Coming for 2013 - where do I start?

Hi everyone,
As I have mentioned in some of my previous posts I am Intending to visit Airventure in 2013, and trying to fit it in with a visit to Britain to see my relatives in the same trip. Checking the 2013 air show dates I can certainly make the trip work, being able to attend the big shows at Duxford and Fairford the previous weeks as well!
With a rough block of dates I'm about to wander off to my travel agent to start putting some plans in place. I am still a little sketchy on getting to Oshkosh, and this will have a bearing on the flights and dates etc that I chose.
My dream is to arrive by air in some form of taildragger aircraft (I would love to fly the legendary Fisk arrival just to say I have done it!...) but exactly how to do this is tricky. Firstly, I dont want to spend more than one day on the flight in, as I have limited time, and want to spend most of that on the ground at the show. Therefore I was guessing my best port of entry from the UK would be Chicago. Therefore..
1. Do I try and rent something like a Citabria from somewhere near Chicago, spend a day getting current (I fly a taildragger of my own design, so although I have Citabria time in the past I would need a referesher), or do I hire an instructor to fly to Oshkosh with me (sounds expensive!). Is there somewhere near Chicago that hires such aircraft (I e-mailed some flight schools that had Citabrias listed on their webpages and got no answer)
or
2. Do I "scrounge" a ride with a Local EAA person who is heading that way anyway? My concern about this is firstly making touch with someone about it (Any local chapter contacts?) and secondly being confident that such a ride will actually go ahead and I don't get bumped for wife / new girlfriend / dog etc that may want the seat. Having come from the far side of the world I would hate to miss out with the last link of the journey! I am happy to fly as passenger and can certainly contribute to lookout etc (and share costs) and I can tell good stories! The big advantage with this is there is someone used to US procedure etc, which can be a bit different from little ol' NZ...

3. Is there a better entry point than Chicago, where there is a better chance of arranging such a flight?

4. what about getting back? eventually I would need to get to Los Angeles for the flight back home to New Zealand, so whether that means return to Chicago (or wherever) and passenger tube to LAX or whether another, more scenic method by light aircraft is another option.

So, where do I start hanging this together? is there any advice from anyone who has done this before? what do you recommend?

1. Don't fly in to Chicago. Try Milwaukee, then go to Hartford (about a 40 min drive +/- & where all the Cubs congregated prior to the mass arrival this year) & Steve Krog (CubAir.net). Beg, steal, borrow or rent a flight in one of his Cubs to AV. Hartford is about 45mins-1hr in a Cub, depending on the winds. Better start chatting him up now ;) You'll probably enjoy the experience! Flights to Milwaukee won't be direct from the UK, usually you go via New York or Philadelphia. I think NY has a shorter time on the ground.

2. See above.

3. See above

4. You can fly out of Appleton (30 mins drive from Oshkosh, with a shuttle going back & forth all AV week) to get a connection to LAX.

We had friends came to stay this year from Scotland (Maw, Paw & the we'ans, so 4 of them). They flew in to Chicago (personally, I'd avoid that), rented a car, drove to Oshkosh, stayed a few days, drove back to Chicago and flew to the west coast from there. Chicago is a 2.5/3hr drive to Oshkosh. There is a Greyhound bus but I think it goes via Milwaukee & takes a lot longer.

Wisconsin Aviation has a Citabria at Watertown, but I'm not sure what their rental to fly in to AV policy would be. Jim Quinn is the man to talk to there.

Start saving every dime you can...

For accommodation get hold of Neil Bowden at www.airadventure.co.za, we stayed in his campsite at Camp Scholler. Its a South African set up but this year there were people from Chile, New Zealand, Australia, Namibia and Zimbabwe. Its a great set up and we paid about US$ 700 for the entire week which includes a tent and stretcher, breakfast daily and live entertainment at night an your EAA camping fees.

FYI, I flew the Fiske arrival twice this year. The 1st time my expected passenger had to drop out, the 2nd was a planned solo. I'm saying I would of had a seat, though with work & weather I don't know until the time gets close. I'm West of Milwaukee a bit. The whole rental deal sounds somewhat daunting, especially as an overseas pilot. I would plan your trip to Airventure & secondary try to work out a flight in, but have backup plans to get there. For the most part if you get to or near Milwaukee or even Chicago you can get there one way or another.

Best flights from the UK (manchester) will be American in ORD or go up to GRB which is a 45 min drive from the grounds.Delta/KLM will get you into ATW via ATL or DTW then a 20min drive or a Shuttle service to the grounds.Flights into OSH,Janet D as some good ideas.For a place to stay.I do rent rooms (b&b) in a newer Air conditoned house 5 blocks from the airport.Message me if interested.If you need a small tent etc to camp out. I would be more than willing to help out so you don't have to tote half way around the world.Good Luck and hope to see you 2013..
Steve Owen a lowly Volunteer at Flight Line Ops Airventure for 20yrs+

Highly recommend lining up lodging now.
Would recommend Green Lake...just 20 minutes SW...gets you away from all the traffic and crowds. The Heidel House Resort is nice. Also, would look at Fond Du Lac. heading northbound on Hwy 41 is difficult with all the traffic and construction going on.

http://www.visitoshkosh.com/eaa-lodging.html

also, highly recommend camping! If you don't want to sleep in a tent...you can rent a camper with Air Conditioning.

looking forward to having you join us in 2013!!

blue skies and tailwinds!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Steve "Limey Owen

Best flights from the UK (manchester) will be American in ORD or go up to GRB which is a 45 min drive from the grounds.Delta/KLM will get you into ATW via ATL or DTW then a 20min drive or a Shuttle service to the grounds.Flights into OSH,Janet D as some good ideas.For a place to stay.I do rent rooms (b&b) in a newer Air conditoned house 5 blocks from the airport.Message me if interested.If you need a small tent etc to camp out. I would be more than willing to help out so you don't have to tote half way around the world.Good Luck and hope to see you 2013..
Steve Owen a lowly Volunteer at Flight Line Ops Airventure for 20yrs+

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Hi Kiwi,

I took the Manchester - Chicago - Green Bay route this year an it worked really well.

Further more, I stayed at Steve "Limey Owen's and would give the experience a 100% score!

Regards

Stuart Martindale (AKA The Gremlin)
Another lowly FLO vol