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Oshkosh Alternate Airport Reviews

DanH

Legacy Member
Mentor
Ok, you're inbound to KOSH and dial up the arrival ATIS, only to learn the field is closed, or the approach is turning into a furball. No problem; time to head for an alternate airport and land.

So tell us about your alternate airport visit. Why did you pick it? What facilities are available? Was it a pleasant experience? Did you make new friends? Where did you sleep? Did you go hungry, or eat like a king? Do they have Uber? Groceries? Starbucks? Strips clubs? Churches? What's there?

It's human nature to distance ourselves from the unknown, but if we know, we'll go. Report the good, the bad, and the ugly, and help your fellow pilots pre-determine where they're going, before they ever leave home.
 
AirVenture 2018 was the first time I diverted to another airport. Dodge County (KUNU) had, if not the best, one of the best FBOs that I have been to in the last 21-years.

There were LOTS of aircraft on the ramp at UNU. I tied the aircraft down in the grass using the tie down supplies I had for OSH.

They had a shuttle BUT do to lack of staff suggested UBER. The UBER driver was an off duty FBO employee and since there were so many of us, he was allowed to use the FBO Shuttle Van to take us (several airplane worth) to our Oshkosh rooms. I forget what it cost but next day trip back to the airplane was included in the price. Everyone chipped in (IIRC) $5 tip the next day for the return trip to the FBO.
 
Boscobel Airport, KOVS, is terrible, awful, horrible, inconvenient. We held our noses and landed there just to have tanks topped for OSH arrival.

It’s ugly, unfriendly, expensive gas, nasty refreshments inside.

Please don’t go there and tell all your friends to stay far away.

Yes I’m kidding. It is an absolute gem.
 
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KDLL Mineral Points, about 100 south of Oshkosh. New runway, cheap fuel, decent hotels, free shuttle to the casino. We had about 50 airplanes sitting there trying to get into OSH last year.
 
KDLL Mineral Points, about 100 south of Oshkosh. New runway, cheap fuel, decent hotels, free shuttle to the casino. We had about 50 airplanes sitting there trying to get into OSH last year.


SW. 100 South is Chicago!

I love that casino for their pizza. And blackjack. I've never paid for my flight time with blackjack money. I swear.
 
KDLL Mineral Points, about 100 south of Oshkosh. New runway, cheap fuel, decent hotels, free shuttle to the casino. We had about 50 airplanes sitting there trying to get into OSH last year.

You mean KMRJ?

DLL is Baraboo, a nice little airport with an active homebuilder community. It's where the Tailwind bunch was holding their annual OSH-week gathering, but I think they have moved.
 
Wautoma (Y50) is a great place to land to the west of KOSH - close enough to the arrival to be able to launch based on ATIS information when the arrival looks good, friendly, often with EAA food and conversation. Usually cheap gas and lots of places to tier down an airplane. A few yeas ago I know they allowed camping by the plane - I’d check to see if that is still true. If it is, and you have your gear with you, its a great stop short of KOSH front eh west!
 
You mean KMRJ?

DLL is Baraboo, a nice little airport with an active homebuilder community. It's where the Tailwind bunch was holding their annual OSH-week gathering, but I think they have moved.

Sorry, you're right, it's Baraboo. We stopped at Mineral Points too but it's KDLL I'm thinking of.
 
Wautoma (Y50) seemed to be pretty accommodating. I happened across it as I had a room in town and a rental car after parking my plane at MSN. I curiously drove out to Y50, and found a newish terminal with a shower in the bathroom and reasonable fuel prices.

The manager told me that they had 50 or more planes camped there on Saturday night because they couldn't get into OSH.

Madison (MSN), itself, had a pretty accommodating attitude for a "large" airport with a restaurant on site and large concrete parking area. Overnight parking was $10/night, but camping wasn't an option. Plenty of hotels and restaurants were nearby.

Further south at Monroe (EFT), the fuel price was good. I'd specifically flown in to refuel before heading farther north. The newish terminal building was comfortable enough and had plenty of ramp space. I didn't check into hotel or food options.
 
Dodge County (KUNU). Great FBO.
They had a double line for the refueling station. We all pushed/pulled our planes in position for fueling. Very effficient & all had great conversations while we moved into position.
 
I had a great experience at Dodge County as well although it was several years ago. I just stopped to wait out the air show then joined the Congo line.
 
KJVL

Three times I've used Southern Wisconsin Regional (KJVL) as my final stop before venturing onto KOSH. It's a great place to stop for fuel, wait out weather, or wait for the airshow to end. 85NM (35ish minutes) south of Oshkosh.

This year, my alternator decided to fail immediately after departure from KJVL, and rather than chance holding/delays at KOSH with only a main and standby battery, I elected to return to Janesville.

The kind folks at Janesville Jet Center were SUPER helpful. They let me keep my airplane in their hangar overnight free of charge and even let me use their crew car for the evening. Thanks to them, I was able to drive around and track down a suitable automotive equivalent, grab some dinner, and head into town for a good nights rest before heading back to the airport the next morning to swap out alternators.

I highly recommend KJVL and Janesville Jet Center.
 
Might be good if the KOSH Notam included a list of alternates.

I may have mentioned it in another thread, but the FAA doesn't want to include a list of alternates in the NOTAM because they don't have a real time picture as to what is going on at the various outlying airports.

I think this thread will be a great resource for us. Make a list of the ones that might work for you and take them with you or have them plugged in your EFIS flight plan as the next waypoint AFTER KOSH. Then, if you don't make it to OSH you can quickly jump ahead in the flight plan and it will be there. You could actually put the whole list there. :)

Vic
 
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Alternative airport

Brennand 79C located 10 miles north of Oshkosh, fuel, transportation,
Camp with your aircraft.
Privately owned
 
Brennand 79C located 10 miles north of Oshkosh, fuel, transportation,
Camp with your aircraft.
Privately owned
I spoke with the owner of Brennand while at Oshkosh. Nice guy who really sees his little airport as a work in progress, a diamond in the rough. It is fully his intention to make Brennand into the nice quiet place to camp, with a shuttle bus to OSH running daily. I applauded him for his efforts and took his business card as I can see this as a great (and less expensive) alternative to camping at OSH.

As for another airport to the north of KOSH, Delta County - Escanaba (KESC) has terrific runways, fuel, and limited tiedown spots. It has a pilot's lounge with internet, a fridge and a microwave, table, chairs and a sofa. It has little else, so is a good stop for fuel and a rest before moving on to OSH. Definitely not a place to expect to camp under your wing overnight as the airport has scheduled airline service, thus all the security "stuff" that goes along with that service.

Schoolcraft County (KISQ) might be a better bet for low-key and potential over-night stops. It's just up the road from Mannistique where hotels are available. I would call beforehand, just to be sure somebody is there.

Any other good recommendations for alternates for those of us coming in from the North-East (Sault St Marie direction)?
 
Fond du Lac KFLD

In 2017, I was three minutes short of Ripon when ATC closed the approach for the night. I diverted to Fond du Lac KFLD. Lots of planes there, camping next to your plane, shower trailers, breakfast sandwiches and coffee in the modern terminal building, and regular shuttle bus service to AirVenture. The overnight was cheap, compared to KOSH, but the bus made up for it.

I?d rather be on site, but it was good enough that I stayed there instead of relocating to KOSH. It was pretty quiet and the field stayed open for arrivals and departures, unlike KOSH.

By the way, the new restaurant at Janesville KJVL is open. I thought the food was good.
 
KUNU - Dodge County gets my vote. When we couldn't get into OSH on Sunday this year the FBO treated all us refuges like kings.
 
Dodge County (KUNU) has been my go to for the last several years. I started going there a few years ago in my Sonex to refuel so I didn't have to get fuel in Oshkosh. Very nice FBO and very accommodating.

With my 14 I can carry enough to get up and back without refueling. I was about to go there this year after several hours around Greenlake but the Sunday arrival opened up enough for me to get through so I didn't have to divert.
 
AirVenture 2018 was the first time I diverted to another airport. Dodge County (KUNU) had, if not the best, one of the best FBOs that I have been to in the last 21-years.

There were LOTS of aircraft on the ramp at UNU. I tied the aircraft down in the grass using the tie down supplies I had for OSH.

They had a shuttle BUT do to lack of staff suggested UBER. The UBER driver was an off duty FBO employee and since there were so many of us, he was allowed to use the FBO Shuttle Van to take us (several airplane worth) to our Oshkosh rooms. I forget what it cost but next day trip back to the airplane was included in the price. Everyone chipped in (IIRC) $5 tip the next day for the return trip to the FBO.

We landed at KUNU one year as we missed the airshow closure time on a Wednesday. We planned to stay the night as they showed us were we could camp in the grass right behind N99PZ. As we are setting up I got a phone call. My friend, in KOSH, told me the airshow was canceled due to weather and the airport was open. The storm had passed, we packed up and headed to KOSH.

Twas a short flight and we were the only ones at Rippon and Fisk. Landed 36 and taxied all the way to HBC with no flaggers. We got to HBC and Jeff Point asked why we were here. "They opened the airport" was my reply. Jeff had no people on call as they were all at dinner for the airshow.

It was my absolute best arrival at KOSH.

To end the post, the folks at KUNU were absolutely the best.
 
#1 Dodge county

They called me on the radio and ask if need fuel and when I pulled up to pumps they ask how many gallon I wanted or how far down from the neck. Then they took my tow bar and pulled plane to tie downs then took me into town! If you want a car contact Enterprise and they will have a car at airport and FBO will give you the keys and you drop the car at airport and fly away. Stayed Two nights in Beaver lake.
 
79c Brennand airport

79C is north of Oshkosh 10 miles buy air. Very nice airport excellent facilities and very good owner. Will give rides to and from OSH.
 
Although I have never stayed at Fond du Lac (KFLD) during Oshkosh I grew up 1.5 miles south of the field. My parents live so close to the south end of RWY36 that I can sit on their back deck and watch AirVenture parade. In my opinion, Fond du Lac airport does a great job equipping itself for the event. During all other weeks it is a very small operation with a mild amount of 172 training and a few business jet operations per day. During AirVenture, they bring in a portable control tower with controllers that do a phenomenal job of sequencing traffic. Last year, the ~150 Bonanzas that made up the B2Osh flight diverted to Fond du Lac. I watched them come in on 2 mile final and the whole thing looked very controlled and easy.

In addition, Fond du Lac is approximately 20 miles south of Oshkosh on Highway 41 with regular shuttle service between KFLD and KOSH. They do allow airplane camping as well. There are several hotels located near the airport, but I'm sure those are booked up almost immediately (as anyone who has been to AirVenture already knows).

I just glanced at TripAdvisor and overall I agree with their restaurant recommendations. Restaurants that I recommend that are close to KFLD include:

Ala Roma (Italian)
Friar Tuck's (Bar / American)
Gino's (Italian)
 
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If coming up from the South. Stop at Burlington KBUU. Cheapest fuel prices in Wisconsin, Great food 1 mile walk along a river, and this is home of the Wisconsin Eagle Nest High School program. If we are around and know you?re coming, we will greet you and make sure you learn more about our program.
 
Brennand

The late Bill Brennand built Brennand Airport from scratch. He also established the Oshkosh seaplane base. Bill worked at Wittman Flying Service and learned to fly there.
Bill won the first ever Goodyear Race at Cleveland in 1947 and again in 1949 with the Wittman Buster which used the fuselage and tail of Wittman's 1931 Chief Oshkosh. Prior to the 47 race he had never flown in a race and had only minimal time in the racer.
Bill passed away earlier this year at age 92.
Buster is in the Air and Space Museum, the first homebuilt airplane to be displayed there.
 
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