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Are You Good Enough
to Fly into Oshkosh?
by Thomas P. Turner
F lying into Oshkosh, Wisconsin’s Wittman Regional Airport (KOSH) for EAA AirVenture is an amazing experience. But it’s one that requires special expertise, and for you to be at the very top of your game. Come
to think of it, we need to be at our very best every time we fly. Here are seven tasks you must master to be good enough to fly into Oshkosh.
Task 1: Know the NOTAM
It’s a big, busy, 30-page document...and you need to know it well to be safe flying into what becomes the world’s busiest airport. It provides rules for visual and instrument arrivals and departures. It gives instructions for making and displaying parking signs so ground handlers can send you in the right direction after you land. The NOTAM includes procedures for outly- ing airports that serve as alternates to Oshkosh arrivals. The NOTAM has changed in some
details since last year, so prior experience may not translate directly to safety this year without further study (the 2018 AirVenture NOTAM can be found on EAA’s website, eaa.org).
As you prepare to fly into AirVenture:
a) Download the NOTAM and begin studying the portions that apply to you. If you’re plan- ning to arrive IFR you still need to be fully up to speed on the VFR arrival – controllers can ter- minate services and direct you onto the visual arrival at any time.
b) Keep a copy of the NOTAM in the cockpit. Review it at your last stop before Oshkosh, and when getting ready to depart the airshow.
An aerial view of the EAA AirVenture grounds.
10 • TWIN & TURBINE
July 2018
PHOTO COURTESY OF JIM RAEDER
PHOTO COURTESY OF PAUL BOWEN PHOTOGRAPHY