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OSHKOSH 2006

Arrival at Airventure is always a challenge.  Hundreds of pilots, flying dissimilar aircraft, of varying degrees of piloting skill, all sharing close quarters and doing an unusual approach into the busiest airspace on Earth, all combine to make for a high degree of pucker factor.

Below is the tale of our arrival at OSH 2006, and some simple suggestions for future Airventures, humbly submitted for consideration to EAA and the FAA. 

This was our 24th consecutive Airventure -- and our 8th flying in. I've seen the RIPON/FISK arrival from all angles, both from the ground and in the air, and have seen pretty much everything that could be thrown at us.

This year, however, was different. Due to a fatal accident on Rwy 27, the normally orderly stream of aircraft up the railroad tracks was turned into a multi-hour hold around Rush and Green lakes. With temperatures and tempers flaring, I witnessed radio discipline completely break down at Oshkosh, for the first time. Worse, as the lakes melee deteriorated, frustrated pilots were cheating the hold and flying up the tracks DESPITE specific instructions from controllers to remain in the hold.

Worse yet, IMHO, the controllers were doing nothing about it. They were simply clearing these bold scoff-laws right into OSH, leaving the rule-abiding pilots to circle endlessly. This really ground salt into the wounds of the many who were circling the lakes for nearly two hours, and made a tough situation downright ugly. I've never heard such language on an aircraft radio -- and I hope to never hear it again.

Speed, as always, became a critical issue. With literally dozens of aircraft circling nose-to-tail, the cha-cha line began to break down. Dissimilar aircraft, varying from Champs to RVs, were all trying to stay in line, but -- over time -- the line simply broke down. A Cub, going full bore, can barely do the required 90 knots in a dive, let alone in cruise, and with so many airplanes in the same line, the speeds gradually deteriorated into a dangerous situation.

At one point I was forced to drop 2 notches of flaps, and was hanging on the prop, trying not to over-run a gaggle of Kitfoxes, with other planes on both sides AND above me. The single line around the lake at one point was actually THREE lines abreast, and it was an absolute mess.

I don't ever want to see anything like that again, so, here are my suggestions to make the EAA Arrival Procedures safer and easier next year:

1. Add an LSA Arrival Procedure.

Currently, there are just two procedures for "non-ultra-light" aircraft: 1800 MSL and 90 knots, or 2300 MSL, and 130 knots. Trouble is, a Cub or a Kitfox (or many of the new LSAs) are not capable of maintaining 90 knots in cruise. This results in an ever-slowing approach, which ALWAYS results in trouble. (Was that poor Europa
pilot who was killed impeded by someone going 60 knots? Will we ever know?)

We need a third speed/altitude, just for slower planes. For 2007 I suggest adding an "LSA Arrival" at 70 knots, and 1800 MSL, to keep these slow-pokes out of the bunch. This will make things MUCH safer for the majority of pilots. Keep "GA Arrivals" at 90 knots, but move 'em up to 2100 feet, and bump the 130 knot "Fast Mover" arrivals up to 2400 MSL.

2. Stop the "Keep in Tight" Commands.

Every year I've landed on Rwy 27, the controller spends most of his time admonishing arrivals to "keep it inside the blue water tower" on downwind. This always results in a "Corsair approach" to land, meaning that you're banked steeply in a constantly descending right turn all the way to touchdown.

Face it, everyone is loaded at (or beyond) gross, it's hot, nerves are frazzled, and then you're forced to perform an abnormally tight pattern to land -- all (apparently) for the convenience of the controllers. I didn't see it, but the guy who stalled and spun in was performing this arrival, and it's tough. (We landed on Rwy 36 later, which is a much simpler -- and safer -- approach.)

IMHO, there is no reason for this to happen. If the pattern gets a bit  wider, who cares? Pilot safety should be paramount, not controller convenience. If they're worried about the pattern expanding beyond their ability to see from the tower, they're just gonna have to move their butts out onto a flat-bed, just like FISK.

3. COMMUNICATE Problems.

The multi-hour mess that followed the accident was exacerbated by the fact that the controllers NEVER (while I was in it, anyway) explained what was going on. If they had simply said "Guys, there's been an accident, we're down to half the runways, it's gonna be a while till they clean it up." -- a whole bunch of pilots would have diverted to other airports to wait it out.

Instead, all they said was "Guys, we're doing the best we can, but if you don't give us the proper 1/2 mile spacing, we're gonna send you back to the lake to do it again." This gave pilots no useful information, and essentially made the problem worse by making pilots think that the hold might end at any minute.

That's it. Nothing earth-shaking, but I feel these three changes would be easy to implement, and would help make the Oshkosh approach safer and more enjoyable for everyone.