If You've Never Made the Trip, Make This the Year

If You’ve Never Made the Trip, Make This the Year

Mark Phelps

Wednesday, July 08, 2009 at 08:00 AM ET

Verified

Key Takeaways:

EAA AirVenture in Oshkosh is a premier annual event for aviation enthusiasts, with flying one's own aircraft into the show considered a highly rewarding and achievable experience.
Pilots should prepare by making an intermediate stop before the final approach and familiarizing themselves with key procedures, such as the Ripon rally point, maintaining spacing, and listening carefully to controller instructions.
Despite the unique and seemingly complex multi-aircraft landing system, the process is well-managed by expert FAA controllers and includes sufficient margin for error, making it less intimidating than many pilots imagine.

See a mistake? Contact us.

There are those who’ve been, and those who haven’t. And there are those who wouldn’t miss it for anything. The journey to EAA AirVenture at Wittman Field in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, has been compared to the annual Hajj to Mecca. And for aviation zealots ranging from weekend ultralight aficionados to military or airline pilots, there is a full menu of soul-fulfilling food for thought and action everywhere you turn.

There are many ways to get there — some have said that the grounds of Camp Scholler boast more net worth in RVs than is found on the flight line. But arriving in your own aircraft is the capper to the experience, and it’s a lot less crazy an experience than many people seem to imagine. Don’t be intimidated by the 32-page notam. The basics you really need to understand are pretty straightforward.