As some of you may recall, we did a trip to Osh Kosh, aka "Aviation Mecca" last year. 4 FlyC Hooligans took the trek in my S35 Bonanza, pro rata, sharing flight time and accommodations. We rented a gorgeous house right next to the airport (within easy walking distance to the show), and stayed for 5 days, making a nice 8 day trip out of it.
The cross-country flying is glorious, and we took about 22 hours there and back, encountering bumpy cumulus, a nasty thunderstorm with 40kt gust front, crossing the rockies, UFO hunting over Roswell, and of course, the simply insane 32-page AirVenture Arrival NOTAM.
It's something to add to your bucket list, for sure. Here's what I know at the moment:
The show starts Monday, July 27 and ends the following Sunday, August 2. We typically will plan to depart California on Sunday morning on the 26th, although it will depend on everyone's schedule.
We will plan to fly 3 or 4 legs there, at 3 hours apiece, either over 1 or 2 days, depending on stamina, selection of mp3s and in-flight movies, and fatigue levels. Weather will dictate much of the actual plan.
We can use either 85Y (if she's out of maintenance - ha ha) or my Bonanza, or if another aircraft owner wants to go and has something better to offer, that.
We can plan to leave Wisconsin Thursday, Friday, or Saturday. Headwinds dominate the return, typically, however, if it's anything like last year, we will do it in one day because we all wanted to go HOME.
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Last year, with fuel at rude prices, the pro-rata portion was just under $500 apiece, and the lodging was $100 per night in a shared 5-bedroom house. Everyone got 6 or 7 hours' time (I flew right seat the entire time, except for the arrival and departure), with safety piloting or actual IMC available if you are in training for your IFR rating, and you will log either High Performance + Complex time, or Multi-Engine time, depending on the ship we use.
Anyway, if you are interested in going, drop me a line at mike@flycorona.com and I'll see if we have a serious headcount to get things going. It was a blast, and we'd love to do it again this year.
For photos from last year, and to get an idea of what 200 acres of Aviation nuts, plus hourly airshows that defy description, along with a constant stream of 12-at-a-time landings with 8-at-a-time departures... check out the following link:
http://flycorona.com/thumb/
And click on "osh2008"
Blue Skies,
- Mike
