Well, it’s hard to believe, sitting here with a cold -17°C day outside, that in just over four months it will be time to head out of Oshkosh 2011!

It’s been three years since I went to Oshkosh. Last year while reading the daily Oshkosh updates from the EAA, I decided that I would not miss Oshkosh 2011. I found that I had a real yearning to be in the thick of the fray even with reports of monsoon-like conditions.

To date, I’ve attended four of the mid-summer events in Oshkosh. The first was in 1992 with Dad’s Cessna 180 floatplane and my brother-in-law as copilot. It took 13 years for me to get back there again. With only one year of flying under my belt on the Christavia, I headed out in 2005 with my fellow Christaviator, Steve Whitenect. In 2006, Steve and I decided to go again, but this time we both carried a passenger. For me, it was dear old Dad. Steve was also flying his newly minted Murphy Rebel, having sold his Christavia shortly after Oshkosh 2005.

In 2008, the expedition grew to include Gerry McDonald in his Cessna 182, Pat Cunningham in his Cessna 120, and Barry Wood and Joel Charest in their Beech Musketeer. Collin Cleland flew with Gerry, and Bernie Kespie accompanied Steve. With five airplanes and eight courageous adventurers, things were a bit more complicated, but not unmanageable.

This summer, it looks like we will again have numbers similar to 2008, most of whom will be repeat visitors.

Our tentative plan is to leave in the morning on Friday, July 22nd. If this year is anything like previous years, the trip should take around 15 hours of flight time over two to three days to get there.

The route we took in 2008 is shown below and will likely be the same one we follow this year. Legs are kept to around 200 miles to accommodate the range of the slower aircraft. In 2008, we overnighted at Devil’s Lake, ND (KDVL), and Rice Lake, WI (KRPD), but could have easily made Oshkosh without the Rice Lake stop.

We usually try and push hard the first day starting at sun-up to try and make the border crossing before things get too rough in the afternoon turbulence. After that, we plan the next couple of days to arrive in Oshkosh on Sunday around midday. Oshkosh limits arrivals to before 6 PM, so we like to arrive well before then. By arriving on Sunday, we avoid the closure of the airport during the afternoon airshows occurring during AirVenture, which officially starts Monday morning. It also allows for a leisurely afternoon to set up camp, for those of us camping, or to make arrangements to get to booked accommodations.

On the trip to and from Oshkosh, we try and stay at comfortable hotels with courtesy transportation to and from the airports. We’ve always found airport and FBO staff to be extremely accommodating and helpful. To be honest, I cannot remember a single time where we had a negative experience at any of the airports we visited.

The arrival to Oshkosh can be somewhat intimidating to the uninitiated. In fact, it’s something that has kept more than one pilot from attempting the trip. In actuality, it’s a relatively easy procedure and one anyone can follow by studying the annual Oshkosh NOTAM and talking with anyone that’s flown it before. The key items are to look and listen. The arrival starts in the town of Ripon over the railway tracks. Prior to Ripon, listening to the ATIS will provide any information needed to arrive. At Ripon, it’s crucial to look for other arriving traffic and merge in with it. Huge arrows are laid over the tracks, easily visible from the assigned altitudes.