Mid-Week Arrival

[TUPilot]

[FONT=&quot]Hello PoA Members—I’ve been enjoying the board for several months now, but with Oshkosh coming up I thought it was time to jump in and ask a few questions. This will be my third trip to Oshkosh but my first flying in, so I’ve been reading a lot of threads regarding OSH for newbies.
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[FONT=&quot]Unfortunately we aren’t going to be able to make it up until Wednesday; we leave from Maryland Tuesday night, overnight, and hopefully arrive well before the Air Show starts. I haven’t read too much regarding mid-week arrivals; does anyone information on what to expect? In the event we get a late start, the plan would be to drop into one of the small fields 30 or 40 miles south of OSH and wait until after the air show. Any suggestions on a good close in stop if needed? Hopefully we won’t need to stop I like planning for contingencies when dragging three friends across the country in a Cessna.[/FONT]
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[FONT=&quot]We are also trying to decide where to park; the North 40 seems like the classic place to be where you can observe the excitement of OSH arrivals from the comfort of ‘home’. We also have the option of parking in the Warbird area and using that campsite. Though I’d prefer to stay with the plane, they have a number of nice perks there. I was curious if anyone here had thoughts on the best option.[/FONT]
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[FONT=&quot]Finally, what else should we know? I’ve already gotten a lot of great pointers in other threads, like restaurants near the Airventure grounds, but I’m always interest in hearing what the experienced Oshkosh goers have to recommend. [/FONT]
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[FONT=&quot]Thank you![/FONT]

 

[steingar]

Welcome to POA. I don't recommend coming in after the air show under any circumstances. You'll be one of many, and it can get to be a real zoo. You can camp in the North 40 or vintage if your aircraft is sufficiently aged. By Wednesday, if there is any parking available at all, it will be a long way down the flight line in either spot. North 40 is closer to restaurants, vintage closer to the rest of the airshow (I think). Both have showers and whatnot.

 

[kyleb]

Welcome to POA. I don't recommend coming in after the air show under any circumstances. You'll be one of many, and it can get to be a real zoo. You can camp in the North 40 or vintage if your aircraft is sufficiently aged. By Wednesday, if there is any parking available at all, it will be a long way down the flight line in either spot. North 40 is closer to restaurants, vintage closer to the rest of the airshow (I think). Both have showers and whatnot.

Agree with the first part of this post. Don't try to come in after the show. Been there, done that.

However, by Wednesday, departures begin to outnumber arrivals, and you'll probably get a good parking space - at least I used to when I was in the N40. We'd get there mid-morning on Wednesday or Thursday and get a great space where someone had just departed...

 

[Neal Howard]

After the airshow in the early evenings during the week, it is a madhouse of planes departing. I would not want to be arriving against the flow then. I've departed after the airshow many times, and it's not too bad leaving then... after a long taxi/wait to get your turn at the runway. Arriving in the early mornings is usually a piece of cake.

Wautoma (Y50) is 30 miles west, and is a great place to stay for the night if you have to. There's camping available on the airport, and the local EAA chapter cooks burgers and hot dogs in their hangar in the evenings for the campers. There's also showers in the FBO for the campers there. In the morning, it's a very easy flight into Oshkosh from Wautoma. I've stayed there the past 5 years (hotel in town) and flew into Oshkosh each day, or drove in via rental car when the weather was IFR. (However, rental cars are not readily available at Wautoma, we reserved ours several months in advance and had it waiting for us at the airport).

I'll be camping at Oshkosh for the first time this year (in HBC). THe warbird camping area is not next to the planes, it's actually in between HBC and the N40.

An evening "restaurant" option within walking distance is the SOS Brothers beer tent, just south of the museum. They have a pretty decent-looking menu of food too, college co-eds wearing bikinis for waitresses, and live music each night. http://www.sosbrosbeerventure.com/index.html

 

[TUPilot]

Thanks for the information... we are adjusting our plan to try and get near Chicago on day one; that should make it very easy to get in before the Air Show on day 2... In the event things don't work out (our beat up old airplane isn't something I like flying IFR) Y50 sounds like exactly the kind of place we'd want to wait things out.

 

[denverpilot]

If you arrive after the show, plan on holding at the lakes. They usually hold inbounds for a while and launch a gaggle of aircraft off 27 rig at you. Then when the departures dry up, they open the arrival floodgates. It's busy.

There have been a number of aircraft departing and leaving open spots in N 40. We had three new aircraft neighbors arrive this morning. We're departing tomorrow morning early. So, there's spots.

Aircraft parking info phone number is good to have in your phone.

For a quick gas stop, KUNU is nice. Taxi up full-service pumps, taxi through and you're off to Ripon. And if Tim is still the manager there, he's a nice guy. Say hi.