Oshkosh and our History, The what when and why

For the past eleven years Judy and I have made AirVenture Oshkosh our big vacation destination during the year. Actually when I say eleven I really mean this past year was my eleventh trip out and back to the show.  Judy wasn’t with me on my first trip out so this was her 10.5^th trip. In 2001 I flew to Oshkosh with Drew and Ann. Drew was my flight instructor at the time and I’ve known Ann for a real long time. Judy and I had reacquainted ourselves with Sun and Fun in April that year after a ten year absence so I began talking to people about making the pilgrimage to Oshkosh whenever I’d find someone who would listen.

We flew out there and because we stopped at Chicago’s Meig’s Field (logbook entry stop) we were late arriving to Oshkosh and had to divert to Fond du Lac.  Upon arrival at KFDL the mixture cable on the Mooney broke stranding us there on the field.   Fond du Lac is an overflow for Oshkosh so we camped there for the show and took the shuttles in. I spent my three days at the show looking for a new cable which ultimately I found but it wouldn’t arrive until the Wednesday after the show ended.

At the time I was working in lower Manhattan for an investment bank who frowned on my aviation hobby, and they were none too pleased about me taking the trip to start with. I couldn’t wait with the airplane unless I wanted to be unemployed so I purchased a round trip plane ticket from Minneapolis to New York. Once home I pitched Judy to take the ride out with me to retrieve the airplane. That Friday we departed New York’s LaGuardia Airport on a US Air flight and arrived in Minneapolis to rent a car and drive it to KFDL. Returning the rental car we paid our tab and departed VFR flying at 2000 below the clouds.   That flight back became the reason I got my instrument rating and is worthy of its own post.

Judy has always liked long cross country trips and we’ve made it part of our lives ever since.

We leave early because we like to pick our camping spot and arriving five days ahead of time usually allows you to choose where you want to camp. My motto is to arrive and leave early. Once the second weekend starts drawing nearer the lines start to form and it’s time to go.

We have stayed till the end of the show once or twice and dislike the way it transforms once the crowd shows up.  Early in the week the attendees are mostly aviators and the conversations usually revolve around “nice airplane”, “where’d you fly in from?”, “Wow, you built that?” or my favorite “How’d you fit all that gear in a Mooney?”  To me the “Air show” is watching the GA arrivals. We usually sit for several hours each day and watch the arrivals and the departures of air show luminaries and their photo chase planes. 

My favorite day is the Sunday before the show starts. It’s the first day you are required to wear a wristband to walk the show grounds, the exhibits are largely complete and you can take a close look at the planes and products without a throng of people getting in your way and in your pictures.

The groceries and camp supplies are procured off airport at the Pick and save supermarket and the local Target.   Judy and I walk to the market twice a day usually carrying around eighty pounds of lightweight materials each trip.  Unlike Connecticut “package goods” liquor, beer and wine are available at the supermarket which adds considerably to the load.  Early on in the week people with vehicles feel sorry for that crazy couple carrying all the ice and supplies and sometimes give you a lift to your campsite or at least the row you’re camped in.

It’s a relaxing week with friends although I must say the weather in east central Wisconsin can be quite variable. Many years we’ve experienced sweltering heat followed by massive thunderstorms leading into bone chilling cold, all occurring within a twelve hour period.

We have friends that we meet on the airport every year. These people have become like our extended family. During the year we exchange emails and keep up with their lives. The ones who live close by we have either visited or they have visited us. Around April the emails start arriving more frequently developing into a frenzy of calls and test messages once the second week of July rolls around.

If you haven’t had the opportunity to attend I would say start planning for next year now. If you have any questions feel free to reach out to me as I obviously don’t mind talking about it.