OSH arrivals

[WLIU]

I have been fortunate to arrive at OSH via almost all of the published procesures - the standard arrival over FISK, the warbird arrival, and the NORDO (no radio) procedure. I will suggest that for a first timer, picking your time is really important. My first arrival was NORDO. I intentionally spent the night at Fon du Lac and launched at 7AM since that is when OSH opens and my guess was that I would beat the rush. My arrival was a non-event as there was only one other airplane visible in the pattern. Fast forward a few years and I had the experience of flying an afternoon Warbird arrival in the middle of a formation of 20 and a Beech Baron decided to cut in behind me uninvited. Fortunately my tail end charlie guy called a warning on the radio and I/we were able work around the idiot.

I will agree that based on my arrivals under all sorts of conditions, it is uncommon for things to get out of hand. The ATC guys do a GREAT job. The flip side is that if you are not used to seeing other airplanes in relatively close proximity, it looks like a big fur ball. Calmness is a great asset. If you have other seats in the airplane, bringing friends to be extra eyes is good in many dimensions. And you can always go around, find your way back to Ripon, and try again.

Go back next year and it should be much easier.

Best of luck,

Wes
N78PS

[mmcgrew]

It was a left base to 36. The lake was off my left wing prior to turning base. I arrived in an Arrow. I had stoped for fuel and waited out the afternoon air show closing and planned my arrival to arrive when the field was open. What I did not know was that after the airshow - priority was given to departing traffic while in bound traffic was placed in a hold. There were probably 30 planes holding to get in. In fact it was so congested - approach was telling traffic at Ripppon to not come up to Fisk but go to alternate airports. Traffic was actually doing a 180 and flying back down the tracks to Rippon (or to leave the area)

Mike

[mmcgrew]

Bill Greenwood - I just checked the chart. On a left base to 36. A portion of the lake is off of your left wing. A portion is off of your nose and when you turn on final - you do skirt the lake with it off your right wing.

Mike

[Kyle Boatright]

It was a left base to 36. The lake was off my left wing prior to turning base. I arrived in an Arrow. I had stoped for fuel and waited out the afternoon air show closing and planned my arrival to arrive when the field was open. What I did not know was that after the airshow - priority was given to departing traffic while in bound traffic was placed in a hold. There were probably 30 planes holding to get in. In fact it was so congested - approach was telling traffic at Ripppon to not come up to Fisk but go to alternate airports. Traffic was actually doing a 180 and flying back down the tracks to Rippon (or to leave the area)

Mike

What day was this? I arrived Tuesday evening after the show, did one lap around the lake waiting on something, and had a fairly straightforward arrival. I didn't pick up on the chaos you reported, but there is no question that stacked up traffic during a hold does make things more intense. In general, I won't accept the inbound hold going to Osh or SnF, just because it does get intense. Instead, I'll depart the area and return later. Tuesday evening wasn't particularly busy, so I went against my general rule.

That said, I believe the NOTAM states they attempt to release the bulk of the outbound traffic before opening the field to arrivals in the evening.

[Bill Greenwood]

Mike, it doesn't really matter much, but if by "the lake" you mean Lake Winnebago, and you are coming from the west on left base from the Fiske area, and about to turn left to 36 L, which is the main north runway, then you are not over or along the lake shore. You would be coming over hwy 41,and down at the south end of field past the small LSA runway. Lake Winnebago is ahead of you to the east of the airport. You would not or should not be over (along) the lake shore as that is the arrival path for the warbirds up high and the seaplanes down low going into the seaplane base. I don't know of a lake that would be off your left wing on base, unless you mean the Fox river which is way up to the north of rny 9-27.
There is a small lake that is in the holding pattern, Rush. It's not really in the traffic pattern to 36 anyway, quite a ways west.

Obviously the big problem and hard luck that you had was to arrive at the most crowded time when the departures were leaving.
One day that you or others may have been waiting to land, I and perhaps a hundred others were taxiing and idling on the ground to take off on 9 or 27. Many of us waited for an hour, except for the Citations and TBMs which were sent around all the other airplanes to the front of the line for takeoff. All that really matters is that we are on the ground safely, the rest is just mundane.
Just come earlier in the day next time. I am not sure if they do, but the notam should make it clear that inbound planes may be delayed at that time.

[Kyle Boatright]

Mike, it doesn't really matter much, but if by "the lake" you mean Lake Winnebago, ... <snip>.

Bill, there is a lake SW of OSH which is used in the holding procedure for inbounds on the Ripon/Fisk arrival. I believe this is the lake he was referencing.

[FlyingRon]

Rush Lake is the hold point for the RIPON-to-FISK transition.
There are idiots everywhere. I've been behind a 182 that hasn't quite got the concept of 90 knots as the target speed, then there was this guy:

IDIOT: Bonanza 35X four mile south.
OSH: Are you IFR?
IDIOT: No.
OSH: Do you have the NOTAM?
IDIOT: No.
OSH: (with a resigned sigh) Make straight-in for 36L.
IDIOT: Which one is 36L
OSH: It's the big long one with the numbers on the end and the dotted line down the middle.

[rawheels]

That does sound like a bad experience. Seems like the first time is always exciting, I remember the spacing getting too tight on our first run because of someone at the higher/faster level "fitting in" at the wrong moment and then having to go back and restart our run too. Oh well, it happens. In nearly a decade of flying in we've had very little real trouble, but you do have to be vigilant. Don't give up.

The worst experience was when the airport was closed because of a crash and we had to circle the lake. Pilots can be such whiners and tattlers; had to exit the holding pattern for fuel, but I wasn't too sad about it.

The controllers are saints. Like FlyingRon, I remember someone coming in and calling 5 miles from the airport, totally unaware of the procedures. After the controller asked if the guy had the NOTAM, he said he had forgotten it at the last FBO. It was very obvious he never had it, as once you've printed it I don't think anyone would think they could glance at it on the way in. Amazingly the controller stepped him through the whole thing; What he probably should have done was to tell him to go back to Madison or somewhere and get the NOTAM before coming back!

Another time they were landing us on 36L&R and a Waco that landed right in front of me on 36R stopped on the runway and was determined that he was going to taxi directly to show center as opposed to taxiing to the end of the runway like the controller was repeatedly & excitedly telling him to do. I ended up doing a go around and the controller put me right in for another landing with a big thank you. Great bunch of people up there!

[steveinindy]

Rush Lake is the hold point for the RIPON-to-FISK transition.
There are idiots everywhere. I've been behind a 182 that hasn't quite got the concept of 90 knots as the target speed, then there was this guy:

IDIOT: Bonanza 35X four mile south.
OSH: Are you IFR?
IDIOT: No.
OSH: Do you have the NOTAM?
IDIOT: No.
OSH: (with a resigned sigh) Make straight-in for 36L.
IDIOT: Which one is 36L
OSH: It's the big long one with the numbers on the end and the dotted line down the middle.

Honestly, given the number of idiots that strut their stuff annually, I'm surprised we don't have more crashes and that the FAA doesn't suspend or revoke more tickets at Oshkosh. LOL

[Wilfred]

I have flown to OSH four times; had to turn around due to weather in Nebraska once. The other three times I arrived over Ripon and used 36L twice and 18L (a taxiway) once. All went well except for a moron ground "handler" that didn't know what he was doing...waved me through a barricade then gave me hell for doing it...I really think this guy was either drunk or high on something...I mentioned earlier I filed a formal complaint with EAA and never heard anything. Air operations were just fine, but for the ONE jerk, the ground handling was really sad.