flight planing for OSH 15

[Keith Smith]

For those who are curious how someone might fly to OSH from the east coast, here's what I'm planning on doing tomorrow morning. I have a 1pm CDT time meeting on-site at OSH, so my goal is to land about 30-45 minutes prior to that.

Leg 1: N07 - KGVQ, 212nm. This is my regular fuel stop for the trip to OSH. With westerly winds aloft and the possibility of holding for traffic at OSH, a non-stop flight isn't on the cards. This will be flown IFR due to the TFR at N07 (requires all aircraft to be on active VFR or IFR flight plan) and also because of the forecast weather at KGVQ.

Leg 2: KGVQ - ECK - KOSH, 457nm. The route passes just north of Lake Erie, then over the southern portion of Lake Huron and then smack dab over the middle of Lake Michigan.

I'll file IFR from KGVQ to KMBS but will cancel the plan prior to KMBS and continue to OSH instead. The IFR plan is simply to get out of KGVQ which will have ceilings below my intended cruise of 6500-8500ft and also for reentry into US airspace.

The NOTAM for arriving at OSH can be found here: https://www.eaa.org/~/media/files/airve ... 3-2015.pdf

Winds are forecast to be out of the south, I'm hoping for runway 27 after flying RIPON to FISKE. I'll be doing the 135kt/2300ft arrival as the 90kt/1800ft is not a comfortable speed for the airplane.

The timing regarding weather looks pretty good, tops are around 4k for Leg 1 and then clear skies heading west towards OSH. There are storms forecast for later in the afternoon at OSH but I should be there well before they arrive.

Edit: that post was based on weather forecasts from earlier this afternoon. The updated forecast shows that the skies will clear up earlier in the morning than expected at KGVQ. So, that'll save some time as I can depart VFR if needed. That said, there's a clearance delivery freq published for KGVQ (despite it being non-towered), must be a remote line to Rochester Approach. I'll give that a whirl and see how it goes. It's always better to get the clearance on the ground rather than picking it up in the air.

[Keith Smith]

Forgot to mention, there used to be a nice Victor airway that ran from BUF, through YXU, out to ECK, and continuing west, but it's been replaced by T608, which requires RNAV. Normally that wouldn't be a problem, but I learned from past trips that the GPS database does not include any of the fixes in Canada, so T608 is a non-starter for me. Instead, I'll just file VOR to VOR as /A instead.

[kullery]

Just curious, do you carry your passport onboard in case you need to divert to the land of Tim Hortons?

[stealthbob]

Yes, one must be careful when crossing the Great Canuckistan Wall....

....don't worry Keith, if you do have trouble and have to land north of the 49th, we would apologize for your troubles and send you on you way with a nice Tim's double double.

Sounds like a fun trip, it looks to me like the flight planning is half the fun!

[BonanzaDude]

Guessing you're airborne. Be safe and hope to see you Wednesday.

John

[Marcus Becker]

Yes, good luck. The weather looks less than appetizing.

[kullery]

Bet he is glad he has the Stratus on board

[kullery]

Squall line moved through about 5:30 this morning......it started out very pretty but quickly turned ugly. EAA grounds quickly recovering.

Great shot someone took about 30 rows over from us.

[stealthbob]

Awesome picture....

[Ryan B]

Wow awesome pic!

We sent a lot of Cirrus aircraft from Duluth today... Pretty slow otherwise. A Lancair Legacy stopped in on the way to OSH - got a few pics of my favorite plane !

Have fun KS!