Auburntsts
Well Known Member
This was our 3rd OSH and the first time we've flown in.
1. The Flight: We flew up from Northern Virginia IFR with the intent of canceling before reaching our filed destination (KUNU) and flying the VFR arrival to OSH. Yes it was longer to go up this way (especially fighting 30+knot headwinds), but as a new IR pilot, I wanted the practice of flying in the system. About 100NM south of UNU we cancelled when Madison Approach told me to standby for a route amendment, but they had me retain my squawk until about 25 miles from Ripon. The RIPON-FISK-OSH arrival was uneventful and we flew the railroad track to runway 27. This was Sunday afternoon around 1PM local time.
2. After Landing: I made a decent landing and exited 27 south into the grass where the marshallers directed us to HBC. Enroute a scooter follow-me picked us up and took is to HBC row 310 and put us about halfway down right in the middle of a giant depression in the field. We shut down and the family promptly went to find the bathrooms. Meanwhile, I got the welcome brief and we started a discussion on whether being in the depression was a great place to camp. I was tired and really didn't care at that point, but before I started to unload an "old hand" (this gentleman wore white coveralls and a red ball cap) drove up in a gator and said authoritatively "I'm moving you because if it rains you don't want to be here." I'm glad he did as he put us in row 323 just one spot north of the concrete hard-stand that's next to the showers which ended up be a great location for us. At that point got the plane tied down, the tent put up, and everything unpacked. After that we looked a around for a welcome wagon, but after a few minutes we just decided to walk over to Homebuilt Hq to register. Oh and at no point when we taxied into HBC did anyone ask where we preferred to park via the 1-2-3 number system. It appeared to me the follow-me guy's process for parking selection, based upon where planes were already parked, was totally random although I assume there was actually some method to the madness.
3. Sunday Night RV-10 Dinner: Bob Leffler and gang put on a fantastic event. It was great to start putting faces to names.
4: Monday Night Concert: I like all kinds of music but generally listen to Rock (2/3's) and Country (1/3). As a result, it happens that I'm a Dierks Bentley fan and had seen him in concert before, and I thought his show at OSH was awesome. The crowd was easily twice as big than the ones for Foreigner and REO Speedwagon which we saw on our previous visits. Watching Dierks and Jack Pelton shotgun beers together on-stage was priceless. My only regret is that by the time the concert was over the RV social was too. We went over but folks were leaving (I was told the kegs were dry) so we hoofed it on over to the SOS Bros to wet our whistles.
5: The Event: Another great OSH. The weather was great except pretty windy at times, especially noticeable back at the campsite where we thought our tent was a goner at times, but it held up. Got my Garmin GTX 23ES updated and bought a few odds and ends from various venders. Picked 4 free Jeppesen hats and when we were walking around wearing them, we received some coupons for a few more free giveaways. We spent most of the show simply wandering around gawking at airplanes. Nitpick #1 -- Water. IMO EAA needs to take over the bottled water concession and sell it at cost vs the $2 the venders charge. I have no issue with the cost of the other food items, but the water price is really a kick in the nads.
6. Fly-in Theater: 2011 was our last OSH so my memory is probably just fuzzy, but I thought the picture and sound quality had improved significantly. We completely enjoyed ourselves watching Unbroken. Nitpick #2: The pre-show commentary needs to be either started sooner (it was already plenty dark to see the movie) or done away with all together. I want to see the movie not 20 min of chit chat; after all we've already been sitting there for about an hour as the place fills up pretty fast.
7. Showers/Latrines: We all thought the shower trailers were great, as were the flush bathrooms. The porta potties were well maintained. I go to a lot of outdoor events throughout the year and the OSH potties are hands-down the most pleasant to use -- even my wife doesn't complain. We'd like to see some more power outlets as they always seem to be full when we're back at HBC --some more power strips at the very least would help.
8: Departure: We went to breakfast around 7AM, checked out of the campsite, and got our departure briefing. We pulled the plane out around 0750 and were about to load up when a wing walker rode up and told us the airport was closed due to a crash). After a 3 hour engine start delay (due to the Meridian accident) and multiple calls to FSS to extend the departure times on the IFR flight plans I had filed the day before, we got the thumbs up to start and the mad dash was on. We got in line and the FAA guys and volunteers did a great job getting all of us out as fast as humanly possible--took us about 30 minutes from engine start until we were cleared for takeoff on 36.We departed VFR and proceeded to Dells VOR per the NOTAM IFR procedures where we picked up our IFR clearance and made an uneventful flight back to Manassas.
Overall, everyone enjoyed the trip, including my 2 teenagers who really aren't into aviation. Next year the consensus is we need to stay for the whole week like we did when we drove up. Kudos to EAA, FAA, and all of the volunteers -- another awesome event!
1. The Flight: We flew up from Northern Virginia IFR with the intent of canceling before reaching our filed destination (KUNU) and flying the VFR arrival to OSH. Yes it was longer to go up this way (especially fighting 30+knot headwinds), but as a new IR pilot, I wanted the practice of flying in the system. About 100NM south of UNU we cancelled when Madison Approach told me to standby for a route amendment, but they had me retain my squawk until about 25 miles from Ripon. The RIPON-FISK-OSH arrival was uneventful and we flew the railroad track to runway 27. This was Sunday afternoon around 1PM local time.
2. After Landing: I made a decent landing and exited 27 south into the grass where the marshallers directed us to HBC. Enroute a scooter follow-me picked us up and took is to HBC row 310 and put us about halfway down right in the middle of a giant depression in the field. We shut down and the family promptly went to find the bathrooms. Meanwhile, I got the welcome brief and we started a discussion on whether being in the depression was a great place to camp. I was tired and really didn't care at that point, but before I started to unload an "old hand" (this gentleman wore white coveralls and a red ball cap) drove up in a gator and said authoritatively "I'm moving you because if it rains you don't want to be here." I'm glad he did as he put us in row 323 just one spot north of the concrete hard-stand that's next to the showers which ended up be a great location for us. At that point got the plane tied down, the tent put up, and everything unpacked. After that we looked a around for a welcome wagon, but after a few minutes we just decided to walk over to Homebuilt Hq to register. Oh and at no point when we taxied into HBC did anyone ask where we preferred to park via the 1-2-3 number system. It appeared to me the follow-me guy's process for parking selection, based upon where planes were already parked, was totally random although I assume there was actually some method to the madness.
3. Sunday Night RV-10 Dinner: Bob Leffler and gang put on a fantastic event. It was great to start putting faces to names.
4: Monday Night Concert: I like all kinds of music but generally listen to Rock (2/3's) and Country (1/3). As a result, it happens that I'm a Dierks Bentley fan and had seen him in concert before, and I thought his show at OSH was awesome. The crowd was easily twice as big than the ones for Foreigner and REO Speedwagon which we saw on our previous visits. Watching Dierks and Jack Pelton shotgun beers together on-stage was priceless. My only regret is that by the time the concert was over the RV social was too. We went over but folks were leaving (I was told the kegs were dry) so we hoofed it on over to the SOS Bros to wet our whistles.
5: The Event: Another great OSH. The weather was great except pretty windy at times, especially noticeable back at the campsite where we thought our tent was a goner at times, but it held up. Got my Garmin GTX 23ES updated and bought a few odds and ends from various venders. Picked 4 free Jeppesen hats and when we were walking around wearing them, we received some coupons for a few more free giveaways. We spent most of the show simply wandering around gawking at airplanes. Nitpick #1 -- Water. IMO EAA needs to take over the bottled water concession and sell it at cost vs the $2 the venders charge. I have no issue with the cost of the other food items, but the water price is really a kick in the nads.
6. Fly-in Theater: 2011 was our last OSH so my memory is probably just fuzzy, but I thought the picture and sound quality had improved significantly. We completely enjoyed ourselves watching Unbroken. Nitpick #2: The pre-show commentary needs to be either started sooner (it was already plenty dark to see the movie) or done away with all together. I want to see the movie not 20 min of chit chat; after all we've already been sitting there for about an hour as the place fills up pretty fast.
7. Showers/Latrines: We all thought the shower trailers were great, as were the flush bathrooms. The porta potties were well maintained. I go to a lot of outdoor events throughout the year and the OSH potties are hands-down the most pleasant to use -- even my wife doesn't complain. We'd like to see some more power outlets as they always seem to be full when we're back at HBC --some more power strips at the very least would help.
8: Departure: We went to breakfast around 7AM, checked out of the campsite, and got our departure briefing. We pulled the plane out around 0750 and were about to load up when a wing walker rode up and told us the airport was closed due to a crash). After a 3 hour engine start delay (due to the Meridian accident) and multiple calls to FSS to extend the departure times on the IFR flight plans I had filed the day before, we got the thumbs up to start and the mad dash was on. We got in line and the FAA guys and volunteers did a great job getting all of us out as fast as humanly possible--took us about 30 minutes from engine start until we were cleared for takeoff on 36.We departed VFR and proceeded to Dells VOR per the NOTAM IFR procedures where we picked up our IFR clearance and made an uneventful flight back to Manassas.
Overall, everyone enjoyed the trip, including my 2 teenagers who really aren't into aviation. Next year the consensus is we need to stay for the whole week like we did when we drove up. Kudos to EAA, FAA, and all of the volunteers -- another awesome event!
