https://preview.redd.it/zidqzzg1ac881.png?width=600&format=png&auto=webp&s=bd5beb2b2bab81982c8f8474618ebe2663e56b3f
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2_99AmQdweY
I arrived home 11 days ago so this is still fresh for me. In my presentation, I discuss my planning process, how I pack for a trip like this, my decision making in the face of less than ideal weather, and how I prepared to fly in to KOSH solo from the perspective of a VFR only pilot with about 1200 hours – plus other stories of fun I had along the way (i.e. other planes I weaseled my way into).
Trying to capture the trip in text would result in a novella so here is a brief, underwhelming, overview:
I started planning the trip about a month out. As I was making plans to ensure my Tiger was mechanically ready (I decided to finally do ADSB) several weeks before I was planning to depart, my crankshaft seal blew in flight. It was an ordeal on its own but it also shortened the amount of time I had for ADSB as the plane was stuck away from home with a mechanic.
I had decided to install a GDL82 by mounting the box and the antenna on the glareshield. I fabricated a new glareshield so I didn’t need to drill into the original (under the supervision of A&Ps as I am not an A&P, yet). One of my mechanic friends was with me as we finished the install 11pm the night before I was set to head out (I headed out midmorning Saturday so I had a full night’s sleep).
At my first fuel stop, it was clear my starter was about to fail. I don’t mind hand propping my J-3 solo. I am not hand propping an O-360 solo. That is not a recipe for good times in my book. So, I adjusted my plan so my next stop had a maintenance facility (Casper, WY).
Starter completely died in Casper. So, I was stuck for a couple days waiting on parts. Had fun seeing Independence Rock and hiking.
When I left Casper, it was in the “heat dome.” I had previously only been concerned about OAT as it relates to density altitude and oil temp. I learned I shouldn’t fly while I am too hot. I live and predominantly fly in the desert so I was shocked to have my brain melt in South Dakota.
I would have made it to Oshkosh on Tuesday, but the threat of 70 mph wind and hail inspired me to delay one more day. I did touch and goes and a couple grass strips and flew a stretch of the Mississippi River.
I made it to Oshkosh on Wednesday. The process for getting in is a beast, but once you carve out the info specific to you, it becomes digestible. I show the one page of notes I used to execute the VFR Fisk arrival i
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