TitleGarrison

No bird ever flew nonstop from New York to Tokyo, or raced 15 miles high at triple the speed of sound.                                                                                                   
  But birds do something else.
  They do not conquer the air; they romance it.
.”

  Peter Garrison

HoursAndCounting

Jur's RV7 Aircraft Factory
2917 hours
and counting
Some decisions in life are bare of any obvious logic

 

Oshkosh is to you like Mekka is for a Muslim.
If you haven't been there at least once in your life, you will NOT go to aviation heaven !

From Belgium, it's quite a trip but in the last five years of building, we managed to go twice to Oshkosh.

Nothing beats the experience of Oshkosh air venture in Oshkosh Wisconsin.

The first time we went, I visted sun'n fun in spring and decided to also visit Oshkosh. On sun'n fun there were rv's but the experimental parking there is kind of isolated and more difficult to make contact.
So my idea before arriving in Oshkosh was, 'wel I hope there will be some RV's'.

There are hundreds !

Most even camp next to their airplane and it's a real family style setting which is very inviting to go and have a chat to the owners.

I strongly recommend it to anyone, anywhere around the globe. Anything GA related will be represented at Oshkosh and it's definitly the only location in the world for home builders in the world where all info, resources and suppliers are availble at your fingertips. Wanne play with the next Garmin G3x hands on ?  and some minutes later compare it you the Dynon skyview touch ? well... only at Oshkosh. Strongly recommend also the local hardware vendors where you feel like a kid in a candyshop having all those rivets, bolts, tools laid out in front of you. (small side remark: travel light, you will return heavy). There are often also the best discounts and deals to be found during the Oshkosh week when you buy there. Some even send it later at same price when you order there. I bought my VPX, aeroleds and lots of other stuff there.

I can also recommend the vansairforce.net gathering which takes place every time after the show in a house just outside of the airport. There 's hundreds of vans of builders there.

Another good tip: plan ahead ! there's hundreds of workshop, celebrity appearences, shows, movies, honourings, lectures, .... You will not be able to do all. Let me rephrase that: you will only be able to see a fraction of it, so it's very important to plan your trip ahead. The full agenda is available upfront and they even have a smartphone app. But save yourself the trouble in the evenings of your visits and plan ahead. You will be tired from walking all day, busy with late evening show or events so you just don't have the time for it. Do it at home, The agenda is fixed months upfront so plenty of time to prepare.

Vans aircraft has a tent withsome planes at Oshkosh, so it's a good opportunity to meet some of the well known names from van's support in real life. If you're lucky you can spot Van himself and take a picture. Also the vans dinner is a good moment to meet fellow builders but it's kind of like a static setting where once you sit, you are with the same people around your on your table.
Fir the vans dinner, you have to reserve and pay upfront via the mothership.

The vansairforce.net keg party is more like beer drinking thing in a garden outside of the house and gives much more possibilities to walk around from group to group. Ask on the vansairforce net forum for the exact time and location as it sometimes varies. Doug will be glad to help you. You will also meet some of the more famous builders like the members of the teamaerodynamix.

When organising your visit, make sure to book a student room in the local oshkosh university. Rooms are much cheaper than in the local hotels and if you book late, you might end up in cities far away from airventure as hotel infrastructure is very limited in Oshkosh itself. If you want a room in the university, book couple of months after the last airventure ended as they also sell out quite fast. The university campus will be full of aviation enthousiasts and there is a nice beer-terrace just outside of the parkinglot where a lot of them gather in the evening. Very nice place to get to know new people that share your passion. Busses to airventure are organised from the campus to the Oshkosh airfield and run in 15 minute intervals.

https://www.facebook.com/UWOEAAHousing/

If you have some spare time, the Oshkosh air museum is defenitly worth a visit as it has some of the original RV's on display like the prototype RV-1 and early versions of the RV-3 and RV-4.

Visit airventure website for details on schedule.

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Use the kit buttons in the top ribbon bar to see a chronological overview per sub section per kit. For the full chronological article list, see chronological build link in prelude menu here below. The easiest way to lookup information is by typing in some part numbers or keywords using the search option in the ribbon bar

 

Caution !

Some advice on reading my log for fellow builders !

In some articles, I made corrections at later date on the original article to rectify my own stupidities or faults. Read through the entire article if you intend to use my findings/experiences on your own project !

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It’s possible (not likely) that I’m not as smart as I think I am. (Occasionally, I have moments when I know this to be true. Fortunately, the feeling passes quickly.) Although I have tried to make this information as accurate as I can, it is not only possible, but also quite likely, that erroneous and misguided information lurks within these pages. I cannot and do not warrant these pages to be error free and correct. Furthermore, I accept no liability for the use of this (mis)information. And, as many would say, your mileage may vary. If, after reading this, you are intent on proceeding, please be aware that the contents of this site are protected by copyright (copyright © 2011 and 2012). Nonetheless, you may copy this material subject to these two conditions: (1) any information used is for non-commercial purposes, and (2) the source of the material is properly credited. Of course, you may link to any page herein. At some articles, snippets of the plans from Vans are visible. These are for educational and illustrations purposes only and should never be used as plans for part construction or assembly as plans may have changed since the picture was taken and more important they are protected by Copyright by the Vans Aircraft Mothership company.

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