First time to OSH - Is 4 days enough? Parking?

[FlyingRon]

Hey, I get there typically Tuesday or Wednesday before the show and leave the Monday after the show is over. That's nearly two weeks.

[Jessica Ziegler]

Last year was my first year attending, drove in on Wednesday and left Sunday. Not nearly enough time. This year we are coming in on Saturday and leaving on Sunday.

[Cary]

My very first time at OSH was in 1979, one day and overnight, due to "wife constraints". Foop! There was a long hiatus when life got in the way. Then a buddy and I went there 9 years ago for 3 days, another buddy and I went for 4 days the next year, another buddy and I went the next 2 years for 4 days each, and ever since, I've gone alone for the full week. Last year was the longest--arrived mid afternoon on Saturday and left after the Sunday airshow. Since I retired in November, I might go longer yet this year. I have never, ever gotten bored, and every year I manage to miss something that I'd seen the year or years before.

In addition to all the vendors in the hangars, the static displays, the forums, and the airshows, there's the museum (which is fascinating and easily worth a day), the Pioneer Airport (which is near the museum and is in effect a museum, too), the Seaplane Base (which is also worth a day and is very relaxing).

So is 4 days enough? No, but you'll see more next year, and the next year, and the next year.

BTW, why not flying?

Cary

[WeaverJ3Cub]

Thanks for the tips. Bought the admission tickets; I'll probably hold off on camping tix just in case something work-related comes up and I have to cancel. Not likely, but there's always the chance. Also considering leaving on Monday and adding another day.

BTW, why not flying?

Expense and inexperience. I can barely afford 20hrs a year let alone a trek like that! And at less than 200hrs....the rest of the arrivals would appreciate if I stayed home.

[Cary]

Thanks for the tips. Bought the admission tickets; I'll probably hold off on camping tix just in case something work-related comes up and I have to cancel. Not likely, but there's always the chance. Also considering leaving on Monday and adding another day.



Expense and inexperience. I can barely afford 20hrs a year let alone a trek like that! And at less than 200hrs....the rest of the arrivals would appreciate if I stayed home.

I can understand the expense--that's always an issue for me, too, since I can count on about 16-17 hours round trip--but your flight time should be about half that from Dayton dodging west of Chicago, and it would be great experience for you, a "real" cross country.

Also, as I've mentioned on another forum, a few years ago, my "neighbor" at OSH was a young fellow who had just passed his checkride a couple weeks earlier--he still had his temporary certificate. When I asked him if it wasn't a bit intimidating to him, he said something like, "I figured if I was going to fly to Oshkosh, I'd have to fly to Oshkosh." I shook my head at that, but his point was that there's a first time for everything. He also said, as most people find out, that it was a whole lot easier than he expected.

As we were chatting, however, he admitted to a "deficiency" in his training. He'd done it all in his own 150 which was hangared, so he'd never learned how to tie it down adequately. He'd bought a good set of tie-downs, but he had no idea what was a good knot to use, so he asked me to show him. I taught him what I've always called a running lock knot, which others call a hurricane knot.

There's still time for you to reconsider--fly less than 4 hours and camp under the wing for the true OSH experience, or drive twice that.

Cary

[FlyingRon]

https://www.faa.gov/regulations_poli...cumentID/22573

Of course, it doesn't tell you how to get the tie down into the ground at Oshkosh where the soils can vary between quicksand and concrete depending on how much rain there's been that year.

I've had a number of tiedown's over the year:

1. Metal Z shaped rods that I bought off the back of a go cart at FLD the first year.
2. My swingset augers (comes in a box of 4 and look identical to the set of 3 Sporty's sells....I envision some guy at Sporty's sitting there with repackaging them). Hint here: Do not use the handle of your tow bar as a wrench to screw these into the ground lest you bend it and it ceases to telescope anymore.
3. The CLAW. This worked well for me until I was in Cody Wyoming and a 70 MPH wind storm came through there. It actually pulled the tiedown to the point of bending the legs on one, but it didn't come loose. Broken nails are a common complaint with these (the heads are a weak point and you hammer them like crazy trying to install). The CLAW booth guys at OSH have always just handed out whatever replacement parts you claim you need when they break though.
4. StormForce Tiedown. This one also has nails but puts them all on the same side of the angle iron bar. It doesn't sound like it will work great, but it does and is now my favorite. I use these when tying down in sand even at the shore.

A friend of mine had the "three spikes in a hockey puck" style that the spikes were made of carbon fiber (from some defuct australian company). That was good an light until he flew out during the show and a fuel truck drove accross his tiedowns and snapped the spikes.

What doesn't work:

Tent stakes. Just no holding power. If you want to use a simple stake you need ones over a foot long. These are the ones that the EAA will "rent" you if you don't have any (but PLEASE plan on bringing your own).

Doggy anchors - these look like a large cork screw. These are known to snap frequently on installation and even occasionally when trying to restrain the plane.