Oshkosh Info for a Newbie

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Bearhawk'r

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Bearhawk'r
Tribe. Maybe someone can direct me to a good website or a prior thread on the forum.

I'm considering flying to Oshkosh for the first time this year. Time is tight and I'm 1200nm away. And I can't fly in early.

My question is this...what are the odds that I can fly in mid-week at the show, say Tuesday, and then leave on Thursday morning? Any chance of still getting a camping spot? Is it just sheer dumb luck or is there a way of increasing ones chances? I was thinking I could land, camp and stage the night before close by and then launch as early as possible for the arrival procedure to be in the front of the lawn. My experimental plane doesn't have ADSB out yet...I imagine I wouldn't be the only person in this situation. Hopefully all those crazy folks on the Fisk arrival still look out the window instead of their fish finder.

Thanks again for any advice or help.
 
I don't fly in anymore. I live an hour and a half away by car. But when you ask about a camping spot, my guess is the campground will be full before the show even starts. Now, if you plan to camp next to your airplane, there's a good chance.

Your idea of arriving early is exactly what I did many times. Mid-day is crazy time.
 
The chances of getting a camping spot, while not guaranteed on Tuesday, are very good nevertheless IMO. Your plan of action is sound. The lack of ADS-B won't be an issue. Just read and understand the NOTAM and you'll be fine. Also, there's a ton of OSH threads in the Cool Places to Fly sub-forum Airventure | Pilots of America
 
Thanks for quick reply.

For clarification to the whole crew. I would want to fly in to camp. Not drive in.
 
No airplane has ever been turned away from Homebuilt parking or Homebuilt camping. I’d say your plan has a high probability of success.
 
I will reiterate READ and UNDERSTAND the NOTAM.

Ask here if you are not sure of anything.

And PRACTICE flying the speeds and altitudes.

Most of the issues are with people who are not following the NOTAMs.

I am a bit sensitive on that, as I lost a friend due to someone not following the NOTAM. Yes, he did something stupid, but precipitated by someone getting too slow in front of him
 
What plane are you flying in? The goal (I think by 2024) is to not turn any aircraft away. They continue to add parking each year. GA (post-1970 commercially built aircraft) has expanded into the South 40 (or what we jokingly call "Green Acres" in Vintage). Vintage usually does a pretty good job of finding spaces but sent some to Green Acres as well. Homebuilt has plenty of space. Relocating the UL runway is in the works I here, but I don't know the schedule.

Chances are you will get a space, but you may be parked a ways down the show line. We also do some rather aggressive backfilling in vintage, so you may get lucky.

The approaches really only get really dicey when something closes one or both runways (crashes, mass arrivals, etc...).
 
I'll try to check out the forums on OSH in the cool places to fly. I just wanted to ensure that I would have a good chance of flying in and getting a camping spot. I have a Bearhawk, so hopefully I'd be welcomed in the home built area! I feel like I've heard horror stories of folks flying across the country and then being told to go fly to an outlying airport because camping was closed/at capacity.
 
Bearhawk'r said:
I'll try to check out the forums on OSH in the cool places to fly. I just wanted to ensure that I would have a good chance of flying in and getting a camping spot. I have a Bearhawk, so hopefully I'd be welcomed in the home built area! I feel like I've heard horror stories of folks flying across the country and then being told to go fly to an outlying airport because camping was closed/at capacity.
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As an experimental, you'll fall into the "showplane" category. As Kyle mentioned above, no "showplane" has ever been turned away. The field has closed to vanilla GA aircraft that don't fall into any of the special categories, like Vintage, due to parking saturation and/or poor field conditions.
 
tsts4 said:
As an experimental, you'll fall into the "showplane" category. As Kyle mentioned above, no "showplane" has ever been turned away. The field has closed to vanilla GA aircraft that don't fall into any of the special categories, like Vintage, due to parking saturation and/or poor field conditions.
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Do you mean "homebuilt"? I don't think a bearhawk would be a showplane.
 
172andyou said:
Do you mean "homebuilt"? I don't think a bearhawk would be a showplane.
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No to both. All Experimentals (E-AB or otherwise) are considered "showplanes" for the purposes of AirVenture parking/camping. It's defined on page 1 of the NOTAM.
 
tsts4 said:
No to both. All Experimentals (E-AB or otherwise) are considered "showplanes" for the purposes of AirVenture parking/camping. It's defined on page 1 of the NOTAM.
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Fair enough. I was thinking of the camping areas, which would put him in HBC, rather than show planes.
 
172andyou said:
Fair enough. I was thinking of the camping areas, which would put him in HBC, rather than show planes.
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Well he could go wherever he wanted, within reason-- HBC, GAC, etc. IOW he's not limited to only HBC just because he flew in a E-AB. Showplanes in the way I think you are defining them, as those flying in the airshow or on specific static display, typically don't have anyone camping at them to begin with and consequently aren't parked in any of the aircraft camping areas.
 
tsts4 said:
Well he could go wherever he wanted, within reason-- HBC, GAC, etc. IOW he's not limited to only HBC just because he flew in a E-AB. Showplanes in the way I think you are defining them, as those flying in the airshow or on specific static display, typically don't have anyone camping at them to begin with and consequently aren't parked in any of the aircraft camping areas.
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Yeah, on the grounds map it's marked as "vintage showplane camping" or something like that. I camped there a lot of years. Seems like some of the confusion is that EAA is using the terms inconsistently between the notam and the grounds map.
 
Oshkosh is very accommodating, try it! If you mess something up, ATC will guide you, communicate if needed but listen to ATIS for arrival point and ATC will call your airplane when it’s time and provide your direction and runway and dot, upon landing you’ll go off into the grass then taxi to your parking. Bring a paper with your parking code on it, camping etc.

Parking in the back while camping is not fun though, so you never know until you try. The airfield closes prior to the air show can’t remember but 1:xx pm. Don’t be late or you’ll be denied until after the airshow.
 
2 years ago I went for the first time and parked in the South 40. As near as I could tell, I was within a few hundred yards of being as far from the airshow as it is possible to be while still being at the airshow. One night I decided to walk to visit a friend at some place called the "north 40". That was a long walk. I was saved from a brutal return hike by 2 drunk Aircraft Spruce employees in a golf cart who picked me up on the side of the road and took me party hopping.
 
Ed Haywood said:
2 years ago I went for the first time and parked in the South 40. As near as I could tell, I was within a few hundred yards of being as far from the airshow as it is possible to be while still being at the airshow. One night I decided to walk to visit a friend at some place called the "north 40". That was a long walk. I was saved from a brutal return hike by 2 drunk Aircraft Spruce employees in a golf cart who picked me up on the side of the road and took me party hopping.
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Good times
 
I can only speak to the N40, but after the Wednesday night air show there is a HUGE mass exodus Thursday morning opening up a bunch of spots there.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
First and foremost: Do it!

Second, your plan is sound. Many area airports are tent-friendly during and around the time of Airventure. Getting in early in the day is the best strategy. You will have a full fuel tank in case of holding and you will be well-rested and ready to fly your A game. Traffic won’t have gotten too messed up yet. HBC is the sign you need.

Between now and July, read the 2022 notice and ensure you understand all of it (the 2023 issue won’t be very different), and practice flying 90 KIAS (potentially in different airplane configurations if you have flaps) as well as spot landings. Every landing until you get there, try to call your shots (“wheel landing on the 1000-foot markers” or “three point on the numbers”) when you are on downwind, and maybe change your call on base or on final to practice for that possibility too. You don’t have to be competitive in these things to make it into the show, but you will lower your stress a lot by knocking all the rust off months before you reach Fisk.

Finally, a reminder: Do it!
 
In addition to practicing flying at specific airspeeds in different configurations, become comfortable with doing a continuous turn from downwind to final. ATC will normally not want to you square your base leg, but instead fly a continuous turn from downwind to final while descending.
 
LanceS said:
In addition to practicing flying at specific airspeeds in different configurations, become comfortable with doing a continuous turn from downwind to final. ATC will normally not want to you square your base leg, but instead fly a continuous turn from downwind to final while descending.
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Good point. I would add that you need to be proficient at making that turn either from the left or right. If you're landing on 09, it'll be a right hand turn, 18 will require a left hand turn.
 
I did it six months after I got my ticket. Came in the Thursday before and it was easy. I did practice short approaches and watched a million videos on YouTube.

nothing like it. You have to do it. It causes a big issue in my house as my wife doesn't like camping or air shows and I go by myself. But I am planning on going every year until I am too old to do it.
 
Parking availability increases on Wednesday as some who arrived on Sat/Sun leave.
 
The goal is to not close any of the areas. If you show up with a sign either for a place that is closed or that you're not eligible to park in, you're going to be asked to leave. Just because he's a homebuilt won't get him into the North 40 if they are not accepting arrivals.

I wrote the software used in vintage to determine year of manufacture (and to keep track of some special parking like past grand champions, etc...). We'll know when you get there if you're legal or not.
 
I found it easier and less stressful than expected. The procedure is designed to handle bad pilots just as safely as good pilots, and has been refined over decades of experience. All you gotta do is study the NOTAM and follow it. A little spot landing practice is helpful but not required. If you land long or short, they'll just adjust your turnoff.
 
cowtowner said:
I did it six months after I got my ticket. Came in the Thursday before and it was easy. I did practice short approaches and watched a million videos on YouTube.

nothing like it. You have to do it. It causes a big issue in my house as my wife doesn't like camping or air shows and I go by myself. But I am planning on going every year until I am too old to do it.
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I'll go with you if your wife doesn't want to go...
 
If you have a 1200 mile journey to get there, that’s the biggest hurdle.

Just get in position for mid-week arrival, 0715-0800 inbound.

Even if you ended up in Fond Du Lac, no biggie, be flexible.
 
sourdough44 said:
Even if you ended up in Fond Du Lac, no biggie, be flexible.
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As long as you mean the airport, then sure. But literally ending up in the “bottom of the lake” would be a big deal. Don’t do that.
 
cowtowner said:
I did it six months after I got my ticket. Came in the Thursday before and it was easy. I did practice short approaches and watched a million videos on YouTube.

nothing like it. You have to do it. It causes a big issue in my house as my wife doesn't like camping or air shows and I go by myself. But I am planning on going every year until I am too old to do it.
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I’m laughing because this is the situation in my house too, just on the other side of the metroplex. My wife has gotten to the point she tolerates the weeks leading up to it with the stuff that begins accumulating in our game room, and even the purchases justified by “it’ll be good for Oshkosh.” She think airplanes and camping are both silly, so I will never have to worry about her wanting to tag along.
 
aggie06 said:
I’m laughing because this is the situation in my house too, just on the other side of the metroplex. My wife has gotten to the point she tolerates the weeks leading up to it with the stuff that begins accumulating in our game room, and even the purchases justified by “it’ll be good for Oshkosh.” She think airplanes and camping are both silly, so I will never have to worry about her wanting to tag along.
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Same. Wife and I came to an accommodation several decades ago. I can fly whenever and wherever I want, as long as I don't try to talk her into going with me.
 
That’s too bad. My wife, who isn’t a pilot, isn’t into aviation like I am but she enjoys out annual trip. Both of us are less about the airshow and more about the social aspect. We’ve made a ton a friends from all over and this is our chance to reconnect.
 
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