Early in the morning is an option. I think it opens at 8 am.
Early in the morning is an option. I think it opens at 8 am.
Yep, but be prepared for it not to be. Mornings aren't as much of a problem, but things can get dicey either because of weather, some incident on the runway, traffic saturation on the ground, the airshow, excessive amounts of departures (they usually won't turn on arrivals after the airshow until people get out). Also, there are things that can bollix up departures so don't cut it short before the airshow if you need to depart, sometimes we lose the ability to taxi guys out from vintage before the actual show starts.
After you pick up your friend, when you are at your last stop before OSH, have a detailed briefing. Go through the NOTAM. Make sure you each understand your expectations (who is going to be flying, where each of you is going to look for traffic, changing frequencies, etc...). I put tabs on my copy of the NOTAM so that I can find each page quickly. Another suggestion is to not arrive at OSH low on fuel should you need to hold. I pick my last stop to be under an hour from OSH so that my tanks will be near full when I start the arrival.
In 2018 I arrived on Saturday before the show started in late afternoon during a brief period of VFR. In 2019 I arrived on Friday evening before the massive storms arrived.
One thing you do NOT want on your mind is a concern for fuel. I arrive at Ripon with two hours of fuel, period, and one year that was not enough and I ended up at a holiday inn in Madison, only about 30 minutes away. Madison is an "easy in and easy out" fuel stop, although it, too, will be busy and crowded. They are very nice at Wisconsin Aviation.
Also, and this works for me, while I do have the NOTAM bound up and looking pretty nearby, I have taken several bits of info and printed out on an index card that is clipped to my clipboard. I have these bullet points IN ORDER as they will be needed. I.E. Arrival ATIS freq, Fisk Approach freq, the identifiers for the four transition points, Tower North freq, and Tower South freq. I also have alternated location info for Appleton and FLD. When Fisk hands me off, that is when I find out if I am lucky and get the 18/36 (Twr South) and I will have that freq right in front of me. Gives me time to turn to that page of the NOTAM to see where I have colored in the DOTS, and life is good.
Be careful. Turning off your depiction of other aircraft traffic on whatever display you might be using might ease your pucker factor.
I do have a concern about the transition points and I hope I am wrong. It appears that they have merely extended the Ripon to Fisk and added 30 plus miles to it. I am hoping that since 2019, a bunch of my fellow aviators have learned how to fly in trail because they have heretofore had a LOT of difficulty doing that over those railroad tracks. FISK is the decision point and my hope is that sometime they will have TWO "fisks". I am sure this has been well thought out and my fingers are crossed.
Last edited by Inspector Fenwick; 06-11-2021 at 09:40 AM.
Larry Nelson EAA 35011
President EAA Chapter 821
Springfield, MO
PA 30 / Cessna 195
If all goes well, we will probably leave KCDN, Camden, S.C. early on the morning of July 25, and depending on wind and weather, probably stop somewhere wihin an hr. of Oshkosh for the night, camping or motel, don't know yet. Just wondering if any other small planes will be passing along the same or similar route. I know a couple of C 150s that will be leaving the first of the week headed for Iowa.
Bob
Practice your right pattern turns, downwind to base and base to final. The approach into Runway 27 comes around the north. The controllers will change your directions suddenly ("Turn base now!, turn final now!") and they will switch dots too. I know we pilots mostly fly left patterns so be ready for some "exciting" right pattern work into an unfamiliar airport.