YouTube Oshkosh videos taken down of Sunday FISK jam

steingar said:
I have to admit, I circled for a while Sunday even though my rational self realized it was hopeless ("but the next one could me me..."). When I hit 5 hours on the clock I diverted. Glad I did, cheap gas, nice accommodations, and the fuel wasn't urgent but it was going to get that way quick.

True story, at one point the guys at FISKE asked if there were any emergencies. I told them I had to pee something fierce...
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I think everyone would try a few laps on the roulette wheel. It worked out for some. But at the 10-20 point, you’re just adding risk to your own safety and there’s still more coming behind you, so it becomes a rapidly decreasing chance. 3? Sure. 5? Starting to become stupid. 10? Very stupid.

I applauded the guy who announced that he’d done 23 laps who was given mercy as one of the last aircraft to land on Monday on the audio, but simultaneously thought he was a moron. Only by begging did he get one of the last clearances past FISK. He had enough SA to know it, too.

The “fuel critical, oh and we’re a flight of two” was also a head-shaker. Lead isn’t supposed to hold until everyone in the flight is fuel critical, that’s just stupid in a leadership role.
 
In hindsight I probably had a better chance trying to get in late Saturday but played it safe and stayed put and drank a beer or two in the hotel in Janesville. I knew Sunday would be nuts and when I arrived back at the airport at Janesville saw the cluster of morons that would also try to make it in. They started north and I hung back a while since I was listening to the Arrival on LiveATC and knew our chances of getting in were still slim. The weather came up a bit more and we made our way to RIPON. Finally got reception of the FISK APPCH about 13 miles out and it confirmed what I already knew looking at the ADS-B targets on my iPad. I did one scary ass lap around Green Lake and headed southwest for a bit doing math on how long/much fuel I had to loiter. Headed back towards RIPON thinking hoping it would be better but it wasn't. Broke off that "approach" and headed back to Janesville for some gas and to rethink. Decided w/ Aircraft camping showing 85% full and knowing it would be the same ****show Monday morning that we'd better head home and beat the weather that was closing in there. Got back home and after a few beers on the tailgate at the airport decided since me and my buddy had already taken the week off from work we might as well try Oshkosh by RV! Not as fun as camping along 9/27 but at least we were there.
 
I heard that.....ATCLive has it somewhere on the recordings! Why a ten or twenty other people didn't have the same problem, I have no idea. Other than juice bottles and such.
 
rwellner98 said:
Yes, that's right. I did exactly zero laps around the holds because I was listening to Fiske approach 20 miles out, heard what a goat rope it was and went to Fond du Lac.

The problem isn't with the procedures, it's with a very special form of "GetThereItis" that prevents many pilots from choosing an alternate.
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Nah, it was more like 5000 people all thinking it was a good idea to get there at the same time because everyone else was going to be coming in later. And then everyone wondering why everyone else was flying the approach wrong.
 
I'm glad someone else brought up the problem with allowing the mass arrivals in ahead of the hundreds of us holding. IMHO, that was a bad call, and possibly put many of us at risk.

That said, I will reiterate: Everyone did a phenomenal job in the holds. Mostly amateur pilots, mostly unaccustomed to such flying, all made it safely into Oshkosh and surrounding airports. No paint was traded, no metal was bent. I was proud of my fellow pilots in that melee, a few crazy people notwithstanding.

An aside: While in the hold, I was really, REALLY glad to be in a plane with a bubble canopy. My only worrisome blind spot was below, and I made special efforts to "see" down there, as there were plenty of planes below and above 1800'.
 
steingar said:
I have to admit, I circled for a while Sunday even though my rational self realized it was hopeless ("but the next one could me me..."). When I hit 5 hours on the clock I diverted. Glad I did, cheap gas, nice accommodations, and the fuel wasn't urgent but it was going to get that way quick.

True story, at one point the guys at FISKE asked if there were any emergencies. I told them I had to pee something fierce...
Click to expand...
That is my limiting factor in flying; I flew four hours against a headwind (for a flight that was 2.5 the other direction) and literally had to relieve myself on the ramp as soon as I got near my hangar.
I've flown in a queue several times, including a seminar at WPAFB, where I was on short final, another was over the numbers, a third was rolling out, and a fourth was turning off. My armpits were crying stinky tears. I really want to fly to OSH, but I think next year it will be car camping.
 
Kenny Phillips said:
That is my limiting factor in flying; I flew four hours against a headwind (for a flight that was 2.5 the other direction) and literally had to relieve myself on the ramp as soon as I got near my hangar.
I've flown in a queue several times, including a seminar at WPAFB, where I was on short final, another was over the numbers, a third was rolling out, and a fourth was turning off. My armpits were crying stinky tears. I really want to fly to OSH, but I think next year it will be car camping.
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The mess that was this year is really unusual. You shouldn't let it put you off. You can always break the trip up into shorter segments.
 
Well, I think there were some lessons to learn and some weaknesses revealed this year. However unusual this year was, I hope the lessons are put to good use.

I'm so thankful, and frankly impressed that there were no incidents. Nice job folks.
 
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