Oshkosh Trip Report 2003
by Paul A. Rosales

I’d been looking forward to attending Oshkosh AirVenture’s ‘100 Years of Powered Flight’ 
celebration for many months, and the time finally came to ‘fly east’.  Unfortunately, 
my wife Victoria was unable to fly with me :-(  

We had originally planned not to attend AirVenture this year since we were supposed to 
fly to the Turks and Caicos with the RV group later this year.  As such, Victoria made 
plans to attend a big Tupperware Convention in Salt Lake City (SLC) the same week as OSH.  

The Turks trip was subsequently pushed to next year.  Victoria was torn between the two 
but had airplane tickets for SLC so that decision was already made for her.

Next to my wife, my neighbor Scott Lynch probably had more time than anyone else in my RV 
so he was the logical choice as copilot.  Between numerous flights with me and one with 
Gary Sobek to Leadville, CO and back, Scott probably had ~100 hours flying in an RV.

Since Scott had never before traveled so far away from home, let alone in an airplane, I 
planned the trip for his benefit with stops to include Kitty Hawk, NC and The
Smithsonian’s Air & Space Museum in Washington DC.  My invite to the SoCAL RV group for
others to join us had Robert Paisley (RV-7) and Todd & Sue Ehlinger (RV-6A) flying 
along with us!

With the plane freshly annualed, we packed our gear the night before our departure.  
We arrived to the Rosamond (L00) airport on Thursday, July 24th, at 0600 then departed 
towards a beautiful sunrise at 0630.  We met up with Robert at 9500’ over Daggett (DAG) 
airport at 0715 after orbiting a few minutes.  We continued on towards Laughlin/Bullhead 
(IFP), AZ to meet up with Todd and Sue. 

We used fight following with ZLA (LA Center) and were worked by SoCAL RV lister and
friend/instructor Howard Long.  Knowing we’d be late to Laughlin, Howard was able to 
relay a message to the IFP tower so they could let Todd and Sue know we’d be a little 
late.  They’d flown to Laughlin the day before just to get away from Los Angeles for a 
mini-vacation.

All worked out, and the three planes met up airborne just east of Laughlin.  We flew as a
‘gaggle’ and landed at Saint Johns Industrial Airpark (SJN), AZ.  I like stopping at SJN
since it’s about a 3-hour leg AND they have really cheap fuel, ~$1.77/gallon for 100LL.  
With orbit time waiting for Robert and time to find Todd, my first leg was 4.0 hours.  

Weather was clear with a smooth ride, however, Scott was not feeling well when we landed 
at SJN.  He wasn’t really sure what it was though he had a massive headache.  It was bad
enough for him that he did not want to get back in the plane but go home.  He was 
willing to get a rental car and drive home though I thought that a very bad idea.

Even worse, there was no rental car or bus station available.  Scott had no choice but to 
continue to Albuquerque (ABQ), NM where I could drop him off at the International Airport. 

The 3-ship flew towards ABQ, and while Todd & Sue continued past ABQ towards Dalhart 
(DHT), TX, Robert and I flew (formation) into ABQ.  By the time we landed, about an hour 
after leaving SJN, Scott REALLY wanted to go home.  His massive headache was back shortly 
after takeoff from SJN.  He was feeling miserable.

I strongly recommended that he spend the night in ABQ and see how he felt in the morning 
but later found out Scott flew right home :-(  After talking with several people about 
it later (including Dr. ‘Dan’), it really sounded like he had a bad case of altitude 
sickness.  



Our taxi-back for takeoff from ABQ had us passing the big, Eclipse jet aircraft facility 
that is on-field.  A beautiful formation takeoff had Robert and me flying to Dalhart 
where we met up with Sue and Todd (below) 2 hours later.


We borrowed the airport car for a trip to town for a late lunch then back to Dalhart for 
the last leg of the day to Bentonville (VBT), AR, Home of Wal-Mart. We landed VBT at 
sunset after putting 3 more hours on the Hobbs.  

Normally, I try to fly around 6 hours a day but bent my rules the first day as everyone 
was feeling excited about the trip.  Heck, we were FLYING to OSH eventually!  

After flying with Gary Sobek so much, I too find that I don’t mind making the first day 
‘the big push’ then ‘cruise’ after that.  I will also make a big push to get home from 
Dallas as the sun is working with me instead of against me when flying west, typically 
an 8-hour hobbs flight.

Before arriving back to the airport Friday morning, we stopped to see ‘Waltons’, the 
Five & Dime store that started it all.  










After departing Bentonville, we pointed our planes towards Smithville (0A3), TN enroute 
to Kinston, NC.  We had flight following all the way, and somewhere near the Tennessee 
border, flew around some cumulus clouds for the remainder of the 3-hour flight.  


Smithville airport lies slightly southeast of Nashville and is halfway to Kinston.
Here's a picture of Nashville International Airport;


I also picked Smithville for its $2.05/gallon fuel.  By the way, all fuel 
stops were planned using AirNav’s Fuel planner, a great tool!

While fueling at Smithville, Sue walked into the FBO and found that no airport car was 
available for us to go to lunch.  However, she did find a very nice gentleman who gave us 
a ride into town, sat down with us for lunch (we had great visit with him) and then drove 
us back to the airport.



Takeoff from Smithville had us climbing to 9500' to stay above the scattered layer direct 
to Kinston (ISO), NC.  It was fairly hazy down low.  The 3-hour flight to Kinston, which 
is southeast of Raleigh and near Seymour-Johnson AFB, put us within an hour’s flight to 
Kitty Hawk.


My friend Rabon Wilkins, who I met as an 'RV enthusiast' in Switzerland in 1997, was 
waiting for us at the airport.  He is the proud owner of an RV-6A that he bought a few 
years back.  He wanted to enjoy his retirement ‘flying’ an RV instead of ‘building’ an 
RV :-) 


After getting the planes secured for the night, Rabon drove us to his home where wife 
Glenda had a FULL southern meal waiting for us!  It was terrific sitting out on the back 
porch watching the fireflies twinkle in the night.  I haven’t seen fireflies since I was 
a kid visiting family in Texas. 

We all visited until after midnight talking about AIRPLANES and more AIRPLANES!  Speaking 
of planes, they were ALL running well and were cruising about 140-150 KTAS enroute, with 
no tailwind.



Saturday morning weather had a light drizzle and overcast so we arrived to the airport 
around noontime.  On the way to the airport, we passed some sort of crops I didn't
recognize...that's Tobacco!


  
Rabon mentioned an RV-7 would be having a first flight at nearby 
Goldsboro (GWW) airport so our original 3-ship, now 4-ship with Rabon, departed to GWW.  



We all gave Daryll Ham’s RV-7 a good look-see then watched him taxi out...



Then he returned after a safe, first flight.  Look at THAT RV-grin :-)



After congratulating Daryll (~1330), we could see the thunderstorms started to build 
up to the northeast towards Kitty Hawk.  The color weather radar in the FBO showed a 
solid line of thunderstorms between us and Kitty Hawk, moving northeast...bummer!  
Though we made it this far from SoCAL, landing at Kitty Hawk on this trip was not 
to be :-(

We continued with our plans, excluding Kitty Hawk, and departed at 3-ship northbound 
where weather was fine (Rabon flew 18 minutes home to Kinston).  Not long after 
departing GWW, Todd and Sue pointed their plane for Wilmington (ILG), DE then on to 
Mattituck (21N), NY where they arrived safely that afternoon.  Looking back towards 
Kitty Hawk showed towering thunderstorms covering a large area.


Robert and I continued north over Richmond, VA towards Washington DC and landed 1.5 
hours later at Stafford Regional Airport (RMN), VA which is JUST outside the ADIZ.  
We were SURE to have flight following with Potomac Approach into the DC area! 

Stafford Regional is a fairly new airport that opened in late 2001, and there is one, 
square, portable building that serves as an FBO office.  They have a nice pilot’s lounge 
and weather radar in the office.


My friend Tana Bailey, who I called before departing GWW, arrived shortly after we 
landed and took Robert and me to town for dinner.  We had a short visit then back to 
the airport as she had plans for the evening with her family.


I had originally planned to continue into Dulles (45 minute drive or 12 minute RV 
flight) and pick up the rental car to visit the Smithsonian and walk the 'Mall' on 
Sunday....but those plans were all made for the benefit of my friend Scott who was 
no longer with us. No sense flying into Dulles.  

Robert then asked the FBO line guys, "Where's someplace FUN to fly to?", and with that, 
we were back in the planes enroute to Tangier Island (TGI) airport which lies out in 
the Chesapeake Bay, out the mouth of the Potomac River :-)  

Patuxent Approach kept us clear of all the military air traffic, and we landed about 
45 minutes later. Tangier Island isn't really big (maybe a couple of miles around) with 
lots of history dating back to the 1600s.  This is definitely a 'must-land’ airport!



Our B&B host, Grace, picked us up in the STRETCH-limo golf cart and dropped us at 'The 
Fishermans Corner' Restaurant.  After dinner, Grace was kind enough to lend us her 
personal golf cart (SMALL island, no wide roads for cars but wide enough for 2 golf 
carts to pass each other). 

Normally, she doesn't loan out her golf cart, but she figured if we could build our 
airplanes then fly them all the way from California to the middle of the Chesapeake Bay, 
we could safely drive her golf cart!



We had a great time driving around and checking out this little 'getaway' island, and 
finished the evening with a root-beer float from the ice cream shop.  I’m planning on 
coming back with Victoria next time around and spend some time walking along the beach.

Sunday morning, we departed Tangier Island (~8 miles visibility in haze) for Lancaster 
(LNS), PA as Rick Gray had let me know the Mid-Atlantic RVs were going there for 
breakfast and check out an RV-8 project.  

We pretty much flew the Delaware border north, talking with Patuxent and Potomac 
Approach to remain clear of the DC ADIZ.  Once ‘around the corner’, we turned northwest 
towards 'Lank-ster' (that's how they pronounced it).  Amish country I’m told.

I was on the Mid-Atlantic RV group radio frequency (button 1, thanks Rick!) and checked 
in with "Any of the Mid-Atlantic folks out there?"  Yep, they were, and they had NO idea 
who was going to be in the mystery 2-ship arrival joining them at Lancaster.  Were THEY 
in for a surprise!  I’d flown from Lancaster, CA to Lancaster, PA; WAY TOO COOL!  

We landed, following an overhead approach, about 1.5 hours after leaving Tangier Island, 
and you should have seen the look on Joe Czachorowski’s (Zach’s) face when he saw my 
plane on the ramp so far from home!  ARE YOU LOST?!?  



I'd flown with Zach as my lead in the RV formation last year at OSH. It was GREAT joining 
them for breakfast and touring the RV-8 project.  


We made a quick stop on-field in the Pilot Shop and then we departed as a 4-ship for a 
short hop to Smoketown (Q08), PA where we topped the tanks.  After a few pics, Robert 
and I then departed for Parkersburg (PKB), WV.  



This 2 hour flight had us flying west at 6500' MSL above a scattered layer AROUND (and 
north of) Camp David then southwest towards PKB.  It should have been a shorter flight 
but we had 30 knots of headwind directly on the nose.


Arrival to PKB was an overhead approach (Robert had that nailed down), and when we 
arrived to the ramp in front of Rick Gray's hangar, he had about 10 or so people 
standing line abreast.  They gave Robert and I the big 'Wave' like the 'Wave' you 
see in big stadiums during sporting events.  That was REAL GOOD of you Rick!  I had 
to stop and take a picture of that!



We got the planes de-bugged and cleaned up (I even vacuumed out the peanut butter 
pretzel mess I made) then put the planes away in the old ‘Firehouse’ hangar for the 
night.  Also joining us for the night and just arrived from Columbia, SC was James 
Clark (RV-6) with his friend Paul ‘Checkmate’ Carter who’d be joining us for the 
flight to Oshkosh.  L-R: Me, Rick Gray, James Clark and Paul Carter.

 
Rick's wife Helen had an AWESOME dinner almost ready for us, so with a few minutes to 
spare, Rick took us outside to share something I've NEVER seen before in ENTIRE life: 
A Potato Gun! TOTALLY amazing.  Here's Robert taking aim;

  
After firing ‘Spudzooka’ a bit, we had a really SUPER dinner with the Gray Family: 
Rick, Helen, Ricky, Kristen and Lauren.

Monday morning, we awoke to clouds and rain that kept us ground-bound all day.  We’d 
made the decision that if we didn’t takeoff by 1500 EST, we’d scrub for the day which 
is what happened.  

Making the best of it, we went to the movies to see ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’, fun!  
Dinner was a delicious ‘Taco Ring’, another favorite of the Gray family.

After dinner, we had our mission brief, presented by our appointed ‘leader’, James 
Clark.  Flying to Oshkosh’s famous intersection ‘RIPON’ for any OSH event is busy but 
taking this year’s 100 Year Anniversary of Flight into account, RIPON was going to be 
REALLY BUSY!  We wanted to make sure we all knew the rules :-)  

Check out the webpage ’Understanding Air Traffic Control at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh’ 
for some great tips and pictures showing you what you’ll see at RIPON and beyond.  
LOTS of good information here! 

Before the brief, I called Gary Sobek who had arrived to OSH earlier in the day after 
attending the RV formation clinic at Mason City, IA.  I knew that Gary would be flying 
in with Stu McCurdy and Falcon flight.  I wanted to know if they were allowed to fly 
into Oshkosh as a formation.  NEGATIVE Gary told me...well, I thought I’d ask anyway 
even though I knew formation flights were not allowed.  The NOTAM spelled it out quite 
clearly; EVERYBODY IN-TRAIL, NO FORMATIONS, NO SIDE-BY-SIDE! Okay!

James gave a great brief, and we went as far as ‘walk’ our arrival into OSH, complete 
with radio calls.  We’d also decided to fly the ‘high’ pattern entry to RIPON at 2300’ 
MSL at 130 KTAS.  I’ve flown the lower pattern (1800’ MSL @ 90 KTAS) twice before and 
didn’t like it either time (70 KTAS behind a Cub is NO fun).  We were ready for OSH!

Tuesday morning, Rick awoke at 0400 to get the first weather brief and we followed at 
0500.  We arrived to PKB by 0600 and were airborne by 0640.  Here's Rick's plane;


And here's James' plane, Papa Juliet;

Our route of flight took us over Dayton, OH (home of the Wright Bros), towards Muncie 
(IN), around Chicago Class B with a landing at Rockford (RFD), Illinois 3-hours later.



We filled the tanks ($1.99/gallon), completed a final brief then taxied out for takeoff.  
During the run-up, Rick Gray’s plane was not passing his ‘mag’ check, so after several
minutes behind the ‘hold-short’ line, we taxied back to the FBO.

My guess was that Rick had a fouled plug and was going to need to shutdown, take the 
cowl off etc. so upon arrival to the ramp, I shutdown my plane.  Magically, Rick’s 
plane ‘cleaned’ up and he gave me the thumbs up.  

I turned the key (less than a minute after shutting down), and my plane started 
cranking EVER so slowly...NOT NOW...COME ON BABY!!!!  I stopped cranking, waited a few 
seconds, said a few kind words to my plane and tried again...slow cranking...and it 
fired! Thank goodness!

Robert, on the other hand, had shutdown with me, and when he saw I was finally running, 
turned the key on his Eggenfellner Subaru engine and it started right up!  This incident 
(Rick’s magneto and my starting problem) was the basis for the answer to a question that 
Robert was subsequently asked at the show as he worked the Eggenfellner display booth: 

Question: "Did you have any problems flying here from California?"  
Answer: "Yes, I was with a Lycoming that had magneto problems and with another that 
had starting problems!"


Robert’s engine never skipped a beat, especially considering he finished his flight test 
period the day BEFORE we left for OSH :-)

Our second attempt for departure from Rockford was successful.  James was lead, Rick #2, 
Me #3 and Robert #4; We were again on our way to RIPON, along with several hundred OTHER 
planes!  

At 20nm from RIPON, we finally picked up ATIS and from the ‘gaggle’, fell into a close 
trail formation as we wanted EVERYBODY else out there to see us!  A group of 4 planes is 
easier to see than a single ship was our thinking.  


Our plan was loosen the trail as we neared RIPON but just enough where we didn’t have 
planes trying to cut into our flight.  It was interesting that as we neared RIPON, I saw 
only one or two planes in the distance though they were at the lower altitude.

The GPS showed less than 3 miles to RIPON, still no other planes in sight at 2300’ MSL, 
and then we heard on the radio "Attention all aircraft, Oshkosh is closed to arrivals.  
If you’ve passed RIPON, begin holding at Rush Lake.  If you’re at RIPON, make left turns 
around the city, and everybody else, hold where you are.  Do NOT continue to RIPON, 
do NOT pass FISK, the airport is closed."

I glanced at the GPS and it showed 1.3nm to RIPON.  I thought that James would start 
left turns immediately but he did so about 15 seconds later...over RIPON!  We were 
holding over RIPON (with Rush Lake in the background);


After a few circuits, we could see that our 4-ship RV flight were the only planes 
circling at 2300’ MSL over RIPON...WE OWNED RIPON!!!!

With that in mind, and knowing that there might be some ‘Bozo’ out there still inbound 
to RIPON, we tightened up our 4-ship to a nice trail formation.  I can tell you that I 
felt much safer flying circuits, in trail with 3 great friends, around the one point in 
America where all inbound arrivals to the biggest airshow in the world, were also aiming
towards!!!

We continued to hold for about 15 minutes while the entrants from the AirVenture Cup Race 
were crossing the finish line.  With that much time to spare, I was able to get a few 
pictures through my bug-spattered windscreen of James and Rick circling RIPON 
(love that auto-focus feature on my camera :-)

While circling, the controllers at Fisk kept us informed on holding status and such.  We 
even heard them ‘scold’ a Bonanza (Bozo) pilot who blew around RIPON, off our right wing, 
towards FISK. 

Finally, we heard the airport would be opening in a few minutes followed by "Flight of 4 
holding over RIPON, check in!"  What’s that?!?  Talk on the radio?!?  Isn’t that
FORBIDDEN?!?  Not if the controllers are asking!

James jumped in immediately with "RV flight of 4 holding over RIPON".  And then the
COOLEST thing I’ve ever heard followed on the radio from the controllers at FISK:

"Ok everybody, listen up!  The airport is open, purple flow procedures. EXCEPT for 
the RV FLIGHT, I want everybody else in trail, 1500 foot separation, no side by sides,
everybody in trail. RV FLIGHT, proceed inbound to FISK, the airport is OPEN!!!!  

Yes, it is possible to arrive as a flight to Oshkosh, Who-ya!!!!  James turned inbound 
and we all followed, as a flight!  At FISK we heard "RV Flight continue straight 
ahead, contact tower 118.6, looking good!  We didn’t need the ‘rock your wings’ call 
because we were a FLIGHT :-)



Purple flow procedures had us inbound to the gravel pit then right downwind for Runway 27.  
On the downwind, the tower called "RV Flight, are you landing in formation?  Silence...
I’m thinking "Ok James, we didn’t brief THIS arrival!" James came back "RV Flight landing 
in trail!" "Roger, RV Flight cleared to land.  Welcome to OSH!"



And it was over...we were on the ground at Oshkosh around noontime, and it felt GOOD!  
I’ve said it before and will again: You have to fly the plane you build to Oshkosh at 
least once in your lifetime.  The feelings you get after landing is hard to put into 
words...You’re at OSH!!!!!!!!!!!!  

I was able to turn off to the right onto the grass.  I held up my HBP sign and was 
directed east towards the lake then across the threshold of Runway 27.  I taxied west
(paralleling Runway 27) past the Warbird parking to the RV parking.  

I was parked right next to SoCAL’s Fred LaForge (Flintstone) with Gary Hart (Chief) 
parked next to him on the other side.  This parking area amongst the RV was set aside 
for the FFI pilots who’d be flying formation during the show later in the week. 


Gary Sobek (Birdstrike) greeted me at the plane and then took a picture before I got 
out of the plane (thanks Gary!).  


I then tied the plane down and unloaded the baggage to below the fuselage (out of the 
way).I saw Rick Gray approaching on the taxiway and was able to snap a few pictures of 
his plane before they shutdown.  Welcome to OSH RICK!!!!!!  This was Rick’s first trip 
to OSH since flying last year as his plane missed flying to OSH last year by a few weeks.
Rick and Ricky: Welcome to OSH!!!!!





The ‘Welcome Wagon’ arrived and offered to drive me to ‘Homebuilders Headquarters’ 
(never turn down a free ride!).  I registered and was then ‘mugged’...you are presented 
with a large, clear, mug which sports the colorful 100th Anniversary of Flight logo 
etched in aluminum plate.  

Also included in the registration package are the ‘I flew to Oshkosh 2003 in my 
homebuilt’ patch and the 2003 Champion (Spark Plug) decal.  I placed the decal on my 
baggage wall next to 2000 and 2002 decals and consider the decals my ‘I flew to Oshkosh’ 
badges of honor!  Gary Sobek’s plane sports more badges than me though!

The ‘Welcome Wagon’ then gave me a ride to my camp spot, which lies behind the first 
private residence out the west gate (near the Bus Park).  I camped there last year on the
invitation from a member of my local EAA Chapter 49, Herb Carlson.  

It’s a great camping location considering that I could be to the RVs area or the main 
flight line in less than 10 minutes.  For many others, the hike back to camp can be 30 
minutes or more!  I was lucky to be so close :-)  

Also camping with me was my friend from the Rosamond Skypark, Greg Scates, who’d flown 
in commercially to Milwaukee then drove to OSH via a rental minivan...we had ‘wheels’!  

My time from Tuesday’s arrival until Saturday morning’s departure was spent trying to see 
all that I could see knowing I’d never see it all!  There are planes to see as far as the 
eye can see, and I found time to check out AeroShell Square and the ultralight area.

Robert and I caught the bus to the Seaplane Base, but when we arrived, a weather warning 
was issued for the local area for severe thunderstorms including hail.....Yikes!  
Thunderstorms, bad...Hail, WORSE!  

Thank goodness the hail never came to pass though it did rain on us every night.  
Victoria had ‘Scotch-guarded’ my tent before leaving so I stayed nice and dry inside 
during the downpours!

James sent me a great picture of his plane being moved near AeroShell Square;


I spent time walking through the exhibition booths (A, B, C & D) and got out of there 
spending less than $100.  I wanted to spring for both the Digitrak and Altrack wing
leveler and altitude hold boxes but it just wasn’t in the budget.  Maybe next time...  


I also spent time volunteering time to the Young Eagles program where I volunteered 
4 hours at the Young Eagles booth in the EAA Museum and another 4 hours the next day 
as groundcrew on the flightline helping with Young Eagle rides.  I was supposed to 
volunteer two more times but lost one of those days by not arriving on Monday.  

Since Greg had the rental car, we were able to eat out every night (off the EAA 
grounds) which was a real treat considering the price and choice of food at the show.  
I can only eat so many $3 hotdogs or $5 hamburgers.  If you haven’t been to OSH, I 
warn you now that food is way overpriced!  The $1.95 soft-serve ice cream cone was 
about the only ‘food’ I found that was reasonably priced.  

Before driving back to the tent every night after dinner, we’d stop in at the local 
market to buy ice, juice and pastries/donuts for the next day’s breakfast.  We put 
them in the $2Styrofoam chest we bought to keep things cool.  With breakfast and 
dinner covered every night, that left me only having to buy lunch on the EAA grounds 
everyday.  

I also kept a chest at the plane which I stocked every night with ice and bottled 
water.  We could buy a case of 24 bottles of water for about $5, and they were being 
sold for $2/bottle at the show, OUCH!  I didn’t mind stocking the plane every night 
as it was less than 10 minutes walk from the tent to the plane.

On Friday, our planned 16-ship RV formation took up several hours briefing then 
waiting for clearance for takeoff during ‘Showcase’ which starts around 1300.  We were 
instructed to shutdown the engines, and the 16 planes waited for another 30 minutes or 
so before we were told the 16-ship formation was scrubbed.  

During the wait, we heard screeching tires then watched a Cessna 170 almost ground loop 
right next to us on the grass between us and the runway.

We subsequently found out we had been delayed because of the RV-6/Lancair mishap on 
Runway 27 so Oshkosh Tower was using Runway 36 to keep the airport open.  I’m real glad 
that Mike Seager was not injured.  The pictures below were taken while we were waiting 
to launch.  


Here are the SoCAL formation fliers: L-R: Leader Gary Sobek, Wingmen Gary Hart
and Fred LaForge;



After taxiing back and getting the plane tied down, it was too late to volunteer for 
my next 4 hour shift for Young Eagles :-(  Saw this cool plane though!


Saturday morning finally came (rats!) so after having a great (free) breakfast for 
Chapter Leaders at the EAA Nature Center, Greg and I packed up everything to load up 
the plane and head for home.  Greg decided to join me for the ride home since I had 
and open seat and was ‘going his way’ :-)  He’s been thinking of buying an RV for a 
few months now.

The planned route of flight home was to fly from Oshkosh to Grove, OK (near Tulsa) 
for the night then fly home to Rosamond on Sunday morning.  Greg and I have mutual 
(pilot) friends that are retired to Grove, which lies on the Lake O’ The Cherokees 
in northeastern Oklahoma, about a 4 hour flight.  They invited to stay over for the 
night.

Our briefing at the on-field Flight Service Station (FSS) showed we’d have local 
scattered clouds getting out of Oshkosh with some thunderstorms starting to develop 
south of Oshkosh towards the east side of Tulsa.  FSS recommended we point the plane 
towards Topeka, KS before flying towards Tulsa as the line was moving east and would 
pass by the time we arrived.

We then received our mandatory departure briefing at the booth next to FSS.  It takes 
less that 5 minutes and pretty much tells you after takeoff, turn east over the lake 
at 500’ AGL for 5nm, then you are on your own!  After the briefing, you are given a 
pinkish piece of paper with all the departure rules, and you MUST show this to the 
ground personnel when taxiing out for takeoff. No ‘ticky’, no takeoff!

We packed the plane then pushed it out for startup.  While the flag-persons were 
clearing the area for us to start, Gary Sobek took a nice picture of Greg and I 
leaving Oshkosh.

We taxied east then south along the main flight line to the Runway 36 threshold, 
monitoring 118.9.  We were able to take several pictures along the way including 
some of the taxi out, my friend Bernie & Melva Fried's 2002 Grand Champion 
Thorp T-18 and AeroShell square.



Here's a picture taken by EAA Chapter '49er' Ted Blaine as we continued our taxi;


There were only one or two planes in front of me, and none behind me so I wasn’t’ 
hurried for my engine runup.  Once ready, we taxied up to the line then heard 
"Silver and green RV, position and hold’.  I thought my plane was white and 
green...whatever..."Wilco, position and hold!" Ah, a Kodak moment so I took a picture!
 

"RV, cleared for takeoff...RV turn right, now" and we were flying east at 500’ in less 
than a minute.  I took a picture of Oshkosh then the seaplane base and focused on 
getting around Fond du Lac and pointed towards Topeka!
   


We could see the dark clouds to the south as we continued west, south west towards 
Topeka.  I was able to get flight following from Chicago Center, and along the way,
talked with Flight Watch who advised on ‘proposed’ VFR destination points.

As we neared Topeka, with the thunderstorms building east of Kirksville, MO,  we 
could see that it was okay to turn southbound towards Grove.  The pictures below show 
the edge of the last of the weather we flew around. 



Our flight path from there took us within 5 miles of the once ‘TFRed’ Whiteman AFB, 
home of the B-2 bomber.  


With the bit of ‘detouring’ west we did, I decided to stop for fuel just south of 
Whiteman AFB at Clinton (GLY), MO, a nice country airport!  


From there, it was less than an hour to Grove, which lies on the Lake 'O the 
Cherokees, in the northeastern corner of Oklahoma.


Our friends Gary and Connine Trippensee own a nice Grumman Tiger and Luscombe.



After a nice Italian dinner on the lake waterfront, Gary offered to take us for an 
evening boat ride since we still had about 2 hours of sunlight left.  I’d packed my 
swimsuit, and with his boat neighbor offering up a water-ski, I had the chance to ski 
for awhile (boating is my other hobby).  

As I skied, I enjoyed the thought that earlier in the day, I was in Wisconsin, and 
now I was water-skiing in Oklahoma...life is good flying an RV!  We stayed out on the 
water to watch the sunset then motored back to the dock and covered up the boat.

Sunday morning, our online DUATS weather brief showed we’d have great weather all the 
way home except for some small buildups showing on the radar just west Tulsa.  A phone 
call to FSS told me we’d be in the clear once we passed I-35, and they suggested Ponca 
City then Gage and direct to Borger (BGD), TX.

Before and after takeoff, we took some pictures of Gary/Connie’s house then we flew over 
Ponca City then Gage towards BGD to avoid some early morning clouds. 



We landed BGD 3 hours after leaving Grove where we fueled.  The picture below shows the 
oil refinery next to the field, and this is where BGD gets its Avgas!

 
We continued towards St. Johns Airpark (SJN) flying at 10.5K MSL over New Mexico with 
about 5 knots of headwind (thank you!). Victoria and I have seen headwinds of 30 or more 
out this ways before so no complaints.  As a result of little headwind, I opted to pass 
on SJN for fuel and continued to Payson (PAN), AZ, a 3.5 hour leg from Borger.

Payson lies in the Tonto National Forest, between Sedona (pictures below) and Phoenix, at 
an elevation of 5157’.  It's a beautiful area located near the center of Arizona!  



Temperatures are usually cooler by 15 degrees or more compared to Phoenix.  Victoria 
and I may one day retire to this area we like the area a LOT!  Chuck and Pam Miller 
(RV-8A) already have property on the Mazatzal Mountain Air Park located on the Payson 
airport so they may have us as neighbors in 20 years or so!  There is a very nice 
campground on the airport if you are looking for a place to camp.

After having a Prime Rib dinner in the Payson Airport restaurant, we flew the last 
3 hours home to Rosamond, crossing the Colorado River at Needles, CA.  I saw this
'Alien' site just past Needles near Kelso;

 
Near Daggett, the headwinds we expected didn’t let us down so we were bumped around 
a bit letting down over Edwards AFB into Rosamond (L00).

Total trip time on the hobbs was 41.6 hours, and I used 6 quarts of oil.  Other than 
the starting problem in Rockford, the plane performed well.  I don’t regret ‘hocking’ 
all the pink slips to all my vehicles to buy the once-new Lycoming O-360, now at 
1531.6 hours.  

It’s always good to be back home after flying a fun trip!  Thank you Van for designing 
a plane that can be built by ordinary people!

**************************

For those of you who think this trip might be a little daunting, I want to let you all 
know that it is really NOT a long trip!  Getting there is just a series of short trips 
(~3-hour, ~450nm legs for me) in the RV, and when put all those trips together, you’ll 
see that you can travel REALLY far, REALLY fast!  

All my preflight planning was completed at Aeroplanner’s website, which is free to all 
EAA members.  Here’s a breakdown of miles and times for my trip;  

Trip distances in nautical miles/hours:
Rosamond (L00) – St. Johns (SJN): 437 / 3.5
St. Johns – Dalhart (DHT): 347 / 3.0
Dalhart – Bentonville (VBT): 405 / 3.0
Bentonville – Smithville (0A3): 409 / 3.1
Smithville – Kinston (ISO): 403 / 3.0
Kinston – Stafford (RMN): 198 / 2.5
Stafford – Tangier Island (TGI): 77 / 0.7
Tangier – Lancaster (LNS): 138 / 1.0
Lancaster – Parkersburg (PKB): 243 / 3.0
Parkersburg – Rockford (RFD): 389 / 3.0
Rockford – Oshkosh (OSH): 110 / 1.5 (includes OSH ground time)
Oshkosh – Grove (GMJ): 525 / 4.0
Grove – Borger (BGD): 328 / 3.0
Borger – Payson (PAN): 498 / 3.5
Payson – Rosamond (L00): 342 / 3.2

Total Mileage: ~5000 nm (~5750 sm)
Total Hobbs Time: ~42 hours
Average Speed: ~120 nm/hour

 
When comparing total mileage to hobbs time, I’ve found that for our really long trips 
(>2000nm), we usually average around 120-125 nm/hour for the entire trip.  

So if you are curious as to how many hours you will realistically put on your RV for 
long trips, divide the nautical miles by 120 to get hours.  

Then take ‘Hours’ times your planes fuel burn (gallons/hour) to get the number of gallons 
you’ll burn.  This is usually a BIG number so that’s why I look for CHEAP gas along the 
way.  Every little bit helps!   


I’ve now made several flights coast to coast in the RV, and I’m glad that I could lead 
the way (as Gary Sobek did for me in 2000) for a couple of first time Oshkosh pilots, 
Robert, Todd (and Sue).  It was fun guys (and gal)!  I look forward to many more trips 
to Oshkosh in years to come :-)


You are going to LOVE your RV, especially after you fly it to OSH!  So builders; 
Keep poundin’ them rivets because it’s ALL worth it!  Paul & Victoria

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