you'll always look keen.
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I talked to one of the controllers and his take on it was a higher than normal (at least according to him) IFR departures requiring the higher separation. Said they had 30+ strips stacked waiting a good chunk of Thursday morning.

Thursday was absolutely brutal heat and humidity wise. We decided to bug out with the storms coming and we were scheduled to leave Friday morning anyway. Wonderful week in Osh yet again!
 
We left Friday morning with no delay at all, which I was not expecting. Had to hurry to get a mag check in before departure.

Was the Friday night storm worse than Thursday’s? I spent several minutes braced against the windward side of the tent to help make sure the poles didn’t collapse inward during the Thursday storm. May not have been necessary, but felt prudent as the wind really was blowing for a bit there.


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Tents are one thing I do know. In a previous life I was the equivalent of a professional camper. Probably have spent several hundred nights sleeping outside, sometimes in environments where tent failure would be life threatening.

Anything from Walmart or a big box sporting goods store is crap. Anything with enough room to stand up and walk around in is crap. Anything from Coleman is crap.

You want an expedition or mountaineering grade tent from a reputable brand name. It should be low and tight, with just enough room to sleep, plus a vestibule for equipment. Must-have features are double wall, integral rainfly that extends to ground, bathtub floor, and footprint (fitted ground sheet).

I recommend REI.com as a reliable source. Their store brand products are generally very good for the price point.

Don't cheap out on your tent. A good tent will last 20 years of Oshkoshes and keep you bone dry in any weather.
 
Ed Haywood said:
Tents are one thing I do know. In a previous life I was the equivalent of a professional camper. Probably have spent several hundred nights sleeping outside, sometimes in environments where tent failure would be life threatening.

Anything from Walmart or a big box sporting goods store is crap. Anything with enough room to stand up and walk around in is crap. Anything from Coleman is crap.

You want an expedition or mountaineering grade tent from a reputable brand name. It should be low and tight, with just enough room to sleep, plus a vestibule for equipment. Must-have features are double wall, integral rainfly that extends to ground, bathtub floor, and footprint (fitted ground sheet).

I recommend REI.com as a reliable source. Their store brand products are generally very good for the price point.

Don't cheap out on your tent. A good tent will last 20 years of Oshkoshes and keep you bone dry in any weather.
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I agree with this 100% except for the last sentence. The lightweight/ultralight tent trends have ruined tent longevity. The tent flys in today's equipment biodegrade in ~3 years, leaving you with a very leaky tent. My last three tents have suffered this, despite being very well cared for. I'm on a tent replacement hamster wheel...
 
Ed Haywood said:
Tents are one thing I do know. In a previous life I was the equivalent of a professional camper. Probably have spent several hundred nights sleeping outside, sometimes in environments where tent failure would be life threatening.

Anything from Walmart or a big box sporting goods store is crap. Anything with enough room to stand up and walk around in is crap. Anything from Coleman is crap.

You want an expedition or mountaineering grade tent from a reputable brand name. It should be low and tight, with just enough room to sleep, plus a vestibule for equipment. Must-have features are double wall, integral rainfly that extends to ground, bathtub floor, and footprint (fitted ground sheet).

I recommend REI.com as a reliable source. Their store brand products are generally very good for the price point.

Don't cheap out on your tent. A good tent will last 20 years of Oshkoshes and keep you bone dry in any weather.
Click to expand...
This is camping at Oshkosh, not on the side of a mountain. A tiny tent that you can’t stand up in would be miserable for a week at the show and utterly pointless to not have in the type of camping that most will do that week. The same with your comment about Coleman being crap. A Coleman tent has served me just fine for the past 20+ years just as they have worked out fine for hundreds of thousands of others. The company has been in business for over 100 years making tents and camping equipment. Yes you could buy a really expensive tent that will withstand 100mph winds in a blizzard but for field camping at Oshkosh comfort is much more important to most and they would be miserable trying to camp in the type of tent you are suggesting.
 
SixPapaCharlie said:
I was airborne 10 minutes after starting the engine. Never leaving on Thursday again. This was nothing.
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Took us 11 minutes from engine start to takeoff at 8:33 Sunday morning. We were near shower house on N40 and took off 270.
 
kmacht said:
This is camping at Oshkosh, not on the side of a mountain. A tiny tent that you can’t stand up in would be miserable for a week at the show and utterly pointless to not have in the type of camping that most will do that week. The same with your comment about Coleman being crap. A Coleman tent has served me just fine for the past 20+ years just as they have worked out fine for hundreds of thousands of others. The company has been in business for over 100 years making tents and camping equipment. Yes you could buy a really expensive tent that will withstand 100mph winds in a blizzard but for field camping at Oshkosh comfort is much more important to most and they would be miserable trying to camp in the type of tent you are suggesting.
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You can always take an inexpensive screen room or cheapo cabin tent to hang out in. There is nothing more miserable than sleeping wet.
 
Taxied over to the Hilton yesterday at noon. Spent the rest of the afternoon cleaning up operations and packing up our stuff. Now getting ready to depart for NC. Weather looks good.
 
Really depends on your definition of miserable. We used a Walmart cabin tent with a double high air mattress for five years. Big and comfy. An extra 200’ of rope and a dozen pegs kept it upright and mostly dry. Always had a USMC combat tent as a backup, but never needed it through all the storms.
 
kmacht said:
This is camping at Oshkosh, not on the side of a mountain. A tiny tent that you can’t stand up in would be miserable for a week at the show and utterly pointless to not have in the type of camping that most will do that week. The same with your comment about Coleman being crap. A Coleman tent has served me just fine for the past 20+ years just as they have worked out fine for hundreds of thousands of others. The company has been in business for over 100 years making tents and camping equipment. Yes you could buy a really expensive tent that will withstand 100mph winds in a blizzard but for field camping at Oshkosh comfort is much more important to most and they would be miserable trying to camp in the type of tent you are suggesting.
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I used one of the cheap Coleman tents. It did well in the two storms we had, although the one on Friday I had to use my weight to keep the tent from flying away... :) Anyway, it was dry enough to sleep afterwards.
 
Made it home a few hours ago. Was shaping up to be a record return trip with good tailwinds except we had to deviate around some weather. I decided to make an unscheduled stop at GKT to get fuel and use the bathroom. Alas, the idiots there despite me telling them twice EXACTLY what I needed, misfueled me. I was tempted to make them go remove the 35 gallons that they put in my aux tank (I told them explicitly not only to top the main but how to do it, TWICE). It's not particularly good for the plane to land with full tip tanks and this was only going to be a 40 minute flight. This also left my main at half full. Of course, they got and extra 15 gallons of their overpriced fuel sold to me in the process.
 
I have a hangar full of tents. Cabela tents to stand up in and mountaineer backpack tents to lay down in. I am done sleeping on the ground. I have gone from Cabela cots to Kilo cots (lighter but narrower). I have tented at OSH 40+ times. Started with just a low wing for a tent. My folding umbrella style Colemans have withstood storms when other yurt styles have gone flat with busted poles. My tent goes up in a minute and down in a minute. When I wake up in the morning after my seventh night at OSH.....I look at my "camp" and say "now to pack all this crap up".....the one minute tent is a blessing. Holds my cot, small table, and I can pull on my pants by almost standing up. Just sayin'.
 
If you want to spend some coin, the REI Base Camp 6 is a great choice. Large enough to stand up in and sleeps "6", but robust to withstand winds, blowing rain, etc. Note mountaineering features, such as integral rainfly, bathtub floor, footprint ground cloth, dome structure, etc. "6" in quotey fingers because that is sardine configuration; will fit 4 comfortably. $550 sounds expensive, but properly cared for it will last a lifetime. As mentioned, combine with a cheapo walmart canopy or screen room for meals and lounging. The tent is for sleeping dry in summer Wisconsin thunderstorms.

base camp.jpg

Edit: a bit of elaboration on some features to look for. Nylon fabric is not waterproof unless coated with polyurethane. Coated nylon is heavier, stiffer, and does not breathe, so tents are generally a combination of both, with coated nylon for the exterior rain fly and floor and uncoated nylon for the inner walls and roof.

Note in the thumbnail above that this tent has a full rain fly, meaning it extends all the way down the sides of the tent to the ground. Cheaper tents will have a smaller rain fly that just covers the top or extends partially down the sides.

Note also the bathtub floor, meaning the heavier waterproof nylon wraps around the bottom and extends 6 inches or so up the sides, above the bottom edge of the rain fly. This protects against blowing rain and puddles or streams of water, which sometimes form in unfortunate locations during heavy rain.

bathtub floor.jpg

Finally, note the rain fly is integral, meaning it fastens to the floor and captures the poles to create a single unitary structure. The fasteners are strap buckles that can be tightened so the rain fly is taut and will not flap in high winds. When tightened and staked down, this tent will withstand virtually any weather conditions and remain completely dry.

base camp overlap.jpg
 
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The whole family wants to go this year, with all 4 of us onboard it’s hard to get the camping gear also and stay below W&B.…
does anyone have any experience with the shipping options?

There appears to be a temporary UPS or FedEx point for Oshkosh, any pilots had equipment shipped to pre-position for Airplane Camping? Or is this really only for vendors / show booths to move their big equipment for the show ?
 
ChopAndDrop said:
The whole family wants to go this year, with all 4 of us onboard it’s hard to get the camping gear also and stay below W&B.…
does anyone have any experience with the shipping options?

There appears to be a temporary UPS or FedEx point for Oshkosh, any pilots had equipment shipped to pre-position for Airplane Camping? Or is this really only for vendors / show booths to move their big equipment for the show ?
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Yep, tons of people ship stuff in. Information on how is on this page under "Shipping Services": https://www.eaa.org/airventure/plan-your-eaa-airventure-trip/guest-services
 
ChopAndDrop said:
The whole family wants to go this year, with all 4 of us onboard it’s hard to get the camping gear also and stay below W&B.…
does anyone have any experience with the shipping options?

There appears to be a temporary UPS or FedEx point for Oshkosh, any pilots had equipment shipped to pre-position for Airplane Camping? Or is this really only for vendors / show booths to move their big equipment for the show ?
Click to expand...
We've done that the last 2 years. Works well. One thing that comes in really handy is to carry (or ship to yourself) a set of lightweight hand trucks. The folding ones from various places weigh about 8 lbs and make schlepping 100 pounds of stuff in stackable containers much easier...
 
For the last bunch of years, I've had a storage locker just off the south end of the field shared with some of the other volunteers. Whoever gets in first borrows a truck from one of the locals and goes over and starts unloading stuff over to our camping area. Generally, we'll set up our tent and whoever the next person who is do in. The set up the tent for the next one and so on so nobody has to bust ass setting up a sleeping place after a rough flight in.
 
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