As you probably know, your friendly editor had the pleasure of attending AirVenture 2001 with the added bonus of getting to fly in and camp. Thanks (again) to Chris Erkmann’s magic carpet Cessna 182, Chris and two other intrepid Chapter 32 members (Gene Angell and myself) got out of town on Saturday October 13th for an off-season look at the AirVenture museum. The flight to OSH was IFR all the way. We flew between cloud layers and didn’t see the ground until we were on final for runway 18. We did, however, have a great 30-knot tailwind. I am a VFR pilot, so it was really a trip to fly "blind" in a GA aircraft. I’m confident that just about everybody reading this has been to AirVenture and its fine museum at least once. So picture AirVenture in your mind: a multitude of people, airplanes, and vehicles everywhere you look. Noise... activity... and clear blue skies (usually). Ok, now conjure up in your head a tv-style ghost town: empty buildings...
deserted avenues... a hollow, chill wind blowing a tumbleweed down main street... and a lone coyote howling in the distance. That’s the scene which greeted our arrival in aviation’s Mecca. (Well, no tumbleweeds or coyotes, but no airplanes or people either.) It was downright spooky. I mean there was the big AirVenture sign, the Warbird Cafe, the Chapter House, all the other buildings, but NO PEOPLE. After we got over that shock and tied down at Basler Aviation, we got the red carpet treatment from the Museum. They sent a great guy named Norm in a van to pick us up. Once there, Rosemary took us under her wing and treated us like visiting dignitaries. She even called cabs for us when we went out for lunch and when we left for the day.We got lucky in that we were there for the last weekend before Pioneer Airport closed for the year. Not that we got to see everything...it just got too late in the day. However, I was amazed to wander into one of the hangars where sat a mostly completed RV-8 and then found out I was on the set of Discovery Wings’ “From the Ground Up” show. By golly, I recognized the workbench and the plans stand and everything. Wow, what a rush...I had no idea they were filming it there!

Due to the weather staying poopy, we decided to remain overnight. (This is where I praise Chris’ judgement and lack of “get-home-itis”.) IFR at night wouldn’t have been fun for any of us, least of all Chris. Instead, we had a fine dinner in a local restaurant where we hooked up with one of my in-laws who lives conveniently nearby. After a few adult beverages we all retired to our hotel room and started pounding the pillows. Next morning dawned bright and clear (if a little brisk). After breakfast we got another free ride to the tiedown area, and off we went. Beautiful VFR weather all the way back, until we got to the St. Louis no-fly zone and needed a clearance (remember when enhanced meant to make something better?). The tailwind we enjoyed on Saturday was still around, only this time it was a headwind. That was cool, because it gave us more time to look at the scenery. The fall colors are in full swing in Wisconsin, but things got a little drab further south. Therefore, I heartily recommend an off-season visit to Oshkosh’s AirVenture Museum. You can enjoy the exhibits without the pressure of AirVenture outside calling to you, and there are lots fewer people. From this experience, I can also recommend a few other things: If you’re going to need to get around at all, rent a car. It can’t be too much more expensive than multiple cab rides, you’ve got more freedom, and you won’t have to waste time standing around waiting for the cab. Get out and see some stuff.
There’re plenty of good places to eat in Oshkosh (we ate at Robbin’s Restaurant). If you’re going to stay overnight, the Hilton is right on the field. It’s pretty reasonably priced (especially spread over several people) it’s new, clean and nice; it has a terrific bar and breakfast buffet, and they will drive you to your airplane in the morning. One more thing: This was the first time I came back from Oshkosh without a sunburn!

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