Flying to AirVenture 2019

I flew my Bede BD-4C airplane to AirVenture 2019, closing a seven year gap during which I drove to Oshkosh because I did not have a flying airplane. I last flew to AirVenture in 2011, just before I sold my Piper Arrow.

Sunday morning, July 21, 2019 brought high clouds in the St. Louis area, good weather in Wisconsin, and forecast low ceilings in between. The airplane was packed with tent, sleeping bag, clothes, camera, chair, and my canonical AirVenture hat. The day before, Candy and I had spiffed up the airplane, cleaning off the dirt from having been outdoors for over two months, and the oil from the belly from when the oil line had split in flight.

St. Charles to Dodge County

I took off from St. Charles County Smartt Airport (KSET) at 10:20am and headed north, figuring that either the clouds would get lower, forcing me to land until the weather improved, or not, allowing me to fly all the way to Wisconsin. (Now you know why my father called me son: ‘cuz I’m so bright.)

After taking off, the ADS-B radar on my iPad showed rain showers on my direct path to Oshkosh, so I jogged due north to fly around behind them as I climbed to 4500 feet.

It was bumpy so I climbed up to 6500 where the air was clear and smooth. Around the Quad Cities, clouds begin to form underneath me, with bases about 1000 feet above the ground and but only 500 feet thick or so. As I continued north, these changed from scattered clouds (10% – 50% coverage) to broken clouds (50% – 90% coverage) to a solid undercast (would have been called an overcast if I had been beneath the clouds). At my altitude, the ride remained smooth and the air crystal clear.

Once past the rain showers, I turned northeast toward Oshkosh, climbing to 7500 feet. Just southwest of Madison, I was able to receive the Oshkosh ATIS and learned that all of the grass camping and parking areas at Whitman Regional Airport (KOSH) were closed because of all the rain that had fallen on Saturday. I decided to land at Dodge County Airport (KUNU), knowing from previous experience that the FBO, Wisconsin Aviation, is super friendly and helpful.

I landed at Dodge County Airport at 1:00pm. True to form, the good folks at Wisconsin Aviation greeted me with smiles, fueled my airplane, guided me to parking on the far side of the field, and even offered me a ride back to the terminal building, despite playing host to well over 100 other airplanes which had landed the previous day, also waiting for the ground at Oshkosh to dry out. There were even sandwich makings set out on a table. I felt like a total kid again, chowing down on a bologna and cheese sandwich (though I added mustard, something I never would have done when I was shorter).

Dodge County to Fond du Lac

I was lucky enough to have an “in” on the ground at AirVenture. My friend, Rich, volunteers in homebuilt camping and had been there since Wednesday. At 2:50pm, he texted me that there would be a meeting at 3:30 to decide whether or not to open the airport. I took off at about 3:15 so as not to get caught in a mad rush for the runway if the airport did open.

I was at 1800 feet, orbiting a pair of shiny grain silos near Brandan, WI, enjoying the view, and listing the the air traffic controllers at FISKE for an announcement that it was OK to fly to RIPON and begin the approach to KOSH. Instead, I got a text from Rich that the airport was most likely to open at 5:00. The AirVenture NOTAM documents a procedure for airplanes inbound to Oshkosh to divert to Fond du Lac airport, land, and wait on the ground instead of remaining airborne, burning avgas. Once Oshkosh reopened, air traffic control (ATC) would recover the airplanes from Fond du Lac in an orderly fashion. I headed for Fond du Lac (KFLD) and was on the ground taxiing to parking by 3:50pm.

Before I even got to my parking space, the Fond du Lac ground controller came on the radio and announced that KOSH was open for arrivals. Anyone waiting for recovery could review the recovery procedure, start their engines, and taxi toward the runway. I keyed my mic:

Me: Fond du Lac ground, N2468Z is still taxiing to parking. Can I just turn around and head back for the runway?

Ground: I was waiting for you to call. You can be #1 for departure.

Fond du Lac to Oshkosh

There was another airplane blocking the taxiway and I had to wait for it to park so I ended up being the third airplane to launch but my flight into KOSH was quick and uneventful. I flew up the lake shore, hailed KOSH tower, and was cleared for a straight-in approach to runway 18R. On a two mile final, I was cleared to land on or after the red square.

Here is the video of the final approach and landing. Runway 18R is a taxiway 51 weeks of the year and gets used for a runway only during AirVenture; that’s why it looks so narrow next to the “real” runway. In fact, at 75 feet wide, it is every bit as wide as the runways at my home airport. After landing, I was instructed to keep my speed up, due to landing traffic behind me, and taxi past the end of the runway to a flagman. When I got there, I joined the line behind the airplane that had landed before me.

I had been led to homebuilt camping and was parked by 5:20pm, before Rich even realized that the field was open. Thank you, Rich! Your texts made my arrival super smooth, allowing me to skip the high traffic RIPON-FISKE-KOSH route.

Perseverance Award

Once I had the airplane tied down, my first stop was homebuilders’ registration to purchase my wristband and pay for my camping. I had never flown an airplane that I built into AirVenture so I was completely surprised to be awarded the Perseverance Award and serenaded with the Brokaw song.

Thanks to ALL of My Helpers!

If you helped me build my airplane, this award belongs to you, too. I could not have done it without your help. Thank you!

Bede BD-4C N2468Z at AirVenture

Credentials in hand, dinner in my belly, I pitched my tent and settled in for the night, celebrating with a beer at the homebuilders’ pavilion.

See also:

• AirVenture Show Plane
• Departing AirVenture 2019