Most of all, IMHO, think of Oshkosh as an interesting vacation - not an
outdoor convention where you must get to every exhibit. Relax, have fun,
explore, and enjoy being surrounded by friends and airplanes for a week.

This is excellent advice.

This will be our 23rd consecutive OSH convention (God willin' and the crick
don't rise...), and every year I regard it less as a "convention" and more
as a "vacation" -- even though we do use it as our primary "shopping trip"
of the year for our aviation themed hotel.

It's a good idea to go into OSH with a plan of action, lest you fritter the
week away haphazardly. We usually get there a day early, and spend the
first day setting up camp and just casually scouting out the joint, to see
what (if anything) has changed from prior years. (Some years nothing
changes; other years, EVERYTHING changes...)

The second day (while we're fresh) we'll hit the Warbirds, Fly Market and
the four big exhibition hangars (A, B, C & D). We won't buy anything big,
yet -- but we'll not the location of stuff we want, and we will purchase
stuff that appears to be unique and might be gone by mid-week.

Third day is the flight line and (if our feet make it) the ultralights.
It's always fun to watch those crazy guys and their flying machines.

The fourth day is serious shopping for the inn. We load up on anything and
everything, from wing ribs to Stan Stokes prints, to key chains to
afghans...

This year it (Wednesday) will also be our annual cookout/party at our
campsite, with Montblack and Jim providing grills, etc. Simply go to one of
the good EAA folks at the entrance to the North 40 (do this earlier in the
day -- don't wait till after the airshow!) and ask them for the location of
our campsite. They can search by our last name, but our "N" number works
best, and then hoof it on out to the party to rub elbows and tip cold ones
with many of the folks you've "met" here in rec.aviation.

Day five will be shopping for Atlas (our plane), with side trips to the
smaller tents around the four big exhibition hangars. This is our most
laid-back day, but can also be our most expensive! ;-)

Day Six will be the Seaplane Base. Don't miss it, or the Friday Fish fry.
We also usually visit Mary's relatives who live in nearby Neenah.

Every afternoon we try to catch some of the airshow (although that's the
best time to really shop), and every evening we plop ourselves out in the
North 40, right alongside Rwy 9/27, to watch the REAL airshow -- the
arrivals and departures. They are WAY more fun than the performers!

See you there!
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"