For many pilots who live east of the Mississippi River, Oshkosh is a simple one or two hop from home base to the busiest airport on the planet – depending on the speed and range of their chosen aircraft. An RV can make it from Missouri with enough fuel to turn around and head home. A Breezy from Ohio might make it a multi-day trek. For those of us who live out in the vast regions of the west, we plan at least a full day’s travel in a fast aircraft – and multiple days are possible. For those bringing their new Cub-alike to the show from the west coast, AirVenture is simply a week in the middle of a three-week trip.
July in central North America can offer just about anything in terms of weather – but one thing you can almost be certain about is heat and thunderstorms. Flying across the country in a 170-knot airplane is best begun at the crack of dawn – or possibly before. Living out near Reno, my Foreflight shows a flight plan distance of 1432 miles, and with forecast winds and a 165 knot cruise, I am looking at an eight-hour and thirty-three-minute trip – but that’s just flying time. I plan 600-mile legs in the RV-B, will go up to 700 for a better fuel price (or a free hot dog) and I’m out of gas in 800. So we’re looking at a minimum of three legs to get into the show. Most likely, there’ll be an extra fuel stop once I cross the Mississippi, just to make sure I arrive with enough gas to get back out and not have to buy AVgas in Oshkosh – it’s just a hassle.
I started my planning by drawing a great circle from Dayton Valley Airpark (A34) to Wittman Regional (KOSH), then dragging the line around some restricted airspace in central Nevada and adding in the arrival checkpoints in close. I then eyeball distances and fuel prices, and knowing about the potential for free food in Rock Springs (WY), I drop the first fuel stop there. A little less than 700 miles from there is Blue Earth, Minnesota – just an hour and a few minutes from the Fiske arrival. That’s the starting plan – we’ll see what happens “on the day”! There are options with reasonably priced fuel on either side of those stops, and my ultimate hip-pocket stop is Wautoma, just thirty miles west of Oshkosh.
“Why Wautoma? Well, I absolutely refuse to hold in the air as part of the Fiske arrival. If they’re holding, the sky over Green Lake is likely to be busier than a First World War dogfight, and I don’t want any part of that. I’ll land at Y50 and sit by my plane in the grass until things calm down. Sometimes they have burgers…”
My intent is always to “go as far as I can,” and spend a night in between if necessary. What usually happens is I clear the growing thunderstorms in the plains (due to an early start) and find myself over Iowa about 4:00 pm (I do lose two hours en route because of time zones), and if the weather is clear into Oshkosh, it would be dumb not to go all the way. I’m happy arriving on Friday morning, but Thursday evening is usually a breeze in terms of traffic. If the weather is good, it’s better to get there because one thing is certain: the weather will change.
