Full Circle: Returning to AirVenture Oshkosh

Was it a Freudian, motherly voice thing? Was there something in her tone, or was it simply the words and their profound significance at this point in the pilot’s flying career? It’s easy to recognize the admonishment, appreciation or admiration in the tone of someone’s voice, the tone when you did something really good, bad or special. The tower controller’s voice sounded as if she knew that the Duke pilot had long been absent from the unique challenges of this ATA (Airport Traffic Area) and that he would appreciate the words. And now, clear as a bell on a jam-packed frequency during the landing roll, she took the time to direct her special words at my Duke – at me. What did she say? Let’s back up a bit first.

Aviation became a part of my life early on. My dad played trumpet in a dance band and the drummer was a pilot. I know that I was exactly five when I went for my first airplane ride because my mom told my younger brother that dad was taking me to school. And when he took me for a ride on that September day in 1961, school was a brand-new word. I continued on to get a private and commercial license as a civilian, instrument and multi-engine in the military and then an ATP and 737 type just before I left active duty. I flew the F-16 for 10 years and then performed as a USAF Civil Air Patrol Liaison Officer, and most of that time I was out of GA. After selling my straight-tail C-150 early in my Air Force career and when I started to make some money at the airline, I decided to get another airplane. I looked at a Cherokee Six, 310R and a 414 but ultimately found and fell in love with a Duke in Flagstaff, Arizona. And now, returning to this iconic airport with the world’s busiest tower, I was living the dream of that 5-year-old boy. Through the windscreen of the Duke, I see a strangely narrow runway laid out in front of me. 

Land on a Taxiway

After years of landing the F-16 on mostly long, wide runways, I didn’t recognize until short final that I was lined up on the parallel taxiway (e.g., Captain Han Solo, KSNA, February 2017). Should I try to slide over and line up with the runway? The winds are light and I’m lined up perfectly. In that split second, I remembered the NOTAM that addressed this procedure and felt embarrassed to have forgotten. I pulled back on the yolk of the 6,500-pound Duke to begin the flare and landed on the parallel taxiway, temporarily designated as 36R for this special occasion. The birds 2,000 feet in front of me become airborne making the landing surface all mine. I lowered the nose and let it roll. This is definitely narrow. It feels like going the wrong way on a one-way street with everyone watching and pointing.

Blurred Vision

Despite its unique challenges, I’ve always loved coming here. I have been to this airport many times in the distant past – but had never landed on a taxiway. I’d driven multiple times by car and motorcycle, arrived in a Seneca, Cherokee Six, an Arrow and now the Duke. This time, with five other airplane aficionados. As we rolled out on the narrow taxiway, tower’s words came over the radio and they caused my eyes to involuntarily tear up – my vision was blurred. Because it was so narrow, I kept my hands and feet on the controls and couldn’t wipe my eyes. I blinked a few times to squeegee the tears in order to see the taxiway on which I’d landed. With a pubescent crack in my voice, my thank you to tower probably sounded more like a solo student than a fighter pilot. What were those singularly special words from the controller? “Duke One Zero Delta; Welcome to Oshkosh.”

Time for You to Go

Like formation flying, recovering from a spin or learning to maintain composure during an in-flight emergency, I think that it should be a requirement for all aviators to do it at least once (but like Ruffles potato chips, no one can go to Oshkosh just once). Perhaps it should be in the practical test standards or hourly experience requirements for becoming a pilot. When my airline buddies say they have never been, I lay a guilt trip on them with a faint scowl of disbelief, slowly shake my head and say, “seriously?” It works. They lower their chin, stare at the control column and say, “I know, I know. I should go.” For years, you also have been meaning to go but you are mortified, petrified and stupefied (“A Beautiful Mind,” 2001) by the event. You tell yourself it’s a risk vs. reward type thing. It’s too far, too much traffic, crowds, effort and money. You’re not familiar with how to do it exactly, and besides, who has the time – and oh, BTW, my plane is too heavy to park on the grass. Here is a quick paragraph to address your angst (there is no plural for angst).

The NOTAM

It’s nice to go for three or four days but if time is (a lot of) money, going for one day is better than not going at all. If flying, plan to arrive when the field opens and leave immediately after the airshow. For hard surface parking, call the FBO Basler at (920) 236-7827 and they will email or fax you a reservation form. The big scary thing is the NOTAM. Yes, you absolutely must read the entire NOTAM – it’s 32 pages. Download and print it, and keep it in the plane. But fear not. The good news is that you only need to be familiar with a few pages and the NOTAM is detailed enough that even a no-radio arrival is in place. You likely won’t need the seaplane, ultralight, helicopter or formation arrival pages. You only need to know the IFR reservation system (pages 25 and 26) and the IFR Arrival/Departure procedures (pages 15 and 27 to 28), and perhaps the Turbine Arrival on page 17. As a backup, you will want to know about the Fisk Arrival (pages 4 to 12) and the VFR departure from Oshkosh. Throw in page one (which talks about planning) and a page of frequencies at the end of the NOTAM and you’re finished. Unless you have an emergency, don’t ask for favors, clog the frequency or ignore instructions. After reading the NOTAM, perhaps you will feel more confident and no longer mortified, petrified and stupefied. 

The Wait is Over

Oshkosh AirVenture 2021 will feature expanded warbird flying activities as they commemorate the 75th anniversary (plus one) since the end of WWII. Aircraft from both the European and Pacific theaters, pioneering technology that changed the course of the war, and evening movies at the Fly-In Theater devoted to WWII aviation will be featured. According to EAA, this year, there will be a large focus on risk mitigation, sanitation and disinfection protocols, as well as restrictions on crowd sizes during normally high attendance venues like exhibit hangars and forums. EAA’s CEO Jack Pelton reports: “The airplane piece of it is pretty straightforward. Flying into Wittman Regional Airport under the guidance of the NOTAM is proven and safe, and camping under a wing is an ideal way to experience the event and maintain some social distancing. But there’s more to AirVenture than that. There are forums, workshops, and venues like the Theater in the Woods and the Fly-In Theater. We are headed toward AirVenture Oshkosh 2021 at full throttle. Yes, it could look a little different, but it will still be aviation’s greatest event and, more importantly, a family reunion – a place to gather with our friends and revel in our love of airplanes as one big EAA family. Come July 26, the wait truly will be over. The EAA family will gather in Oshkosh, and that long-overdue reunion will celebrate the beginning of “back to normal.”

We the Survivors

I missed Oshkosh a bunch of times while in the military and once when the left engine of the Duke developed a crack in the case. Other than those times, the event has been a yearly tradition – nay, a pilgrimage. I still have an old tent pole (although the actual tent is long gone) with a camping sticker from 1972. And I could name drop famous OSH pilots and airplanes, inventors, innovators, speakers, politicians and memories of airplane smoke that smelled like aftershave from Oshkosh past, but you’ve all seen or read about them before. Now, we the survivors of last year’s trauma, hardship, mask mania, loss and lockdowns, are returning to Oshkosh, and boy, do we need it. By the time you read this, I will be just days away from flying an airliner for the last time. And if you read this after July 24, I’m retired and attending AirVenture. This hippie private pilot turned Air Force fighter pilot, turned airline captain and Duke owner some 60 years after an airplane ride in 1961 has come full circle. Perhaps you have as well. I hope you get to hear those words from Oshkosh tower. If not, I’ll say them to you. See you there.