Oshkosh for "Newbies"..

[TWinter]

This will be my first year attending, getting pretty anxious. I tried to go last year and waited too long to get rooms. I made reservations last Sunday and found that most places are already getting booked up. We ended up finding a room 17 miles outside of the city. Just a FYI For any other "newbie" going, start the hunt now. Last year I bought tickets and could not find a room. Money down the drain since we did not go.

 

Driving this year to get a feel for the event. Maybe fly next year...maybe?  LOL

 

Hope to see/meet some of the forum members there.

[DrBill]

My first time too.  I'm staying in a private home across the interstate from the airport.  The owner will pick me up and bring me back each day. Breakfast included.

Not cheap but convenient.  Am coming on Sunday and leaving on Thursday (for now).

BILL

[Sabremech]

I'll be driving the camper again this year. We spend 10 days at Oshkosh in Warbird Camping. Living 2 hours away almost makes it impractical to fly in. The Mooney will be at home in the hangar. I plan on trekking out to the Mooney rows this year and saying hello.

David

Vintage Airworks

[Dave Marten]

Simplest plan: fly in and camp. Never had to worry about rooms, logistics, or those poor earthbound folks stuck in traffic!

Gotta hear my favorite radio call: "Welcome to Oshkosh"

Hope to see you there!

 

[aaronk25]

Ill be there trying to decide wether to drive camper over (with ac) from Rochester MN or fly in and park in mooney row and camp.

[Bob]

CAMP UNDER THE WING!

[mooneygirl]

We will be there. Flying one of the birds to Juneau and then staying in OSH with friends. I do have contact information for a GREAT room in a private home. We stayed there two years in a row. Breakfast included plus ride to and from AV.  Our room with private bath was $100 per night.

Hope we can all meet up some how. 

[Jerry 5TJ]

CAMP UNDER THE WING!

Twice at OSH in the Mooney and I put a small tent under the horizontal stab as the wing is too close to the grass.   Either way it is great to have some aluminum above the tent when the rain falls at night.

[ElkoRandy20J]

I will be there with my nephew Sunday thru Tuesday. Landing at Appleton though. Less stressful. Hotels and rental car pricing is significant and possibly adjusted for the event. I did this routine last year also so I do know what I'm getting into. Monday of the event last year was extremely hot. Fly safe.

[LunkenPilot]

I used to do day trips up to Oshkosh in the M20F when I lived in Chicago.  However, I'm not sure what to do now that I moved to Cincinnati.  I guess I better trying camping!

[Seth]

I last visited in 2009. I flew into an airport nearby and some friends picked me up enroute to an airstream parked on the campgrounds. That did make it an easy way to go.

I can't go this year, but in 2014 I may have to fly out and camp under the horizontal stabilizer.

-Seth

[Mooneymite]

Question for the OSH campers....what do you do for meals?

[Jamie]

PilotsOfAmerica has a great OSH sub-forum. You can read for hours.... Lots of tips, hints, things to do, etc:

 

http://www.pilotsofamerica.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=38

[DrBill]

I've looked all over the AirVenture site and NOTAM.   HOW MUCH DOES IT COST TO :

A: Park and Camp in the Vintage Camping AREA ?

B: Park (mulitple nites) in the Vintage Parking Area ?

 

Thanks

BILL

[TWinter]

I've looked all over the AirVenture site and NOTAM.   HOW MUCH DOES IT COST TO :

A: Park and Camp in the Vintage Camping AREA ?

B: Park (mulitple nites) in the Vintage Parking Area ?

 

Thanks

BILL

Bill,

I had a few questions and called EAA direct and they pretty well answered all I needed. The general EAA number off the web will get you to someone w/ answers. I envy all of you that fly in. We will be driving this year to get the idea of the layout. Maybe next year we will fly. Hope to meet some forum members there. Im getting pretty anxious. As a working/business owner I'm well overdue for a vacation..I think its been two years since we've taken time to relax. Going to be a great first time. 

GL,

Tom

[N601RX]

Question for the OSH campers....what do you do for meals?

We carried a large ice chest with food.  There are plenty of stores/restaurants nearby.  There is also lot of food onsite.

[fantom]

Question for the OSH campers....what do you do for meals?

 

You may get sunburned, you may not sleep enough, you will make new friends, you can get some great deals on stuff, you will walk a lot, you're sure to ogle a lot of planes you can't own, you will pick up some free hats and other junk, you should drink a lot of water, you will have a big bag of smelly clothes......but one thing you will not do is go hungry. There are food vendors and cook-outs everywhere!

[N9201A]

I invite everyone contemplating going to JUST GO!!  I had been flying more than 20 years and owned one or another airplane for most of that time.  But I kept finding reasons to put it off:  Work, kids, blah blah blah.  

 

I finally went in 2005 and discovered a place where an aviation nut like me isn't "off" at all.  In fact, there are hundreds, thousands, of people just like me who are content to talk about, look at, and listen to airplanes all day long -- and for days in a row.  I only wish I'd just gone years before, and have not missed a summer since.  

 

Those of you flying yourselves, I suggest the Mooney Caravan -- LOTS better than the Fisk arrival!  Much improved over previous years, as are the other mass arrivals, and a truly fun bunch of committed Mooney pilots who I am now happy to have as friends.  If you can't make it this year, at least come by the BBQ, one of the various Caravan-sponsored forums (one each Monday and Wednesday on the fairgrounds and one in the North 40), or give us a shout and find out more.  

 

Airventure has to be experienced to be understood;  words cannot describe the "buzz" you feel there.  Since 2008, I have met plenty of people like me who were glad they finally just went;  I've never had anyone tell me "I should have stayed home."  My $0.02...

[yvesg]

I will be there for the first time after over 16 years of active flying and most of my life closely related to aviation. How many bring their spouse? I will join the Caravan and camp under..... beside the wing. Any mosquitoes in Oshkosh? Where we usually camp, we need repellant...

For those above asking questions, their web site is pretty thorough... found that camping is $25 a night.

Yves

[Dave Marten]

Any mosquitoes in Oshkosh? Where we usually camp, we need repellant...

 

Yves

 Yves,

 

Bring the bug spray. The mosiquitoes also fly-in and while they aren't big enough to require 2-way comm w/ ATC they have been known to drain off a little blood. A little beer or scotch at camp in the evening helps replace the lost fluid.

 

See ya there!

[Dave Marten]

 How many bring their spouse?

 

Yves

 

I'm forturnate enough to have my wife and kids come along. I'll bet we'll have 10+ spouses out of the 30 some Caravan Mooneys. I'll have the kids along too (2 and 5). We all have a great time. My third trip to OSH with the 4 of us. Yes, the math works - youngest daugther was 6 wks old for her first trip.

 

My wife's favorite recent Oshkosh addition: flush toilets in North 40 camping!

[BigTex]

I brought my wife for the first time last year.  She's not into aviation so I only scheduled three days.  Well, she had an absolute blast.  As we were leaving on the third day, parting comment was that next year we need to make sure we stay for the entire week!  Unfortunately our schedule didn't work out for 2013 and she was truly bummed.

 

So folks that are concerned their wife's wouldn't like it, don't be.

[yvesg]

The only thing she complains about when we go to the states is American beer... with the camping gear we'll have it would be difficult to take with us a week's worth reserve.

Yves

[BigTex]

The only thing she complains about when we go to the states is American beer... with the camping gear we'll have it would be difficult to take with us a week's worth reserve. Yves

Yves, then obviously you're not drinking beer from the correct brewery. Everyone knows that America has world class beer... And I'm not talking about that yellow fizzy stuff!

[Marauder]

The only thing she complains about when we go to the states is American beer... with the camping gear we'll have it would be difficult to take with us a week's worth reserve. Yves

You Canadians and your Molson Extra Stock! Schlitz, Pabst Blue Ribbon or Genesee Cream Ale not good enough for ya? -- don't blame you! I do know one thing, I never got so drunk so fast other than my trip to Toronto a few years ago -- can't remember which high test version I drank, hell, I can't even remember the night -- let alone how I got back to my hotel room...