N40 vs. Scholler

[bdlarkin]

Hijacked from the Suburu thread:

Besides, I've got a good shot at writing a full column or feature piece on "Car Camping At OSH" or something like that ... the ins and outs of doing this the first time without making a total clod of yourself. And I'll probably do that anyway. But I've at least got a head start on the process.

I want to read that! This was my first year to not take the plane up to KOSH (was taking the family for their first trip). What a different experience.

I've done the dorm thing 2 years and all the others were N40 camping. Compared to the "organized chaos" of N40 camping, Scholler spot picking is a free for all. As long as you aren't in the fire lanes I guess you are golden, arrived on Sunday and ended up near lot S, might as well have been on the highway.

How early do people get there for the "good" camping spots.
What makes up a good Scholler camping spot anyway?
What's the best way to negotiate the arrival (pre-pay it seems).

I must admit I did absolutely NO research for the ground arrival to Oshkosh (especially compared with my usual anal retentive attention to the KOSH arrival NOTAM). Up until Sunday morning, I was flying.

I also have to say that the experience from Scholler was.. in a word.. "missing" something compared to N40 camping. It's comfortable, but crowded. And most importantly you really lose a lot of the arrivals and departures. Still it's Airventure, and a lot of fun.

Jim, I suggest you do a play on NOTAM for your article title. Ground based Fisk arrival, or something similar.

 

[weirdjim]

Hijacked from the Suburu thread:

Jim, I suggest you do a play on NOTAM for your article title. Ground based Fisk arrival, or something similar.

Not a bad idea. Clever, one might say. I was GOING to do an intro something about a Phoenix that rises once a year from the ashes or a Camelot that appears only when necessary ... but maybe I can weave the notam gig into it if I work at it.

Jim

 

[MSPAviator]

Scholler is definitely a different vibe than the N40. I feel the N40 is more relaxed and you know everyone around you is a pilot. I'd be a little more careful about leaving out expensive electronics out charging and whatnot in Scholler.

My Scholler camping strategy is to be as far away from the show entrance and as close to the highway as possible. This keeps crowds to a minimum and lets me get in and out of the show relatively easily with my car. I make up for the long walk to the show entrance by bringing a bicycle. I enter through the entrance where there is a huge bike corral near Vintage.

Sadly, I will not make it to OSH2015.

 

[bdlarkin]

Scholler is definitely a different vibe than the N40. I feel the N40 is more relaxed and you know everyone around you is a pilot. I'd be a little more careful about leaving out expensive electronics out charging and whatnot in Scholler.

I did seem to lose a beer out of the cooler. I could swear I didn't drink it because I foolishly didn't pack a bottle opener. I had plenty of other beer in cans or twist offs so I drank those first. Being that I was with my family I didn't drink as much beer as a normal Oshkosh, and when I put the beer into the fridge, I had only 5 Lagunitas bottles instead of the 6 pack that I swear I put in the cooler to begin with.

Electronics were in the car, which luckily locks better than my plane, but I know what you mean about leaving things out.

 

[Jay Honeck]

We have spent some time in Scholler this week (we are camped in the North 40), and it is VERY different out there.

Crowded is an understatement. In some areas it looks like a refugee camp in Sudan. My buddy's motor home is touching the neighbor's tents.

Riding home from Grant's party, we stumbled into the middle of some sort of crime scene, with several sheriff's and an ambulance. We just kept our heads down and kept pedaling. Ain't never seen anything like that in the North 40.

Airplane camping isn't entirely without incident (an acquaintance ended up sleeping last night in our daughter's tent's vestibule, after his room mate had an unfortunate accident in the tent after a night at the bars), but it's generally quieter and a bit more genteel.

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

 

[tsts4]

My perspective concerning Schioller is the closer to flightline you get the more "community" and by extension pilot oriented it becomes. East of 20th you're getting folks that are showing up days to weeks before. In Paul's woods are the folks that are showing up the day Scholler opens and claiming their site and in some cases moving on in and setting up camp. It's fun to hang with these folks. This is were lots of EAA Chapters set up camp and establish an area for their members in other locations to come and hang out.

I camped in HBC this year and I'd say this area is this most sedate of all of the camping areas hands down. Basically folks just go there to sleep, but generally socialize elsewhere. That's over simplified a bit but not far from the truth.

I think next year we might just park in HBC and camp in Scholler with our EAA Chapter.

 

[masloki]

I will go with Paul's Woods > N40 > rest of Scholler. Lack of campfires doesn't quite feel like camping. N40 is easier access to restaurants and Target. Wherever you go, people are super friendly.

 

[bdlarkin]

I will go with Paul's Woods > N40 > rest of Scholler. Lack of campfires doesn't quite feel like camping. N40 is easier access to restaurants and Target. Wherever you go, people are super friendly.

With how easy it is to get in and out of Scholler with a vehicle I don't know that easy access to Target and restaurants matter. We had pizza in one night in Oshkosh and the place was empty, compared to the hour wait at Friar Tuck's the night before.

Didn't set up a fire one night in Scholler. Not really that much space, TBH. Even the 3 RV's across from me only set up a fire one night.

How early do you need to get there to camp in Paul's woods? It was packed and "lived in" by the time we got there Sunday.

I think next year I'll fly and the wife and kids can drive up and camp with me in the N40, that was the plan this year, but the wife wasn't too keen on driving by herself with the kids that far.

 

[MSPAviator]

I think a lot of the volunteers show up a month or more ahead of Oshkosh.

 

[CJones]

I camped in HBC this year and I'd say this area is this most sedate of all of the camping areas hands down. Basically folks just go there to sleep, but generally socialize elsewhere. That's over simplified a bit but not far from the truth.

I haven't been to OSH in several years, but the last two times we went, we camped in HBC. I would agree with your statement. I had hoped that it was so 'sedate' back then because it was a relatively new area (they had just expanded HBC area). Sounds like it's still the same as I remember.

 

[AlanM]

This was my first year of camping via an rv. I drove from Chicago to OSH and staked a claim in Paul's Woods on Schoeller opening day June 26. When I arrived I was the fourth car in line and it was overkill. I could have waited to arrive by 1000 am and still would have had virtually the entire campground for choosing. However as stated before I arrived early and got my spot in Paul's Woods selecting the Woods because of the convenience to an entrance and to the Red Barn I'm Expensive Store.

Well I couldn't leave well enough alone. So on the Sunday before the Sunday before the Monday start of Airventure I called Camper Registration and plopped down $900 to obtain a water and electric site. I received a credit for that time forward to the end of the show for the general camping fees paid. Regardless it was a stupid and expensive set of decisions on my part. The rv spot I chose was on 31st street between Lindbergh and Elm. When I called there were over 200 sites still open but going faaaaast. By Wednesday there whew only 75 or so sites left.

Was it worth it to make the June 26 trip? No. Next year I'll wait until that second Sunday in advance and pay up for the improved site. I like electricity and water available on a continuous basis. I'll bite the cost bullet and be within short walking or bus distance to the Red Barn and an entrance. Get your admission tickets in advance and exchange them for wristbands at Camper Registration. There are no refunds on improved sites for unused days so that was another bite

Yet it was good to experience the mayhem of Schoeller for the first time as next year I'll know the pitfalls in advance. As far as socialization it seemed that virtually everyone stayed in or around their rv s. The dude next to me had a 42 inch tv inside his 42 foot rv. Easy to keep to yourself in that scenario. Oh and as far as no pets allowed in the improved sites - forget that rule. What I really regret that you don't get in Schoeller that you do in the N40 is seeing all the arrivals.....unless you go to the flight line which is a haul from Schoeller.

I hope this helps paint a picture of something.

 

[flytime]

This was my 17th OSH, but my first year flying in. I was in the N40 this year, and enjoyed it immensely! As others have stated, the vibe is great, and we were close to the action on 27. I arrived early (Friday evening) and parked in the 10th row. Ironically, this was probably very close to where I camped the very first year I went. I was just 6 years old, but in 1971 there was no camp Scholler. All of the car camping was along 9/27, and the North 40 was literally 40 rows of aircraft parking to the west of the drive-in campground. Wow, have things changed since then!

 

[Grum.Man]

I'm surprised nobody has mentioned Sleepy Hollow camp ground. It was $480.00 for 8 nights in a site with power and water for our 35' Motorhome. Free shuttles to and from the show or it was only a mile walk. It's right across the street from the beer tent and less than a mile from the EAA museum. It's not the best camp grounds but just as good or better than scholler.

 

[denverpilot]

We had a lovely campfire every night.

Campfires with blimps in the background are cooler than those without.