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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
July 2021 / TWIN & TURBINE • 23