EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2019

Discussion relating to 2019 airshows/fly-ins/exercises/other events. Post news before the event and post your photos afterwards! Please create only one thread per event.
kalamazookid
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Post by kalamazookid » Fri Feb 15, 2019 4:38 pm

With yesterday's announcement that aerial firefighting will be a focus, I wonder if we'll get to see one of the Boeing 747 Supertankers?
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Matt

Have Blue
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Post by Have Blue » Tue Feb 26, 2019 7:19 pm

The Milwaukee Air & Water Show site is now listing a B-2 flyby, so I'm guessing Oshkosh may be getting a B-2 flyby on Saturday.
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Nate_Burrows
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Post by Nate_Burrows » Fri Mar 08, 2019 10:51 pm

Navy Legacy Flight Added, aircraft attending will be the EA-18G Growler, T-45C Goshawk and T-6 Texan II. Warbirds flying with them is unknown at this time.
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Nate Burrows
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SEAFURY
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Post by SEAFURY » Fri Mar 22, 2019 3:17 am

Hi there,
I have been a flight crew Loadmaster on the B-17 Sentimental Journey for 32 years. I have been to most of the big shows in that time but one. So my question here is. What is the best way to see Oshkosh this year on a modest budget?
Like how many days should you plan on going?
What are the best days to go?
What hotels?
Do you need ground transportation? and so on and so forth.
Any info would be help.
Thanks
Pat
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Airplanefreak2000
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Post by Airplanefreak2000 » Fri Mar 22, 2019 2:50 pm

Hello! SJ is my favorite b-17!. The best days I think are Tuesday-Thursday I think. As that’s when there is max participation. Sometimes several key airplanes leave before the weekend. As for the cheapest options, camping is the cheapest and youre always onsite. It can cost you upwards of $1000 for a few nights stay in the area hotels unless you’re splitting costs. Staying an hour away or so generally is ok but those fill up fast too. I’m sure others will chime in and offer their best ideas.
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RyanS
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Post by RyanS » Fri Mar 22, 2019 9:30 pm

SEAFURY wrote: Fri Mar 22, 2019 3:17 am Hi there,
I have been a flight crew Loadmaster on the B-17 Sentimental Journey for 32 years. I have been to most of the big shows in that time but one. So my question here is. What is the best way to see Oshkosh this year on a modest budget?
Like how many days should you plan on going?
What are the best days to go?
What hotels?
Do you need ground transportation? and so on and so forth.
Any info would be help.
Thanks
Pat
Welcome, Pat!

Oshkosh is extremely customizable to your own interests. It officially runs Monday through Sunday, but arrivals start Saturday before (and really even earlier, but they kick up on Saturday). How long you stay is really just a personal choice. Even if you are there for the entire 9 day stretch, you will not see 100% of the event because so much is going on at any one time. You’ll run our of money or energy before running out of things to do.

I agree with Aaron that if I had to pick a few days, I’d probably go Tuesday to Thursday, adding Friday as a fourth day if possible.

The first Saturday and Sunday are not official show days, so there is no airshow. It is pure arrivals action (the famous part of OSH) and a little more laid back since there isn’t really a schedule to any of it. Monday through Sunday have an airshow each day, from about 2pm to 6pm so later than typical shows. There are night airshows on Wednesday and Saturday. Saturday is the busiest day of the week as the locals all come. Friday is probably the second busiest. The final Sunday is remarkably empty; it is easy to get a front row seat even if you show up just a minute before the show starts.

Hotels in Oshkosh are nearly impossible to get, and very expensive. The next closest areas are Appleton and Fond Du Lac, which are also expensive and about 30ish minutes away. To stay for a normal rate, you have to drive about an hour to either Green Bay or Beaver Dam.

Other lodging options are camping at the airport if you are up for that, or you can consider staying in the college dorm rooms which I think are fairly reasonable.

If you are camping or in the dorms, you will not need a rental car. There are free shuttle buses and trams that run around the grounds and to nearby points like a shopping center. The forms have their own bus. I believe there is a bus from hotels in Appleton to the show, but I’m not 100% on that. It costs money if it exists. The local Goodwill also stocks up on bicycles ahead of the event as they are quite popular during the week.

If you are camping, there is a small market in campground for supplies or you can go into town to the Walmart. They provide shower and bathroom buildings, and charging stations.

Keep in mind that tickets to the show are pretty expensive, so add that in for however many days you want to go. EAA members can buy a weekly wristband, and I think the weekly is cheaper if you plan to go more than 4(?) days. You will need to be an EAA member to camp if you aren’t already. Parking costs money, but I don’t remember how much.

In the past, EAA has run a message board for people who are flying or driving in to find passengers to split the costs with. Assuming you end up flying commercial, you should look to fly into Appleton, Green Bay, or Milwaukee. Chicago is like two hours away and may be cheaper than the others.

Hope that helps!
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Ryan Sundheimer
www.AirshowStuff.com

SEAFURY
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Post by SEAFURY » Sat Mar 23, 2019 1:30 am

Hi Ryan,
Thank you for the info. I am curious about the dorm rooms. What collage or university are you talking about and how do I go about it please?
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RyanS
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Post by RyanS » Sat Mar 23, 2019 1:39 am

SEAFURY wrote: Sat Mar 23, 2019 1:30 am Hi Ryan,
Thank you for the info. I am curious about the dorm rooms. What collage or university are you talking about and how do I go about it please?
I have never done it before, but it is through UW Oshkosh just a few miles from the airport. Looks like they might be mostly sold out for 2019 already though: https://uwosh.edu/gcc/home/eaa-airventu ... and-rates/

Apparently Marian University in Fond Du Lac also offers lodging, though I'm not sure if they have a shuttle bus or not:
https://www.marianuniversity.edu/news-a ... a-housing/
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Ryan Sundheimer
www.AirshowStuff.com

claybird
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Post by claybird » Sun Mar 24, 2019 8:04 pm

I've got a friend from South Dakota who has come over and stayed in the dorms for some time and it works well for him, if you'd need any more specifics on that I could probably check in with him and get questions answered. As I mentioned above somewhere in this thread, I've stayed out in Appleton and Sheboygan before and that is okay, but an hour drive both before and after the show when you're already far from home is pretty tiring- and you are going to miss some of the best parts of the day on the grounds (early morning and twilight arrivals/departures, WW1 era aircraft and STOLs that fly right before dusk, etc.). We camped for the first time last summer and found it to be very enjoyable. You can be in the show gates in like ten minutes at any time you choose, if you have kids along they can run out for a nap or whatever easily, the showers and supplies and whatever else you need are good and readily available, and it sure is nice to be sitting on your tailgate enjoying a cold adult beverage while thousands of other people are trying to get out of the parking lot.

Whatever method of transportation and lodging you choose, EAA does an absolutely amazing job with the logistics of handling a huge crowd and providing for just about any thing you may need to take care of. It does take a little cash to get through a few days there but the friendliness of everybody you will encounter, the overall cleanliness and organization of everything, and the overall entertainment value really stand out over just about any other large event I can think of.
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awal2049
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Post by awal2049 » Wed Mar 27, 2019 9:14 pm

Just read this. Apparently they're expanding the camping grounds this year with a new field at the south end of the airport.

https://fox11online.com/news/local/eaa- ... airventure
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