Oshkosh or Bust!

by ANN Correspondent Mark Sletten

It may sound like the lyrics for a really bad song, but it's true. More than 5500 nautical miles... that's how far it is from Mar Del Plata, Argentina to Oshkosh; and that's how far Alejandro Mochkovsky flew his Lancair IV.

Along with Omar Ratti of Posadas, Argentina and Alejandro Cristia of Corrientes, Argentina, Mr. Mochkovsky made the trip in three hops over a week: first to Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic, then Miami, FL, then Oshkosh, WI. The stops in the Dominican Republic and Miami were for two days of R&R each. If you have to R&R I guess it's any port in a storm!

All three men raved about their aircraft. Each chose Continental's big-bore TSIO-550E to power their aircraft and reported fuel burn rates of 17 to 18 gallons/hr in cruise. Mr. Mochkovsky logged less than 25 hours to cover 5500 nm. That's averaging over 220 knots groundspeed for the entire trip folks (I'd say they have something to rave about!)

One segment of the route from Argentina to the Dominican Republic included nearly 800 nm over water. Mr. Mochkovsky said, "You have to have a lot of faith in your aircraft to fly three-and-half hours over water." Ya think?

Aside from an unpleasant experience with US customs at Long Beach, FL and a lost screw on a valve cover, with the resultant loss of 2 1/2 quarts of oil (Mr. Mochkovsky acknowledged he failed to properly torque the screw following recent maintenance), the trip was uneventful.

All three pilots are affiliated with Hangar57.com, an organization dedicated to promoting general aviation in Argentina.

When I asked Mr. Mochkovsky why he flew all the way to OSH from Argentina, he replied "It's a mission, just something you have to do."

On behalf of the United States of America, oh, and Aero-News Network, welcome to AirVenture Messrs. Mochkovsky, Ratti and Cristia, I'd say mission accomplished!

FMI: www.hangar57.com (if you speak Spanish)