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Thread: Flying In

  1. #1
    falcon21's Avatar
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    Goggles Flying In

    I'm thinking about flying in for the first time this year. I have a '67 Cessna 150 and will be looking to camp in the Vintage area. Does vintage camping tend to fill up quickly? From what I could find it is $27 per day (three day minimum) and all you have to do is show up, no reservations or prepaying. I'm currently putting together a list of supplies I will need: The Claw (I hear this is probably one of the best portable tie downs), small tent, solar phone charger?, Camelbak (probably the best way to stay hydrated), and more...

    Any tips or suggestions? I usually drive in every year so I'm not new to Airventure, just to flying in and camping there. I have already downloaded and studied the NOTAM.

  2. #2

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    Falcon21:
    Great that you are making plans for a flight into AirVenture! EAA has a tradition of never turning away a showplane, and that includes your '67 Cessna. Hard-working volunteers in the Vintage area make sure that every possible area of ground is used for aircraft parking and camping. No reservations are needed.
    Now is a good time to read and study the NOTAM; ordering the printed NOTAM book is handy in the cockpit. You should be sure to plan at least one alternate airport, just in case OSH is temporarily closed for some reason when you arrive. And be very critical in your packing selection (lots of places to charge your phone, for example, so you likely won't need to bring your own charger); with all of the vendors selling goodies, your plane (and maybe you, too) will likely have some extra weight when you depart.
    Have a great flight!

  3. #3
    FlyingRon's Avatar
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    You do not need to do anything before arriving (other than pack and read the NOTAM). It's become tight at peak times in Vintage the last few years, but we have always found some place to stuff people. You just get further and further south. To counter the space lost due to some inane airport mods (the 8' fence and inane security road) some more of the hayfields down at the south end have been turned over for airplane parking. The problem is that since they hadn't been used before for parking they were pretty badly rutted (and poorly drained as well). That situation is improving with each year.

    Once you arrive, you can go to registration (there are now two booths giving pretty good coverage), and they will sell you your camping credentials, wristbands, programs, etc... all at the same time. I've never been convinced that the EAA 'presales' accomplishes anything (at least not down here in Vintage). The registration people run your credit card (or take your cash or check) just as fast as they can lookup online your prepayment. It helps to have your EAA number but they can look that up for you too if you don't have it (YOU MUST BE AN EAA MEMBER TO CAMP). Don't fear, if you're not a member, I think they can sell you a membership there as well.

    In order to get the Vintage trinkets (the photo plaque of your plane and the show beer mug) you must ALSO be a vintage member. These you pick up in the Vintage Red Barn (again, you can buy a membership on the spot), after you've given them enough time to come down and take your picture (you can tell they've been there as they stick a green dot on your prop card).

    Claw tiedowns work well. Soil down in Vintage is really hard. The phone charger will be fine but we also have a charging station up at the red barn where you can leave things with a claim check to charge up. The CamelBak is a good idea. There are plenty of places to fill it around. I'd suggest bringing a comfortable folding chair and bug spray (the state bird of Wisconsin comes out in force at sundown). If you arrive fairly late, you may wish to bring at least one meal packed with you just for convenience.

    Pack clothes for a variety of weather conditions. Oshkosh summer weather goes from beastly hot to beastly cold (sometimes in the same week). You can EXPECT a real gully washer thunderstorm at least once during the show. A folding plastic parka is a good thing to carry with you at all times.

  4. #4
    dclaxon's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by FlyingRon View Post
    You can EXPECT a real gully washer thunderstorm at least once during the show.
    After spending 9 or 10 days in Camp Scholler almost every year since '83, I've come to the conclusion that it is Wisconsin State Law that it rain at least once during the convention.

  5. #5

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    South! My son came in on a Tuesday and we went to pick them up. While waiting we had a fine conversation with the Mayor of Milwaukee. South was an understatement .

  6. #6
    FlyingRon's Avatar
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    There's a sign down about row 130 that says "Fond du Lac City Limits"

  7. #7

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    Sometimes when the North 40 is full, ATC won't let folks in, even if they're going to park at Vintage. Last year, ATC wouldn't let her land so she went to Fond-du-Lac, then flew into OSH the next day.

  8. #8
    FlyingRon's Avatar
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    If the taxiways get jammed up because one of the runways close (crash or some demon going on), they will shut down arrivals without regard to what space is available. I ended up getting stuck up an at Neenah becaues there wasn't enough time to clear out the backlog after the airport was closed for a bit before they closed it again for the airshow.

  9. #9
    falcon21's Avatar
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    So I ended up not flying in last year but this year I'm just about all set! Any suggestions for food? A cooler and grill would be ideal but not sure I'll have the room for it. Also I was looking at the grounds map, am I missing something or are there no showers near vintage camping?

  10. #10
    FlyingRon's Avatar
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    There are showers, though, they are having problems. One trailer is missing from the north end of Vintage. The one at the south end is backing up through the drains. I don't know if the EAA has cheaped out at the expense of the campers, volunteers, and workers, or if Pit Stop (the toilet contractor) is fallign down, but this is the WORST year I've seen. Up until a couple of days ago, there weren't any toilets open south of show center.

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