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This is my 4th trip to Oshkosh. 3rd in my RV, and second in a row in Homebuilt Camping (HBC). I am very excited for this year to see many of my RV friends. On top of Oshkosh, I am also taking the RV to Des Moines and Southern WI to visit some of my college friends. As every year when I am headed to Oshkosh, WI for AirVentures, the day always starts off early.  The flight was pretty straight forward - more or less a straight line for north-west Indiana, grabs some cheap ($4.04/G) fuel at KOXI (Stark County), chug up the shore of Lake Michigan, and then over to Oshkosh.  Loaded with all the goodies to get me through the week. The Styrofoam cooler was a brilliant idea someone gave me - no need to take it back home with you!  She's ready for the day's adventure.  While the oil temps were warming up I entered in the flight plan into the GRT's.  The day was spectacular over south-central PA.  No winds to speak of either.  This little music player is absolutely fantastic. Cheap, great battery life (12 hours) and it has a micro-SD card in it for a boatload of music storage. It kept me entertained all the way to the show.  As expected, the headwinds slowly started to creep up.   This is the airport near Seven Springs in Pennsylvania. It isn't on the charts anymore. That's a shame - I always wanted to land there.   Yawn! I don't typically do early.  In west Ohio / Indiana the land was absolutely soaked. I saw standing water everywhere.  And with water and sun, came some crappy MVFR flying conditions.  Warsaw (KASW) in Indiana. I stopped here on the way back from Osh last year. Good fuel prices and a crew car.  The weather continued to degrade.  Yup, it is getting close to a fuel stop. 11 gallons of calculated fuel left. That's about where I draw the line for needing some more go-go juice.  Stark County (KOXI) airport was full of people going to Oshkosh. With $4.04/G fuel, it was easy to see why. They had a plethora of sweets and some hot dogs for everyone. Also, they had two fuel pumps for 100LL, so everyone waiting in line got through it pretty quickly.  I didn't spend too much time on the ground as I knew the approach to Oshkosh was getting busy and I wanted to have a good spot for my plane to be parked in. I mounted a GoPro2 on a suction cup mount to my canopy. Should be interesting to see how this turns out. The weather heading north towards Lake Michigan was crappy out of KOXI.  All of the sudden the sky broke and it once again was a great day to be flying.  Coming up on Lake Michigan.  This is the only footage I got from the under-wing GoPro. It stopped recording prematurely.  Going up the shoreline.  Approaching Chicago.      This is my favorite pic of the trip up the lake.   I was on this beach about a month ago. I ran a 200 mile Ragnar Relay race from Madison, WI to Chicago which ended right here.  I had some friends on Powers Lake, WI who I did a flyover for.  Touchdown at Oshkosh! The approach from RIPON to FISKE was very intense. Lots of airplanes at 1800', and not many of them read the NOTAM. Nobody in front of me was flying over the railroad tracks. Speeds were as low as 70 kts. The controllers were sending every other airplane back to RIPON as airplanes were too close to each other. I was cleared for the 27 runway.  It ain't Oshkosh until your oil temps are screaming at you after a long taxi!  My parking spot could not of been better. Row 313, closest to the show. I wish I could request this spot every year.  After getting settled, I walked around to see if I could find any of my friends here. Captain John's airplane was easy to spot, and parked appropriately next to the toilets.  Very fitting name!  Hmmm, I have the same structural components in my wings!  My friend Bill Roger's RV-7.  John and I met up at the SOS brothers tent and enjoyed a few beers, as well as contributing to the worthwhile cause.  Sunday was just great at Oshkosh without the general public being around. I felt like I almost owned the place. The B52 was one of the many big attractions for this years event.    This was a first! A girl doing a beer-bong at the SOS brothers tent. She did better than most guys I have seen attempt it.  On the stumble back to the campsite after the SOS tent, I noticed an odd thing - the gate to Homebuilt Camping (HBC) was open. Usually this is closed and we are forced to scoot under it or scale it.  The following is my packing list for the trip, in no particular order: Flashlight Headlamp Batteries for flashlight and headlamp Sleeping Bag Water Bottles filled with water Cheapo Styrofoam cooler Beer Liquor Mixers Bug Spray NOTAM ear buds (so the P51's taking off at 7am don't wake you up) rope baby wipes swimsuit solar charger camera Tent with groundcloth and stakes Flask (For Van's Banquet) ATM Card / Credit Card / Cash GoPro Rain Jacket Umbrella Hat (optional, you will surely get a lot of free ones from the vendors) Sunscreen Pillow Flip Flops Sunglasses HBC and VFR Signs Towel and washcloth Garbage Bags x2 Small Plastic Clamps x5-10 (for clamping your wet towel to the prop to dry) Small bedding sheet (some sleep cover when it's too hot to be in the sleeping bag) Folding Chair
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Last Modified: August 13, 2023 |