Student Pilot Flies Piper Cub To Oshkosh

By Maria Morrison

Everyone’s story of traveling to AirVenture is different. Although I have attended for many years, my first time flying there was last year with my family in a T-41. This year I am going alone in a SuperCub to complete the Solo Cross-Country requirements as part of obtaining my Private Pilot's certificate. My home base, northwest of Seattle, is 1,436 miles from Wittman Regional Airport in Oshkosh, home of the famous airshow. As a 16 year old student pilot with over 500 hours, this flight will be a welcome challenge in my flight training.

Some of the immediate challenges of this flight will be the closest terrain obstacles: the Cascade and Rocky mountains. With peaks reaching upwards of 10,000 feet, I will need to use all the power in my Cub’s 108 hp Lycoming O-235 to climb over the tops. With only myself and light baggage, I will be able to climb high enough to pass over them, but will have to remain at full throttle to do so comfortably and quickly. Further along the route I will face turbulence in the hotter regions, and possible TFRs for forest fires.

Planning the trip creates its own challenges. The cub can travel about four hours with a full tank. That means roughly four stops between my home airport and KOSH. I also needed to sort out lodging and tie-downs for my aircraft. On the last leg of the trip, I needed to be prepared to arrive in Oshkosh. I have been practicing my spot landings for a few weeks now so I can “land on the dot” when the time comes. The runway at KOSH has several painted dots so pilots can be directed to land any length down the runway, allowing for multiple airplanes to land at the same time. Before getting to the airport, however, I needed to fly a long approach into the airport, dictated by an extensive NOTAM. Express knowledge of the NOTAM and airport procedures, both in the air and on the ground, is crucial.

To get myself to Oshkosh, I took off without a set fuel stop. After running one tank dry, I know how much time I have left to fly using the other. I then find the airport that is closest to my route and about that distance away. This not only allows me to be flexible in my scheduling, but has given me great opportunities in the past to explore places I would not normally have gone to.

I expected to be in Oshkosh on Saturday evening, but that didn't quite pan out. More on that later. 

Ground maneuvers are also complicated. I will be parking my PA-18 in Warbirds, as it was built in the ‘50s as a military trainer. When the week is over, I will be one of the thousands of aircraft leaving.

Traveling to AirVenture requires time, concentration, and flexibility, not to mention the need to have a well equipped airplane and complete understanding of the operations at AirVenture. If these standards can be met, then it is a wonderful opportunity to add to your flying experiences.

(Image provided by the Author)

FMI: www.eaa.org/en/airventure/eaa-airventure-news-and-multimedia/eaa-airventure-news/eaa-airventure-oshkosh/05-25-16-eaa-airventure-oshkosh-2016-notam-now-available-for-pilots-flying-to-oshkosh