Monday only - worth it?

KaiGywer

Line Up and Wait
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KaiGywer
I am thinking of heading to Oshkosh this year, but would need to go to work on Tuesday. This means I'd only get to see Monday. I've only been once before and we did Thursday-Sunday. Would it be worth it to see Monday only? Is the show on fully by then and vendors set up etc?

Of course, if my company has a booth there I will do my damndest to get to work it :p
 
Sunday is also a good day to wander around and look at airplanes, before everyone is there.
Last year I couldn't believe how busy it was on Sunday preshow. I almost felt bad for all the vendors trying to drive all the stock and displays in.
 
I am thinking of heading to Oshkosh this year, but would need to go to work on Tuesday. This means I'd only get to see Monday. I've only been once before and we did Thursday-Sunday. Would it be worth it to see Monday only? Is the show on fully by then and vendors set up etc?

Of course, if my company has a booth there I will do my damndest to get to work it :p
Vendors are absolutely setup and ready to go on Monday. They are also not worn out by the show yet and are generally in a better mood than toward the end of the week.

Sat/Sun before the show and Mon/Tue are my favorite days for sure.

I don't much like thu-sun because the place is already starting to clear out with lots of pilots heading home to be sure to be able to do weekend chores and be back at work the following Monday. The vibe changes especially on Sat/Sun with lots more non-pilots coming. Nothing against them, particularly the locals that let us take over their town every summer, and anyone who is a friend of aviation is a friend of mine, but the vibe is definitely different.
 
Sunday is also a good day to wander around and look at airplanes, before everyone is there.

Thanks for the replies everyone. I will definitely plan on going then, and just have my job fly me out of ATW or GRB instead of my normal home base.

Do they sell tickets for Sunday, or is that a free for all to wander?
 
How crazy is flying in on Sunday afternoon?
It’s busy in the best of circumstances. If there’s weather on Saturday or Sunday morning it can turn into the zoo at feeding time. Have a good plan B and even C especially if you hear holding is in progress.
 
@KaiGywer and everyone - sacrilegious question. What do you do there? I can't buy a plane. I'm in a club and wouldn't really buy avionics or anything.

Air show - I get. I've been once. Loved the air show and walking around warbirds.

Is that what you do? What do folks do there all week?
 
@KaiGywer and everyone - sacrilegious question. What do you do there? I can't buy a plane. I'm in a club and wouldn't really buy avionics or anything.

Air show - I get. I've been once. Loved the air show and walking around warbirds.

Is that what you do? What do folks do there all week?

First and foremost we go to meet up and hang (that’s code for party) with friends from all across the country that we only see at Osh. We spend a lot of time just wandering around and seeing stuff—there’s a ton and too much to see in one year so we kinda divide things up. One year we focus on Warbirds, the next year it might be ultralights, and then maybe vintage—rinse and repeat during subsequent years. Every other year or so we’ll go through the museum. We walk through all the vendors and see what’s what and maybe buy this or that especially if I need something in particular. Then there’s always a number of forums we’ll attend either as a refresher or to learn something new. Finally we volunteer to help make the show the event it is.

We rarely watch the airshow. Now I’ll make an effort if there’s something unique or unusual. For example, a few years ago it was the Martin Mars flying boat doing a water drop. Otherwise if you be seen one Lomcovak you’ve see them all.
 
@KaiGywer and everyone - sacrilegious question. What do you do there? I can't buy a plane. I'm in a club and wouldn't really buy avionics or anything.

Air show - I get. I've been once. Loved the air show and walking around warbirds.

Is that what you do? What do folks do there all week?
That's basically me. I don't own or buy parts for others. I just enjoy walking around the grounds. I went once before (2021) and at that time also visited the career fair. Unfortunately, unlike others on here, I don't have any friends to meet up with, so I just go for my own enjoyment.
 
@KaiGywer and everyone - sacrilegious question. What do you do there? I can't buy a plane. I'm in a club and wouldn't really buy avionics or anything.

Air show - I get. I've been once. Loved the air show and walking around warbirds.

Is that what you do? What do folks do there all week?

Aircraft owners can learn and get ideas from looking at other aircraft of their type and talking with fellow type owners. Imagine you own a C195 and can park with 50 other C195's, and spend a week hanging out together, comparing planes, talking tech details, and making connections for rare parts.

Homebuilders same, plus various how-to forums and demos. Imagine you are building an RV-8 and can look closely at a couple hundred completed RV-8's parked in one place, talk to the manufacturer, listen to tech presentations from experts, and shop for parts, materials, and tools. How much time could you spend doing that?

There is a large group for which this has become one of their primary social circles. Those folks just love camping for a week, hanging out with old friends they see once a year, eating, and maybe look at a few planes or watch a bit of the airshows. Some volunteer and get more into the running of things.

My favorite is the twilight STOL competition. Always a hoot. And I'm not even a STOL guy.

At the end of the day, it IS the EAA fly-in. It is tailored to appeal to major EAA interest groups such as the warbirds/vintage/EAB/ultralight communities. For John Q Public or the average spam can renter, it is still cool, but maybe not 8 days' worth of cool.

I personally think flying the arrival should be a bucket list item for every GA pilot. Even if you show up, spend the day, and then leave.
 
That's basically me. I don't own or buy parts for others. I just enjoy walking around the grounds. I went once before (2021) and at that time also visited the career fair. Unfortunately, unlike others on here, I don't have any friends to meet up with, so I just go for my own enjoyment.
"unlike others on here, I don't have any friends to meet up with"

Wrong. You have many, many friends you just haven't met yet. It's everybody here to meet up with.

Pick a day, pick a time, pick a place (example - Monday, noon, north door of Hangar B) and have lunch together.
 
"unlike others on here, I don't have any friends to meet up with"

Wrong. You have many, many friends you just haven't met yet. It's everybody here to meet up with.

Pick a day, pick a time, pick a place (example - Monday, noon, north door of Hangar B) and have lunch together.
You bet! We’ll be your friends!!
 
Personally I think the airshow on Monday is usually lack luster but the social gatherings are bustling. Worth it? When is Osh not worth it!?! haha
 
Yes. First day is mostly airplane folks. Crowds can still be thick but just different that late week
 
"unlike others on here, I don't have any friends to meet up with"

Wrong. You have many, many friends you just haven't met yet. It's everybody here to meet up with.

Pick a day, pick a time, pick a place (example - Monday, noon, north door of Hangar B) and have lunch together.

You bet! We’ll be your friends!!
Fair enough. I don't have any friends I've already met there :biggrin: Hoping to eventually get to meet people both from here and other online forums though (or just simply convince someone to go there with me)
 
@KaiGywer and everyone - sacrilegious question. What do you do there? I can't buy a plane. I'm in a club and wouldn't really buy avionics or anything.

Air show - I get. I've been once. Loved the air show and walking around warbirds.

Is that what you do? What do folks do there all week?

Here's me best example -- one year I was going to find where the FAA medical folks were because I had a question. I entered in the back of a building and found myself in an auditorium where a talk was being given. As I listened (because I didn't want to be rude and leave), I discovered that the talk was about the USS Cole. After I while, I realized the speaker was aboard. A little while later, I realized this it was actually the commander (apologies if I foul up the term but it was the guy in charge). It's hard to describe the sense of patriotism and gratitude I left that talk with.

ok here's another -- I was at ihop having breakfast with my daughter. In the booth behind me, I can hear a guy (later figured out it was Paul Dye) talking about how somebody couldn't make a nasa astronaut panel. Wasn't a big deal because he just called the other four astronauts who were already there.

Well, maybe one more! Last year, I was looking at a large transport aircraft and the guy standing there was saying that they could transport Ospreys in it. I found that hard to believe...so I walked across the plaza and asked the guy standing in front of the Osprey if this was true (it was)
 
1992 I flew up with Paul Bertorelli and spent 3 days there. Convinced me I wanted to go back in 1993 and spend more time. My future wife went with me (she was not a pilot at the time). By the time 1994's show rolled around, she had a new Private certificate. In 1995, we flew the Navion in.
 
Fair enough. I don't have any friends I've already met there :biggrin: Hoping to eventually get to meet people both from here and other online forums though (or just simply convince someone to go there with me)
Another example....went to dinner with friends at Fox River (you know -that place where you make a reservation and still wait 2 hours) and the table next to us....John & Martha King. Turned into a great dinner for a larger group (altho they did not pick up the tab) (and why even with a reservation you wait 2 hours....)
 
@KaiGywer and everyone - sacrilegious question. What do you do there? I can't buy a plane. I'm in a club and wouldn't really buy avionics or anything.

Air show - I get. I've been once. Loved the air show and walking around warbirds.

Is that what you do? What do folks do there all week?

I would spend my entire summer there if I could (and if it lasted that long).

First and foremost: People! Oshkosh is filled with old friends, new friends, and friends you just haven't met yet. (h/t to the late, great Dave Higdon.) Pilots are generally awesome people, and there are countless stories of people going to Oshkosh knowing nobody and becoming lifelong friends with whoever randomly camped next to them. I am reminded me of a Facebook post I made several years ago saying something to the effect of "I've only been in Oshkosh for three hours, I've already seen friends from five continents, and I've laughed so hard I cried. Twice." Don't know anybody? Just come up and poke around in the areas that interest you, and maybe volunteer, and the not knowing anybody won't last long. And you may not have seen me in about 20 years but I'll be there!

Literally any aspect of aviation you can think of is there, from radio control (heck, control line!) all the way up to transport and military. It's still 90% GA, and all of the coolest things are there. Like new stuff? All the new stuff is there. Like old stuff? The oldest planes that still fly will be there (there was an aircraft there a few years ago that was built in 1909, and FLEW IN). Like normal stuff? It's all there. Like weird stuff? It's all there too. New, vintage, factory, homebuilt, certified, kit, experimental, civilian, current and vintage military, private, commercial, fixed-wing, rotorcraft, airships, balloons, ultralights, land, sea, big and small. Don't know what interests you? Just come and look around for a while and you'll find something.

There are many hundreds of informative forums. Want to learn some aspect of homebuilding? It'll all be there, from bucking rivets to forming composites. Want to learn about flying a particular type of aircraft or kind of operation, or improve your safety, or have more fun flying? It'll be there. Last year I really enjoyed Guil Barros' (from YouTube channel BuildFlyGo) stories of flying his RV from here in Wisconsin through the Caribbean and South America to his native Brazil and back. This year, @rwellner98 is going to do one on how to cook good food while camping in the backcountry. And there's a zillion others.

If you like anything about aviation, Oshkosh is the place to be - And it should be on every pilot's bucket list to at least go, and hopefully fly in at least once (if they're willing to study carefully on how to do it correctly, that is)!
 
My favorite stories....a number of years ago SAS flew a 747 in (8000 ft runway, why not?). Cargo was unloaded and included 3 large boxes. Inside were the 3 main sections of an experimental (forgot what it was). Owner/pilot put it together, parked and camped, when the show was over, he flew around the US for a month or so. Then packed it up in the 3 boxes and shipped it home.

Someone brought a 787 in as the center showpiece, don't remember if it was Boeing or not. Pilot got out, wife and kids met him with the truck, and they camped for the week.

Canadian Snowbirds were visiting & performing - pilots camped with the aircraft CT-114 Tutor, (both aircraft & tents were in Snowbird colors of white & red & I have photos). Hang tag on the prop stated (of course) do not touch, but the listed owner was "Her Majesty the Queen".
 
I love it when the military aircraft on display are flown in by some local kid.
Who do you want to fly them. We're kind of short on WWII-era pilots right now.
 
Who do you want to fly them. We're kind of short on WWII-era pilots right now.
I think he was referring to the active military aircraft, not the warbirds.

I did hear one thing that made me laugh - Someone looked at a heritage flight and said "There goes two highly qualified military pilots, and two dentists." :rofl:
 
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