I have a passion for flying that is driven by the freedom and convenience it creates. When 15,000 airplanes and 100,000 pilots get together once a year for the world's greatest aviation celebration, this passion becomes a venture I have never experienced before. Oshkosh, a well-known city to all pilots, carries the most exciting week in general aviation. When there is an airplane landing each minute, the challenges and risks to fly in and land at the Oshkosh airport have scared some of the most experienced pilots. One pilot Mr. Les Johnson with over 20,000 hours told me that even he will not fly to Oshkosh without a co-pilot. Well, my friend and I flew to Oshkosh in July 2009, landed and departed safely and smoothly with a sound and detailed preparation. In life, we take a lot of risks, but the only risk not worthwhile to take is the risk you don't understand and don't manage with the great care! So is flying!

Preparation

I first got to know Oshkosh Air Venture just two weeks before the event when I was on the AOPA website for safety training lessons. When I mentioned the name "OSHKOSH" to my pilot friends, everyone was so excited about sharing their experiences with me. Everyone concluded that it is an once-in-a-lifetime experience and a "Must Do" list for pilots in general aviation. I certainly could not miss this opportunity!

When I decided to fly my plane there, I needed to find a co-pilot for this trip. Flying to Oshkosh by myself was out of the question due to the risks  and challenges. When I mentioned this trip to Mr. Rob Williams, a pilot with over 1000 hours and an owner of Piper Seneca IV, he immediately expressed his interest to fly there together. He had heard about this event for many years and had always wanted to go. I called him at the perfect time!

We all knew the risks and challenges of flying to Oshkosh and needed to get all the help we could. I called Mr. Les Johnson, a pilot veteran, for his advice. Les is a former Flying Tiger and a retired pilot from FedEx who has over 20,000 hours of flying time. (He assembled his own acrobatic airplane the F-1 rocket and named it after Flying Tiger.) In April 2009, he flew to the "Sun n' Fun" event in Florida, a similar air venture event but on a much smaller scale so he could share a lot of experiences on what to expect and how to handle the unexpected.

Rob, Les, and I got together in my conference room and prepared the trip in great detail. We printed out the Oshkosh NOTAM and went through each instruction carefully. There were two kinds of VFR approach speeds, 130 knots versus 90 knots. We discussed the pros and cons on each approach speed and decided to use the 90-knot approach speed. We discussed different weather conditions and decided what to do in IMC conditions versus VMC conditions. Rob went home and flew this route on his simulator four times and got familiar with the landmarks around the airport. He also found a few videos on YouTube. com showing other pilots' actual previous flights to Oshkosh. We were amazed at how they arranged all the airplanes to land on the same runway spaced fewer than 45 seconds apart landing on different color marks. Also, there were no verbal communications from the pilot to the controllers. The pilots are only to listen to their instructions, rock their wings in acknowledgement and do what the controller tell them to do. (As so many airplanes are landing at the same time, they don't have time to communicate.) Three days before the departure, we met again and went through everything one more time. All these preparations built a great confidence in us.

Due to the short planning, we couldn't find any hotels around Oshkosh as most of the hotels were booked one year in advance. Rob and I decided to camp on the field, which would give us a lot more time to tour the event. Then we needed to prepare everything related to camping as neither of us has camped in the last ten years: camping tent, sleeping bag, food, water, lights, etc.Flying to Oshkosh

On Sunday, July 27, 2009, we started the journey. The weather wasnot very promising as many thunderstorms were developing around the Oshkosh area. We obtained a slot reservation for an IFR flight plan 72 hours in advance, confirmed it 24 hours in advance and then filed the IFR flight plan from the Millington Airport to Oshkosh in case the weather got really bad when we reached Oshkosh.

We loaded everything in the airplane and made sure the weight & balance was calculated. Then we checked the airplane for the fuel and made sure we had full tanks of fuel and no water or sediment in the fuel. We checked the engine oil and made sure it was clean and not leaking. Pre-flight was key to avoiding mistakes.

When we were obtaining the clearance from the Millington tower, the controller even congratulated us on flying to Oshkosh after giving us the clearance. We took off around 12:30 pm central time heading north. The first part of the flight was smooth just like a normal IFR flight. We climbed to 12,000 feet with a 25-knot headwind. The weather was not bad around the Missouri area with just a few clouds below us.

About 60 miles south of Oshkosh airport, we faced a dilemma. Our NOTAM instructions requested that we cancel the IFR flight plan and proceed under VFR if the weather was good. The ceilings were high enough for VFR, however, scattered strong showers cells were in the area near our flight path with a cell directly over the airport, but the cell over the airport was moving away from the airport. If we kept our IFR flight plan, we may run the risk that the controller would ask us to hold in the air for a long time due to the intensive traffic. We called the controller and asked him for his suggestions. He couldn't give us a clear answer as the weather was marginal and there were pros and cons for either option. The controller said it would be easier for him if we proceeded under VFR. Rob and I discussed the situation for a while and decided to cancel the IFR flight plan and follow VFR instructions. We believed that most of airplanes would fly in under VFR , and that it was better to follow the VFR instructions as the controller couldn't see all the airplanes and provide the separation services as needed.

After we cancelled the IFR flight plan, we flew directly to RIPON intersection which was the initial starting point for VFR approach. While we were about 10 miles south of RIPON, the Skywatch Traffic Monitoring screen on my plane indicated an airplane 500 feet above and right on top of our plane flying on the same direction. (We couldn't see each other as they were right on top of us.) Then Skywatch indicated they started descending while we were flying straight. The Screen Monitor indicated it was getting closer and closer, 300 feet, 200 feet, 100 feet…

Rob immediately told me "Dive", and I pushed the yoke down and started the rapid descent. Our speed picked up and we were much lower than the other plane. But that was close…

When we were approaching RIPON, we entered a rain shower which greatly reduced our visibility. As many planes were flying to this intersection from all directions, we were really worried that we couldn't see the other airplanes well enough. Luckily, the rain shower was isolated and we were in it for less than 2 miles. After we passed the rain shower, we saw at least ten airplanes in all directions approaching RIPON intersection.

When we arrived at RIPON, we picked up an airplane in front of us and started following it according to the NOTAM instruction. We
kept our plane about a half mile behind it and could see about ten airplanes in the traffic pattern in front of us. Each one was following the one in front. What a view!

We followed the plane all the way from the right downwind to the base leg for runway 27. But, when the plane in front of us turned from the base to the final, another airplane on an IFR flight plan came from the west and cut in front of it. It was a most dangerous
mid-air collision situation. Fortunately, the controller on the ground instructed the plane in front of us to circle 360 degree immediately and let the other plane to land safely. We then followed this plane and landed on the green dot on the runway. As soon as we landed and slowed down, we got off the runway immediately and taxied to the grass side, so we could let the next plane to land. Then we cheered and triumphed that we landed at Oshkosh safely. When we arrived at our campground and opened the door, the first words from the staff were: "Welcome to Oshkosh!"