JordanGrant
Well Known Member
Like some others, the 30th Anniversary of the RV-6 was the excuse I needed to finally fly to Oshkosh. N198G first flew in 2006 and 10 Oshkosh's were missed since then. Every year there was something - either I was deployed to some sandbox, or we were having babies, or other conflicts prevented Holly and I from going. This year, I decided that I would make it happen, if only for one day. Holly and the kids had another commitment, but I was going to try!
All ready to take off from North Las Vegas:
Crossing the Front Range near Boulder, Colorado:
I was trying to make it all the way to Oshkosh in one day - Saturday. I made it to Dubuqe, Iowa but was stopped short by some weather. When I landed, the FBO guy asked me if I wanted a hangar for $60/night.
Me: "Well, I don't know. That's kind of spendy and I'm trying to get out of here to make it to Oshkosh today."
Him: "Did I mention there might be a tornado here in 20 minutes?"
Me: "I'll take the hangar".
Picture of storm on the way:
At least I had good company. A bunch of T-6s sharing the hangar with me:
The tornado never materialized, but the weather was still not good. And I was tired, so I stayed overnight at Dubuque. On Sunday, waited for weather to improve and then launched for about a 2:30 arrival and got the full Oshkosh arrival experience. Solid conga line in front of me, followed another plane down Fisk avenue for the 18R "buttonhook" approach. Landed on the pink - no, switch to the yellow! - dot and off the runway into the grass just as another airplane zoomed past on my left. Airplanes all over the place.
After its all over, a place to rest in HBC:
I could only stay a day. Had to be in Colorado Springs for work on Wednesday, so I left early Tuesday morning. It was a beautiful morning, though!
Totally worth it! Looking forward to doing it again and getting to actually stay for a few days next time.
Cheers,
All ready to take off from North Las Vegas:
Crossing the Front Range near Boulder, Colorado:
I was trying to make it all the way to Oshkosh in one day - Saturday. I made it to Dubuqe, Iowa but was stopped short by some weather. When I landed, the FBO guy asked me if I wanted a hangar for $60/night.
Me: "Well, I don't know. That's kind of spendy and I'm trying to get out of here to make it to Oshkosh today."
Him: "Did I mention there might be a tornado here in 20 minutes?"
Me: "I'll take the hangar".
Picture of storm on the way:
At least I had good company. A bunch of T-6s sharing the hangar with me:
The tornado never materialized, but the weather was still not good. And I was tired, so I stayed overnight at Dubuque. On Sunday, waited for weather to improve and then launched for about a 2:30 arrival and got the full Oshkosh arrival experience. Solid conga line in front of me, followed another plane down Fisk avenue for the 18R "buttonhook" approach. Landed on the pink - no, switch to the yellow! - dot and off the runway into the grass just as another airplane zoomed past on my left. Airplanes all over the place.
After its all over, a place to rest in HBC:
I could only stay a day. Had to be in Colorado Springs for work on Wednesday, so I left early Tuesday morning. It was a beautiful morning, though!
Totally worth it! Looking forward to doing it again and getting to actually stay for a few days next time.
Cheers,