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Flying to OSH for the first time

N546RV

Well Known Member
Title pretty much says it all. Last year was our first time to OSH; we drove and camped in Scholler. It was a fun trip, but the drive was...substantial.

This year, we're flying. I already reserved the spam can and all. I feel better about flying up since I've been there and kind of have the lay of the land, but I'm still kind of cautious about the whole thing.

My understanding from reading on here is that Saturday and Sunday afternoon are the busiest arrival times, whereas those mornings can be surprisingly slow. Since this is my first time, I'd like to avoid the most hectic times. We're going to have to make a fuel stop anyway, so my thought was to just make that an overnight stop, then do the final leg the following morning when it's less busy and we're both well-rested.

I'm probably being ridiculously conservative about this, but I'm OK with that. :)

Any thought or tips for a first-timer? (Yes, I have the NOTAM printed out and I'll be studying that for the next two months...)
 
For a first time, I suggest going on Saturday! Traffic is quite manageable, the tower will welcome conversation, even welcome you to Osh and ask where you are coming from! There is a lot to absorb the first time, but after that it is a piece of cake.
 
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Last year was my first trip. I used the same plan I use for Sun N Fun: Get there real early. I planned my arrival for 0900-0930. Came right in and landed. The only plane I saw on the arrival route was a cub. I struggled to stay behind him and was being successful. the guy on the ground told me to pass him up. With a blink of an eye and I was number one.

Do learn to fly a real tight pattern and make a descending turn to dump it on the numbers. Figure out what you need to fly around at 90 knots for an extended period of time.
 
Good idea

I think your plan is good. Planning for just that one leg into Oshkosh is easier and your arrival should go smooth. It's actually easier than you think. Good luck!
 
I've done it twice - the big recommendation I have is to have someone with you to look for traffic and avoid arriving during the airshow- sometimes they run longer than they publish. My first time we were holding at the lake for a while then had a very busy arrival.

Just keep your eyes open, watch out for the other guy, and you'll be fine.
 
big groups

Just make sure you know when the big group caravans are flying in. The Cessnas, Mooneys, Bonanzas, and others. Most of them fly in on Sat in previous years. Do not fly in when they are messing up the pattern.
 
My advice, aside from being super familiar with the notams, is being super familiar with your aircraft at the weight you plan to fly in. Practice slow flight and shallow 90 degree turns until you're very comfortable. Also fly with partial flaps to get a feel for its behavior in that configuration.

After landing and tie down....get yourself a nice cold beer! :D
 
I've done it twice - the big recommendation I have is to have someone with you to look for traffic and avoid arriving during the airshow- sometimes they run longer than they publish. My first time we were holding at the lake for a while then had a very busy arrival.

Just keep your eyes open, watch out for the other guy, and you'll be fine.

Luckily, I'll have my lovely partner with me. She's also a pilot. (well, she flies helicopters, I guess that counts) So I feel pretty good about my CRM situation.

A couple comments have been made about getting familiar with flying in certain regimes, and that's on my to-do list as well. I don't get to go up all that much these days, but I'm going to get in a number of flights in the weeks leading up to the trip. I especially want to work on slow flight and flying precise patterns/landings.
 
You are on the right track.

1. Have the NOTAM, fly the NOTAM
2. Be very comfortable flying less than cruise speed and spot landings.
3. Keep your head on a swivel.
 
A couple comments have been made about getting familiar with flying in certain regimes, and that's on my to-do list as well.

That's right. Find an uncontrolled field about 5000 feet long and space two big dots on it. Get a local auctioneer to chant on the radio. Recruit a few friends (like 10 to 15) in aircraft with wildly different approach speeds. Have them fly small tight patterns with you, landing on various dots at random regardless of what the auctioneer says. One or two should occasionally shortcut the pattern, diving for your dot. A few should randomly park on the runway and make funny faces at bystanders. Draw straws to see which one gets to fly through the pattern crossways. It's the easy job ;)
 
My 2012 flight to Oshkosh

Read and understand this thread and you'll be fine. It was made a sticky for a reason....

http://www.vansairforce.com/community/showthread.php?t=8960&highlight=Flying+Oshkosh

Make sure you use the 2013 version of the notam. Jeff Point's link in post #1 tajes you to last year's version.

Joe

An update to my July 13, 2012 post in that thread is that I did indeed stop overnight at Dekalb, Illinois. In my 172, I departed at 5:45 AM and easily arrived at Ripon just before 7:00 AM. I saw no other aircraft all the way from Dekalb until touchdown at Oshkosh! The controllers at Ripon told me I was the second plane on the Ripon arrival. This was on the first day that the Ripon Arrival was in use.

Having a second pilot is a plus, almost a necessity, if you get to Ripon in a crowd. Study the 2013 NOTAM, plan your flight with possible deviations, and have fun. It's a great experience just to fly your airplane there.:D
 
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You know, as I sit here going over the NOTAM, the arrival procedure really doesn't seem that complicated. I've got Google Earth pulled up to get a feel for the landmarks, and everything seems to flow pretty logically.

Granted, I'm sitting here at home, not flying in close proximity to eleventy billion other aviators...

Really, I feel good about the arrival basics. Still need to get a feel for local alternates and their vicinities for backup plans though...
 
Daaaan!

That's right. Find an uncontrolled field about 5000 feet long and space two big dots on it. Get a local auctioneer to chant on the radio. Recruit a few friends (like 10 to 15) in aircraft with wildly different approach speeds. Have them fly small tight patterns with you, landing on various dots at random regardless of what the auctioneer says. One or two should occasionally shortcut the pattern, diving for your dot. A few should randomly park on the runway and make funny faces at bystanders. Draw straws to see which one gets to fly through the pattern crossways. It's the easy job ;)

...you oughta be ashame a' yo'sef, boy! :) Skeerin' him like dat!

Best.
 
I think the most dangerous part is getting to Ripon. Once you're there, everyone should be on the same program. I use a sterile cockpit rule when I start getting close to Ripon and everyone is awake and alert and looking for traffic. Remember, you generally don't talk on the control frequency. They talk to you, and you rock your wings.

The other thing I've always done is plan to arrive at OSH with a generous reserve. When I flew my AA-1B, that mean a half tank. Last year I flew with my friend in his Bonanza, but we still had about a half a tank of fuel at touchdown.

Flying in is half the fun of going to AirVenture.
 
I think the most dangerous part is getting to Ripon. Once you're there, everyone should be on the same program. I use a sterile cockpit rule when I start getting close to Ripon and everyone is awake and alert and looking for traffic. Remember, you generally don't talk on the control frequency. They talk to you, and you rock your wings.

The other thing I've always done is plan to arrive at OSH with a generous reserve. When I flew my AA-1B, that mean a half tank. Last year I flew with my friend in his Bonanza, but we still had about a half a tank of fuel at touchdown.

Flying in is half the fun of going to AirVenture.

Yeah, I can see that. The sentence that goes something like "At Ripon, find an aircraft of similar speed to follow" sounds deceptively simple. :)

Fuel reserve is definitely on my hit list. My rough plan is to stop for fuel about 1.5-2 hours out of OSH; that'll almost certainly be an overnight stop for us. That'll put us flying the final leg early Saturday or Sunday morning and arriving at Ripon with at least 2.5 hours of fuel.
 
Sorry, didn't read all the previous posts. But in addition to all that slow flight, landing on the dot, follow the guy ahead, etc. DO NOT forget to look downwind when turning final. Had a Citation cleared to land straight in directly into our flight landing same runway, same time last year. Fortunately, one of the guys in the back of the flight heard the clear to land given after ours, spotted the jet on final, and called for the jet to go around. No bent metal, but was pretty sporty - even by Oshkosh arrival standards.

And like someone said above, getting there is half the fun!
 
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Practice

Before I flew in to Osh, I went to the closest busy training airport (HIO) and did multiple laps with the mostly foreign students flying huge patterns in 152's. It was great slow flight practice. The biggest learning was actually not to over accelerate on a go-around, which won't be a problem if you're in a spam can, but can be tough in an RV. Last year a CFI friend flew my RV in to OSH and was behind a Cub from Ripon at 70 knots the whole way.

I ended up giving 2 different Pink shirts (FAA controllers) rides in the RV through the Ripon arrival. I highly recommend that if you are able. Creates HUGE good will and was great practice for me.
 
I think that is a great idea. Letting a controller see how fast the RV's are will give them a much better understanding of how to space them coming in and departing. I don't believe too many of the controllers at the show do not know how the RV's fly, but in some other parts of the country, they hear "Experimental ....." calling in, and they may think flying lawn mower!


[QUOTE I ended up giving 2 different Pink shirts (FAA controllers) rides in the RV through the Ripon arrival. I highly recommend that if you are able. Creates HUGE good will and was great practice for me.[/QUOTE]
 
Flying into KOSH for first time

My procedure into KOSH
1) Study the arrival Notom. I copy the pages that pertain to my type of arrival. I do keep the book on hand. A cheat sheet so that when you memory brain fart happens you do not have to go back to the booklet and search, Fly the plane.
2) I have always flown in on the war-bird arrival/ high-speed altitude, your RV is fast enough to maintain the minimums. This way you do not get caught up in slow flight S-turns. Usually less traffic.
3) Good to have a passenger for that extra set of eyes and ears.
See ya there
 
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