Day 40 - Airventure 2019

Tony Cacciarelli • Jul 24, 2020

"Welcome to Oshkosh" - July 24, 2019

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Oshkosh Seaplane Base

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If you take just one pic at Oshkosh...

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A5 at the GoPro booth

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Special Oshkosh Duluth undies

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Up close with Draco

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Valet service at the ICON demo dock on Lake Butte Des Morts

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There's a little something for everyone here

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Original Instagram Post

Oshkosh...at last!

Today was a good aviation geek day. I got out to the Green Bay airport around 7:30 to head down to Lake Winnebago and the Airventure Seaplane Base.

The skies were clear and there was no wind, so it was perfect conditions on the lake. The controllers are pretty loose, but they're definitely on top of things. Traffic was light, but there were WWII bombers, jets, home builts and all kinds of other aircraft buzzing around Oshkosh airport. It's wild to see so many aircraft all in one area. Usually the goal is to keep far away from other planes. Oshkosh is a form of controlled chaos - and it was glorious 🤓

I did a few landings on the lake. The water has algae all over the top, so it really does look green [even though I wasn't in Green Bay]. At one point the controller said they wouldn't object to me coming in closer so they could get a better look, so I did a few low fly bys over the base and then landed and taxied into the docks.

I unloaded a few things from the plane and then they moved it over to a mooring ball for the day. I hopped the shuttle bus over to the main airfield and spent a few hours checking out the show. I had to get a shot in front of the Oshkosh Brown Arch and I also picked up a pair of aviation-themed underwear from Duluth Trading. I brought several pieces of Duluth gear on this trip because they're fast-drying, so good for seaplane flying.

I swung by the GoPro booth. ICON has an A5 on display there. I talked with one of the GoPro guys about some of the issues I've been having with my cameras. They didn't have a lot to offer, but I'll try their suggestions. Can't hurt.

I got back on the bus to the seaplane base, got my plane towed out into the lake and headed out for Butte Des Morts. ICON is doing their demo flights there rather than the busy seaplane base, so I did a few landings on the lake then pulled into the ICON dock. I got to meet a few folks who were getting demo flights in the A5 and was able to share my experiences with them.

Tomorrow I'm heading up to Brainerd, MN. There's some weather coming in, so I hope I'm able to make it all the way there.

😀👍

Lots of good video from this day!

I'm putting it at number 2 on the best water flying days list.

This was my first time flying to Oshkosh. I'd attended the previous year with my father, but we flew on a commercial airline to get to Wisconsin and then drove to the show. Flying a small plane is a very different experience.

I didn't fly the typical arrival procedure into Wittman Regional. It's an absolutely bonkers procedure that, in my opinion, isn't best suited to handle the volume of traffic coming in.

Don't get me wrong, the controllers are amazing and do an incredible job of dealing with the chaos. I don't think some of the pilots have the right attitude to handle it, though. I've seen a few videos of people flying the approach in recent years and seems like there's always some yahoo who basically come bombing in without having studied the procedure, or doesn't respect the planes that are already in line, and makes a mess of things.

I haven't heard of any incidents, but I know there are a few close calls every year and it just seems like a matter of time before the amount of traffic gets to be too much and something happens. I hope not, because flying even in the vicinity of the show is a thrill pilot should get to experience - but you have to do your research!

My goal was Lake Winnebago and the seaplane base, which is far less chaotic and there isn't a specific arrival procedure to follow - but I still studied the notes that the Airventure folks had put out about landing at the seaplane base, so I knew what to expect.

This might get me branded as an infidel or something, but I have to admit that I don't go crazy over airshows. While I do like checking out different planes and watching aerobatic performances, I don't want to do that all day. I'd much rather be flying airplanes than walking around looking at airplanes, if I'm being completely honest.

I had a short list of things I wanted to accomplish at the show and then headed back to the seaplane base and over to Lake Butte de Morts to meet up with the ICON folks.

The lake house that ICON was using as their base of operations was a nice change from the hustle and bustle of Airventure. Plus, they had air conditioning!

I hung out for a couple hours and took advantage of their hospitality then headed back to Green Bay.

This was another day where I felt like I was using the A5 to commute from one place to the other - with some water fun along the way, of course.

There were a few parties happening later in the evening and as much as I would've liked to go to them I had an early start planned for the following day. Maybe if I'd been doing this trip 20 years earlier I could've stuck around and still been OK the next day, but I'm firmly in the 'don't bounce back so fast' age bracket now.

I found a really nice sushi restaurant in Green Bay and got a seat at the sushi bar. There wasn't anyone else sitting at the bar, so I offered to buy the sushi chef a drink. He politely declined saying he didn't want to be using very sharp knives and drinking. It was the first time I'd ever had that happen, but I couldn't argue with his logic.