What's new
Van's Air Force

Don't miss anything! Register now for full access to the definitive RV support community.

Oshkosh 2015 Trip Write-up

bullojm1

Well Known Member
This is my 4th trip to Oshkosh. 3rd in my RV, and second in a row in Homebuilt Camping (HBC). I am very excited for this year to see many of my RV friends. On top of Oshkosh, I am also taking the RV to Des Moines and Southern WI to visit some of my college friends.



As every year when I am headed to Oshkosh, WI for AirVentures, the day always starts off early.
DSCN4241.JPG


The flight was pretty straight forward - more or less a straight line for north-west Indiana, grabs some cheap ($4.04/G) fuel at KOXI (Stark County), chug up the shore of Lake Michigan, and then over to Oshkosh.
DSCN4242.JPG


Loaded with all the goodies to get me through the week. The Styrofoam cooler was a brilliant idea someone gave me - no need to take it back home with you!
DSCN4243.JPG


She's ready for the day's adventure.
DSCN4244.JPG


While the oil temps were warming up I entered in the flight plan into the GRT's.
DSCN4245.JPG


The day was spectacular over south-central PA.
DSCN4246.JPG


No winds to speak of either.
DSCN4247.JPG


This little music player is absolutely fantastic. Cheap, great battery life (12 hours) and it has a micro-SD card in it for a boatload of music storage. It kept me entertained all the way to the show.
DSCN4248.JPG


As expected, the headwinds slowly started to creep up.
DSCN4249.JPG

DSCN4250.JPG
 
This is the airport near Seven Springs in Pennsylvania. It isn't on the charts anymore. That's a shame - I always wanted to land there.
DSCN4251.JPG

DSCN4252.JPG


Yawn! I don't typically do early.
DSCN4253.JPG


In west Ohio / Indiana the land was absolutely soaked. I saw standing water everywhere.
DSCN4254.JPG


And with water and sun, came some crappy MVFR flying conditions.
DSCN4255.JPG


Warsaw (KASW) in Indiana. I stopped here on the way back from Osh last year. Good fuel prices and a crew car.
DSCN4256.JPG


The weather continued to degrade.
DSCN4257.JPG


Yup, it is getting close to a fuel stop. 11 gallons of calculated fuel left. That's about where I draw the line for needing some more go-go juice.
DSCN4258.JPG


Stark County (KOXI) airport was full of people going to Oshkosh. With $4.04/G fuel, it was easy to see why. They had a plethora of sweets and some hot dogs for everyone. Also, they had two fuel pumps for 100LL, so everyone waiting in line got through it pretty quickly.
DSCN4259.JPG


I didn't spend too much time on the ground as I knew the approach to Oshkosh was getting busy and I wanted to have a good spot for my plane to be parked in. I mounted a GoPro2 on a suction cup mount to my canopy. Should be interesting to see how this turns out. The weather heading north towards Lake Michigan was crappy out of KOXI.
DSCN4260.JPG
 
All of the sudden the sky broke and it once again was a great day to be flying.
DSCN4261.JPG


Coming up on Lake Michigan.
DSCN4262.JPG


This is the only footage I got from the under-wing GoPro. It stopped recording prematurely.
DSCN4263.JPG


Going up the shoreline.
DSCN4264.JPG


Approaching Chicago.
DSCN4265.JPG

DSCN4266.JPG

DSCN4267.JPG

DSCN4268.JPG

DSCN4269.JPG


This is my favorite pic of the trip up the lake.
DSCN4270.JPG
 
DSCN4271.JPG


I was on this beach about a month ago. I ran a 200 mile Ragnar Relay race from Madison, WI to Chicago which ended right here.
DSCN4272.JPG


I had some friends on Powers Lake, WI who I did a flyover for.
DSCN4273.JPG


Touchdown at Oshkosh! The approach from RIPON to FISKE was very intense. Lots of airplanes at 1800', and not many of them read the NOTAM. Nobody in front of me was flying over the railroad tracks. Speeds were as low as 70 kts. The controllers were sending every other airplane back to RIPON as airplanes were too close to each other. I was cleared for the 27 runway.
DSCN4274.JPG


It ain't Oshkosh until your oil temps are screaming at you after a long taxi!
DSCN4275.JPG


My parking spot could not of been better. Row 313, closest to the show. I wish I could request this spot every year.
DSCN4276.JPG


After getting settled, I walked around to see if I could find any of my friends here. Captain John's airplane was easy to spot, and parked appropriately next to the toilets.
DSCN4277.JPG


Very fitting name!
DSCN4278.JPG


Hmmm, I have the same structural components in my wings!
DSCN4279.JPG


My friend Bill Roger's RV-7.
DSCN4280.JPG
 
John and I met up at the SOS brothers tent and enjoyed a few beers, as well as contributing to the worthwhile cause.
DSCN4281.JPG


Sunday was just great at Oshkosh without the general public being around. I felt like I almost owned the place. The B52 was one of the many big attractions for this years event.
DSCN4282.JPG

DSCN4283.JPG

DSCN4284.JPG
 
The first full day of Oshkosh started off bright and early with my friend Brian Chesteen (Brantel). It was a great run to the southern portion of the airport.
DSCN4287.JPG


Next up was a visit to the vendors. TruTrak released their $1,000 autopilot which is based on the iLevel ARHS. It uses aileron and elevator trim servos to change the pitch and roll. Because of the lack of dedicated heavy servos, the installation of this AP comes in at about a pound.
DSCN4288.JPG


TruTrak also had a wind tunnel on display to show how the autopilot controls the control surfaces.
DSCN4289.JPG


I was really impressed with all of the different Angle of Attack readouts that Alpha Systems had. Their heads-up display is about the cleanest method I have seen to put a AOA indication on the dash of the RV.
DSCN4290.JPG


L3 promised to have an "affordable" EFIS this year - their Genesis. Too bad their definition of affordable is different than mine. It starts at $6,000. I don't think we will be seeing many of these in RV's.
DSCN4291.JPG


The AHRS/Magnetometer for their Genesis EFIS was very impressive. Small and very lightweight.
DSCN4292.JPG


Grant Rapids released their Heads-up Display (HUD) system. It is based on a pair of Epson glasses (BT-200) that are wirelessly connected via Bluetooth to either a HX or SX EFIS's.
DSCN4293.JPG


The intro price is only $750.
DSCN4294.JPG


EMagair had their 6-cylinder version of their electronic ignition on display. Brad indicated they will start shipping in August. Check out the beefy connector they use! I sure wish they used something like this on their 4 cylinder EMAG/PMAG.
DSCN4295.JPG


Time for me to put my media passes to good work. The beautiful girls at the Heavens Landing booths just don't take pictures with anyone.
DSCN4296.JPG
 
Jealously quickly set in, and the other model needed to have a picture with the most powerful man in RV media.
DSCN4297.JPG


After settling a minor argument, I assured them that there was enough of me to go around for both of them!
DSCN4298.JPG


The ICON A5 was on display this year again and it had a major crowd in its booth.
DSCN4299.JPG


The cockpit looks just like the interior of a car. Very nicely done.
DSCN4300.JPG


It was nice to see they have an AOA indicator up high.
DSCN4301.JPG


The A5 has foldable wings and fits nicely on a trailer.
DSCN4302.JPG


After a pass through the vendors tents, I met up with Captain John, Noah and Agent Orange and went through the Fly Market. John decided it was a good time to break out his new lightweight, compact folding chair from Spencer Aircraft (http://spenceraircraft.com).
DSCN4303.JPG


A trip to Oshkosh isn't complete until we run across our good friend Chad Jensen who works for Vertical Power.
DSCN4304.JPG

DSCN4305.JPG


Next up on our itinerary was the Beer Fairly RV Social. Rumor was beer ran out early last year, so we were the first ones there.
DSCN4306.JPG
 
John enjoying his new Vertical Power chair.
DSCN4307.JPG


Captain John with the first beer poured!
DSCN4308.JPG


The new Composite Airbus A350 was performing in the airshow - we had a great view of it from the Beerfest.
DSCN4309.JPG

DSCN4310.JPG

DSCN4311.JPG


We got a kick out the the Ridley V Twin motorcycle Dan Horton was riding around on. This thing sounded just like a Harley.
DSCN4312.JPG


The man, the myth, the legend - Albit Girod!
DSCN4313.JPG


CJ with Scott and Tanya Card
DSCN4314.JPG


The Beer Fairly RV Social turned out quite a large crowd at its peak.
DSCN4316.JPG
 
Day 2 at Oshkosh started off much like day 1 - a 5 mile run with Brian Chesteen. Our pace was a little slower today. My head was in pretty rough shape from beer being catapulted down my through from the lovely ladies of SOS.
DSCN4317.JPG


Hmmm, an extra tent appeared on my campsight overnight. I think Captain John got jealous of all of the fun I was having staying at Oshkosh.
DSCN4318.JPG


One of the great perks of running RivetBangers.com - Media passes!
DSCN4319.JPG


The RV-14 (tailwheel) was the new thing at Van's booth this year.
DSCN4320.JPG


Sheesh! You would of throught they'd of at least cleaned the bugs off of it.
DSCN4321.JPG


The paint job was pretty rough - you can tell it was a rush job.
DSCN4322.JPG


The interior of the RV-14 was quite roomie.
DSCN4323.JPG


It appears as if the RV-14 uses Advance Flight Systems Advances Control Module
DSCN4324.JPG


Pinhole City on the wheelpants!
DSCN4325.JPG


The A350 took show center. Ironic there is an airbus in Boeing Square?
DSCN4326.JPG
 
There was a steady line of people who were queued up to go into it. I didn't see it being worth the wait to see what the inside of a new jetliner looks like - they all seem to look the same.
DSCN4327.JPG


Probe City on the nose! 7 Pitot Tubes and 3 AOA sensors?
DSCN4328.JPG


It's not quite Oshkosh until you've walked by Jerry's One Man Band.
DSCN4329.JPG


Hmmmm, I always knew this is what made RV's run...money! Very nice plenum on this RV-7 (or was it a 6??). I spoke at length with the owner from CO who was very pleasant to talk to about his airplane.
DSCN4330.JPG


Next up was Van's $35 banquet. After some overly-dry buffer style food, Van gave a speech.
DSCN4331.JPG


The venue was packed full.
DSCN4332.JPG


Vic Syracuse gave a speech on Upgrading your Panel.
DSCN4333.JPG


This is the first Van's banquet I have ever been to, and to be honest I don't know if I will go to another. The best part about it for me was catching up with fellow RV builders.
DSCN4334.JPG
 
My last full day at Oshkosh. I've done so much, met so many people and I still feel like I have just scratched the surface. Homebuilt camping is packed this year. Airplanes in every direction without a free spot to be seen.
DSCN4339.JPG

DSCN4340.JPG

DSCN4341.JPG


I heard that Bill Moffet of NavWorx was here at the Seattle Avionics booth. The first job of today was to stop by to see if I could persuade him to move me up on the list for my backordered ADS600-EXP In/Out ADS-B transceiver. Unfortunately he was only here for Monday and Tuesday. Good news is I was able to get my hands on the new device. It is very small and very lightweight. I think my device is scheduled to ship the end of August. Until then my friend..
DSCN4342.JPG


I stopped back at Alpha Systems to see if they just sold their HUD display without the LED. Good news is they do! Bad news is it is $500!
DSCN4343.JPG


I stopped by Bill Repucci's EICommander seminar. Bill did a fantastic job of describing electronic ignition and how his EICommander can help diagnose all kinds of issues that could occur with the PMAG's. Definitely very informative. Thanks for a great presentation, Bill!
DSCN4344.JPG


The facilities were amazing this year! This is light-years better than port-a-potties. Air conditioned to boot!
DSCN4345.JPG


I broke down and bought a Spencer Aircraft fold-able chair. This chair weighs next to nothing, and folds down to a very small size.
DSCN4346.JPG

DSCN4347.JPG


Comfortable too!
DSCN4348.JPG
 
It didn't take long for my partner in crime, Captain John, to track me and my free Coors Lite down.
DSCN4349.JPG


The Goodyear blimp kept on circling around over us.
DSCN4350.JPG


We met up with Agent Orange and his Wife Allison, along with Brian "Brantel" Chesteen. This prop was just begging for a photo op.
DSCN4351.JPG


Next up was our annual RivetBangers prime rib dinner at The Black Otter Supper Club. The prime rib is spectacular and well priced - the 32oz Queen cut is a reasonable $30, while the big, bag 72oz King cut is $38! We had a great group of alumni - Eric, Jeff "Painless" Orear, Don Pansier (DeltaPop Antennas), Captain John and myself along with some new blood - Agent Orange and his wife Allison, Bruce Swayze, Eric from Oregon and Brian "Brantel" Chesteen.
DSCN4352.JPG


I couldn't resist the value of the 72oz King Cut prime rib.
DSCN4353.JPG


We didn't notice RV-10 Eric from Portland wore a VansAirforce.net T-Shirt to a RivetBangers event. Blasphemy! Even though he had such disregard for our organization, we let it go. Eric's a good guy. Hope we didn't scare you off!
DSCN4354.JPG
 
Sad times - my last day at Oshkosh and time to pack up the campsite. This has been a great home for the past 4 nights.
DSCN4355.JPG


Homebuilt Camping really seemed to clear out between yesterday and today.
DSCN4356.JPG


The new Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II. The $104 million Air Force fighter jet made its civilian air show debut at EAA AirVenture.
DSCN4357.JPG


Right next to it was the F22 Raptor.
DSCN4358.JPG


I decided to wander over to airplanes I could actually have the possibility of owning one day. AirCam has a new canopy for their ship. This makes it even more appealing as a next airplane for me.
DSCN4359.JPG


Time for takeoff to by next destination - Des Moines, IA to visit a great college friend. I thought I'd document the takeoff out of Oshkosh with three GoPro cameras. One mounted inside facing me.
DSCN4360.JPG


The other on the tail.
DSCN4361.JPG


And the final one under the wing. Unfortunately, I got rushed as soon as I pulled my airplane out into the taxiway and forgot to turn on the two outside cameras! Oh well, there's always next year.
DSCN4362.JPG


The trip out of Osh was very straightforward, and no weather was along the route. My plan was to stop off at KOVS for some fuel.
DSCN4363.JPG


The day was spectacular leaving Oshkosh.
DSCN4364.JPG
 
Minimal headwinds.
DSCN4365.JPG


Excited for my next adventure!
DSCN4366.JPG


Pulled back to 7.5GPH getting 20.3 MPG.
DSCN4367.JPG

DSCN4368.JPG


My fuel stop - KOVS - Boscobel.
DSCN4369.JPG


The fuel here was priced right - $3.99/G. I was really lucky - the pumps tanks started to run dry as I was topping off my last tank. I felt sorry for the twin behind me who needed 100 gallons.
DSCN4370.JPG


Boscobel has a free airport car to drive into town. Perfect, as I was getting hungry.
DSCN4371.JPG


Yelp didn't offer many fine dining choices in Boscobel. Double K's had the most reviews - 3.
DSCN4372.JPG


Double K's definitely lived up to it's reviews. The grilled chicken club was out of this world.
DSCN4373.JPG


Approaching the Mississippi river I noticed a farm with some interesting designs.
DSCN4374.JPG
 
First time crossing the Mississippi in the RV!
DSCN4375.JPG


The weather in Iowa was fantastic. Perfect flying day.
DSCN4376.JPG


I had some time to kill while my friend who was picking me up was in meetings, so I pulled back into efficiency mode. 7.1 GPH doing 133 kts.
DSCN4377.JPG


I landed at KIKV, Ankeny Airport north east of Des Moines and tied down for the night. The staff at Exec 1 Aviation could not of been nicer. No overnight fee, plus they offered me all kinds of food (Cake, Brownies, Jimmy Johns and fruit). Great FBO.
DSCN4378.JPG


My friend Rene picked me up not too long after I got settled and off to downtown Des Moines we went. The first stop was the Hessen Haus for some liters of Hofbrau.
DSCN4379.JPG


We did some bar hopping and ended up at Proof Restaurant . The charcuterie and cheese platter was out of this world.
DSCN4380.JPG
 
I wanted to stick around Des Moines a little longer to have breakfast with my friend Rene, but the weather was worrying me. I figured it was better to get in the air just in case this storm decided to move south at a faster pace.
DSCN4381.JPG


After takeoff, you can see in the distance the weather.
DSCN4382.JPG


At 3,500' I had a great 23 kts tailwind.
DSCN4383.JPG


As I got further east, the skies got darker and darker. ADS-B still said I was in the clear.
DSCN4384.JPG


My best attempt at pretending to look worried.
DSCN4385.JPG


This was the view to the south - CAVU all over the place.
DSCN4386.JPG


This was the extent of the weather I ran into. More bugs than raindrops on my canopy.
DSCN4387.JPG


Crossing back over the Mississippi river.
DSCN4388.JPG


This leg was very painless. No traffic to speak of, the the weather was well to my north. This is Lake Geneva to my left.
DSCN4389.JPG


This was a surprise - I didn't realize Country Thunder (4 day country music festival) was in town this weekend in Twin Lakes, WI. I've been to this venue a handful of times in my life. It's a party and a half!
DSCN4390.JPG
 
Powers Lake, WI - where I will be spending the next 2 nights.
DSCN4391.JPG


The location of my air conditioned abode, as well as the pontoon boat I will be drinking some cold beers on.
DSCN4392.JPG


Westosha Airport (5K6). After landing, I found out from a student pilot the airport is owned by the local quarry and they use a lot of the hangar to store their equipment in. The runway has a fair amount of grass growing through the cracks, but it is a stones throw away from where I am staying, and the price is right ($0!). They have about the cheapest price I have heard of the plane rentals. The student pilot I was chatting with let me know they rent out a Cessna 172 for $80/hour wet! That's cheaper than what I paid back in the early 2000's. I can see why he commuted here all the way from South of Chicago!
DSCN4393.JPG


Airplane covered and secured for the next two nights.
DSCN4394.JPG


My friend Kara was coming back from Portland, OR, so her fantastic mother Carole picked me up. We had a fantastic afternoon preparing food, boating and cocktailing. I am really lucky to have such great friends as Kara and her mom.
DSCN4395.JPG


The sunset skies in WI were just breathtaking. I am really looking forward to air conditioning tonight!!!!
DSCN4396.JPG
 
This weekend was great on Powers Lake! Very relaxing hanging out in the third cleanest lake in WI.
DSCN4397.JPG


Before I departed back home, my friends all wanted to get rides in the RV. Bethany was the bravest and went first.
DSCN4398.JPG


Can you tell Bethany like aerobatics???
DSCN4399.JPG


The next victim was Kara's husband Tezza from Australia.
DSCN4400.JPG


While he wasn't keen on aerobatics, he loved taking the stick and flying around. He was a natural pilot!
DSCN4401.JPG


Kara's Mom was next on the list.
DSCN4402.JPG


And finally Kara was bold enough to go for a flight after I safely returned her mom, husband and friend back to the earth safely.
DSCN4403.JPG


I picked up a valuable 12-pack of Spotted Cow to bring back home. For safety and weight-and-balance reasons, I put it in the passenger seat.
DSCN4404.JPG


The girls got a kick out of my front seat cargo - fresh Wisconsin corn and beer.
DSCN4405.JPG


The trip home was pretty straight forward - I needed fuel, and Burlington, WI (KBUU) had the best price at $4.19/G. After that, I could easily make it back home on one tank.
DSCN4406.JPG
 
DSCN4407.JPG


There was quite a large crowd at Burlington coming back from Oshkosh getting fuel.
DSCN4408.JPG


A dozen ears of corn weighed WAY more than I thought it would. I put it just forward of the front spar and secured it to the seat belt to move some of the weight forward.
DSCN4409.JPG


Heading south over Northern IL.
DSCN4410.JPG

DSCN4411.JPG

DSCN4412.JPG


There was some slow moving dissipating weather to the west moving towards chicago.
DSCN4413.JPG


I need to kick this headwind!
DSCN4414.JPG


Chicago....
DSCN4415.JPG


Gary, IN....
DSCN4416.JPG
 
As I got to the south of Lake Michigan, I picked up a slight tailwind.
DSCN4417.JPG


Climbing the tailwind increased a tad.
DSCN4418.JPG

DSCN4419.JPG


At 9,500' it was respectable.
DSCN4420.JPG

DSCN4421.JPG


22.2 MPG at 8 GPH...
DSCN4422.JPG


...doing 174 kts over the ground. I love the RV!
DSCN4423.JPG


There was some weather to the north
DSCN4424.JPG


.. and south.
DSCN4425.JPG


Garmin Pilot via ADS-B easily showed it. It was easy enough to navigate around.
DSCN4426.JPG
 
DSCN4427.JPG

DSCN4428.JPG


Crossing into PA
DSCN4429.JPG


The clouds were lowering, so I needed to go down too. Back to 3,500' I went.
DSCN4430.JPG

DSCN4431.JPG

DSCN4432.JPG


I don't like being this low over PA, but the clouds wouldn't have it any other way. I used the terrain feature of the EFIS to let me know if there was anything concerning in front of me.
DSCN4433.JPG


The west-bound entrance to the Allegheny Tunnel on the PA turnpike.
DSCN4434.JPG


It was an uneventful trip back home, with a total of 3:38 in the air. I think this is the longest leg yet I have taken in the RV.
DSCN4435.JPG


The girl is safe back at home ready to be tucked into the hangar.
DSCN4436.JPG
 
Something has got to be wrong with me! I sacrificed valuable beer carrying weight for Wisconsin corn.
DSCN4437.JPG


Another sign something isn't quite right with me. I gave away one of my coveted Spottee Cowls to my buddy at the airport.



What a great trip in the RV. The airplane performed perfectly. The weather was outstanding the entire time. And I don't think it would of been possible to do what I did with visiting such a great and vast group of old and new friends any other way than with the RV. Hands down, this was the best vacation I have ever had. Bring on Oshkosh 2016!
DSCN4438.JPG
 
They don't issue media passes for nothing. This write up about Oshkosh is the most detailed I've ever read in English. Nicely done Mikey thank you!
 
Nice write up! I almost feel like I got to go myself!...... Actually, as many times as I read your build site, I feel like I built that plane!....I swear, I'm goin next year, come **** or high water!
 
Great write up

Mike. Nicely done! It was great spending time with you and getting to know
you better. Look forward to more fly-in trips in these fantastic airplanes as well as the humor.
 
Nicely Done!

I really enjoyed reading your write-up this morning. Thanks for putting forth the effort.. on VAF no less! :eek: I too am already looking forward to 2016..
 
Thanks for sharing this, Mike. I was there too... drove in, and spent 8 days. In fact, I'm in at least one of your pictures (Van's Banquet) and I'm probably in the VAF Social photos somewhere. I'm getting ready to post about the trip in my blogspot blog.. with 2550 photos to sort through, it will take awhile to organize into a manageable size.
 
Please don't fly Ripon to Fisk using the GPS. It is not a straight shot. You will end up not flying over the railroad tracks as required in the NOTAM. ;)
 
About the best write up this year

I really enjoyed your write up Mike. Thanks for posting.
Saw yours and the Captains plane in HBC and didn't even know they were yours. Wish now I could have run into you two.:) Maybe next year at the big six bash. :D
 
Back
Top