As the atmosphere wakes up with thunderstorms about 60 miles south of Oshkosh this Sunday morning in July, a small but growing line of airplanes begins the final downhill slide into AirVenture. It’s 0730 CDT, and the line is well behaved, well-spaced, and the controllers are just getting warmed up – this could be a busy day! Saturday arrivals we observed to be relatively slow when compared to previous years – a combination of predicted horrible weather (that never really arrived at Wittman field, but rather went south of here) and solo pilots trying to avoid the many mass arrivals that were scheduled for the day.
Whatever the cause for the slow Saturday arrival pace, Sunday is setting up to be a day for airplane watching! If previous years’ experience holds true, that nice line of airplanes now starting at Puckaway lake will grow into lines of hundreds stretching down to Madison or westward halfway to the Minnesota border. So long as everyone keeps their head on a swivel, flies the right altitudes and speeds, and watches out for everyone else, it could be a busy but uneventful day. Just watch out for folks who haven’t read – or don’t understand – the procedures or have the “me first” attitude that can be so dangerous when a more cooperative bent is required.
My advice if you find yourself in a conga line with airplanes closing in and your speed deteriorating towards stall, break out and go land at Wautoma (Y50) for a little while. Get some water, put a little fuel onboard, and watch the traffic flow for a lull – they come. Then, refreshed and relaxed, take off and sail on in to AirVenture.
Welcome to the show!
