The 32-page document of official procedures, known as the Oshkosh 2024 Notice, is now available online and required reading for pilots intending to fly themselves to the Wisconsin event. 

According to the EAA, there are a few changes this year that are the result of “pilot feedback and FAA review of arrival procedure recommendations.”

The EAA said the notice is in effect from noon CDT on July 18 until noon CDT on July 29. The document outlines procedures for the many types of aircraft that fly to Oshkosh for the event, as well as aircraft that land at nearby airports.

New Procedures for 2024

This year there are TFRs in the Milwaukee area that have nothing to do with AirVenture.

• On July 15-18, the Republican National Convention will be held in the region, prompting a closure of airspace. On July 25-28, the Milwaukee Air & Water Show will be conducted with a TFR of its own.
• There is a new Fisk holding procedure. There are several pages on it in the notice that include drawings of landmarks and approved routes in addition to textual descriptions called out in boldface and boxes.
• No Fisk arrivals will be permitted before 8 a.m. CDT on Thursday, July 25.

In addition, the ATC assignable transition points located west of Oshkosh will be in effect again. They are designed to reduce holding time and air traffic congestion. The points are at Endeavor Bridge, Puckaway Lake, and Green Lake. According to the notice, they will be announced on the arrival ATIS when ATC activates during times of highest traffic flow.

This year’s AirVenture marks its 71st anniversary, and safety, as always, is paramount.

“The most essential information for any pilot flying to Oshkosh involves reading and thoroughly understanding the 2024 AirVenture Notice to ensure safe operations on arrival and departure,” said Sean Elliott, EAA’s vice president of advocacy and safety. “This FAA notice document states the official requirements and expectations for pilots. We also urge all pilots to log appropriate cross-country time prior to their trip to Oshkosh so they have the proficiency and confidence to fly safely.”

Pilots are advised to study the notice in advance and plan their flights carefully. 

Pro Tips:

• Add an additional 30 minutes to your estimated time en route, and be prepared to divert to another airport if weather, traffic, or an accident creates a delay.
• In addition to having the notice in digital form on your iPad or tablet, print it out and have a hard copy with you in the cockpit as a backup.

Good luck, and we’ll see you at the show.

The complete Oshkosh 2024 Notice is below. For a free, printed copy, call EAA at 1-800-564-6322.

The post Oshkosh 2024 Notice Outlines Changes for Pilots Flying to AirVenture appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

“Christmas epaulets,” they’re called, because they replace the regular colored-stripe epaulets worn by airline pilots with alternating red and green.

The holiday drive raises funds for the Gary Sinise Foundation’s Snowball Express program and the Chetek-Weyerhauser Scholarship Foundation and honors former Northwest Airlines captain and U.S. Army veteran John Knutson. 

Knutson was a graduate of Chetek-Weyerhauser High School in northwest Wisconsin. He died from stomach cancer in 1997 at the age of 56, and his widow, Mary, launched the idea of creating the festive epaulets in his memory. 

Though at first all of the proceeds from the sale of the epaulets went to the Chetek fund, it was determined a couple of years ago that in honor of Knutson’s military service, the proceeds would be split  50-50 with the Snowball Express program. 

The Snowball Express is dedicated to aiding the surviving spouse or guardian and children (ages 5 to 13) of deceased military veterans through its 501(c)3 organization. Though the name ties its charitable efforts to the winter holiday season, its programming now runs year-round. But each December the foundation hosts a special event for roughly 1,750 children and spouses/guardians at Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida. American Airlines sponsors the event as well, providing a lift to those who need to travel by air to make the five-day experience.

How to Buy

Pilots (or those who wish to gift them to pilots) can purchase the epaulets through the Christmas Epaulets website. They come in traditional and Velcro-style attachments and in three- or four-stripe versions. There is also a flight attendant/flight engineer version with two stripes.

The epaulets cost $20 a pair, plus $5.50 shipping and handling for one to four pairs, $7 for five to 12 pairs, and free shipping for orders over 12. To ship internationally costs $15.

All told, more than $130,000 have been donated to date through the program. To keep up with demand, Mary Knutson no longer does all of the crafting of the epaulets but is joined by local Chetek friends Lois and Bob Hartman and the extended Knutson family.

For more information, email Tim Knutson at: info@christmasepaulets.com.

The post Christmas Epaulets Raise Funds for the Snowball Express, Other Charities appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

According to airport officials, when an airport does any kind of development or expansion, it is required to replace developments with wetlands and conservancy areas where staffers manage invasive species. The airport purchased the property in 2011. It is a popular open space for hiking and getting back to nature as it has a short hiking trail.

It is a balancing act, notes Luke Bettis, landside operations supervisor for KATW, as they add plants to the conservancy then have to protect them from hostile weeds such as phragmites and buckthorn. “We spent about $2,500 on trees for the conservancy back in spring. If we use chemicals such as herbicides for the invasive species of plants, we could have killed or heavily damaged the trees.” Bettis also needed to find a cost effective way to manage onsite vegetation.

Bettis considered the idea of renting goats as gardeners. However, in addition to eating grass and non-native species the goats would also chow down on the newly planted trees, as goats are known for being non-discriminatory when it comes to feeding. They are also a high-spirited animal with no regard to fences or property lines, which could potentially create a new set of problems.

Bettis continued to look for options, and a social media post led him to Wooly Green Grazers, a sheep-based organic brush removal service located a few miles away. The sheep have a more discriminating palate, says Roxie Emunson, who owns Wooly Green Grazers with her husband Daniel. It is a new business for them—he recently retired from the U.S. Marine Corps. She grew up in Oklahoma and raised sheep in 4-H.

“Finally in 2020, with it being his last duty station, we bought our first two ewes and started. By the time we were ready to move to Wisconsin, we had four ewes and three rams.”

Before the sheep could be deployed, the Emunsons make sure there is no milkweed in the area as that is toxic for sheep. Once that threat was mitigated, the sheep were deployed. For the better part of a month, the flock, consisting of Old English Southdown and a few crossbreeds, bivouacked and chowed down on the approved conservancy vegetation. They selflessly consumed hostile phragmites, buckthorn, and blades of grass, 24/7 . They were kept contained—and people and predators kept out—by electric fences.

“These are smaller sheep breed, not those big ones. They are sometimes called babydolls and no larger than 26 inches tall. They are petite sheep,” Emunson  explained. The portable sheep pen was moved weekly, and there were signs up to warn people not to disturb the sheep because they were working.

Remote surveillance in the form of a trail camera was also set up. “There was one particular sheep that kept coming in for a close-up. We named her Farrah. She liked to be on camera,” Emunson says.

Wisconsin has been experiencing a drought of late, and that proved beneficial since the land in question is considered wetland, but it was dry enough that the sheep did not have any traction issues as they accomplished their munching mission.

According to Bettis, the cost for sheep transport and setting up the fence was approximately $1,500, about $1,000 less than traditional methods—and best of all the newly-planted trees were kept safe.

There is talk about bringing the sheep back for future missions.

“It’s good for the environment, and it’s good for our souls because it’s almost therapeutic to watch them,” Emunson said. “My husband likes to say that we like raising and grazing!”

You can find Wooly Green Grazers on Facebook.

The post Sheep Thrills at Appleton Airport appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

I’ve since learned that a quick screen capture of Midwestern real estate listings can effectively shut him up for the season. But this year some of the beautiful summertime scenes I’ve enjoyed from aloft may prove even more effective. This is what I was thinking about on a recent picture-perfect Saturday filled with antique aircraft, good friends, and sweeping rural vistas in the waning, golden sunlight.

Having been without an airworthy airplane for several months this year, I’m just now getting back into the swing of things. I’m beginning to rediscover how a perfect weekend can be made even more so as an airplane owner. With muddy winters, lengthy annual inspections, and massive panel upgrades behind me, the airplane is running great, and I’m finally free to actually use it to seize the day.

The most recent Saturday adventure began with a generous invitation from my friend Luke. Luke is a very active volunteer with the EAA Vintage Aircraft Association, and it was with his invite that I was able to attend their annual fly-in at Brodhead, Wisconsin. Conveniently, Brodhead is only about 20 miles south of me, and while I frequently pop down there for pattern work on the three beautifully maintained grass runways, this was the first time I’d flown into one of its organized events.

I wasn’t sure what to expect. In terms of fly-ins, I’ve only ever flown into EAA AirVenture in Oshkosh. This frame of reference is a bit nonstandard, not unlike someone who has only ever attended the Super Bowl and is wondering how local high school games must compare. It would be a new experience, and I was looking forward to it.

As it turns out, smaller countryside fly-ins—even the more sizable ones—have a wonderful vibe and are a true pleasure to attend, especially in your own airplane. Like sampling a fine wine, one can slowly mosey around the airport, have relaxed conversations, take in the vintage airplanes, and lazily discuss plans for the on-site barbecue and evening campfire. This is a stark contrast to trying to take in AirVenture, which I’ve found to be less like sampling fine wine and perhaps more like shotgunning several dozen consecutive cans of Miller Lite in one frenzied sitting.

The staccato bark of 1920s- and 1930s-era radial engines above punctuated the relaxed countryside ambiance as various achingly beautiful antique aircraft took people for rides and regularly passed overhead. An attendee showed off his 1950s-era BMW motorcycle alongside an old biplane, the stately rumble of the opposed twin blending in nicely with the vintage aircraft engines surrounding us. There was an idyllic balance of laziness and activity that allowed conversations to flow and prevented boredom from ever materializing. 

Hang out at your own airplane, and the conversations are similarly relaxed and enjoyable. Nobody is in a hurry, trying to scurry off to a forum, press briefing, or airshow display like at Oshkosh. Topics of conversation meander like lazy creeks, with aviation newcomers presenting fun, elementary questions about your machine and fellow owners swapping tips and lore learned from ownership. 

As the sun sank lower and the shadows grew long, I preflighted my plane and took off behind a beautiful Stinson Gullwing. Happy to have a full complement of LED lighting to help me stand out, I carefully negotiated the radio-free antique biplanes in the pattern and set off for the 20-minute flight home. Along the way, golden sunlight illuminated the cabin and brought the hayfields below to life in a way the midday sun never can. The atmosphere was as warm as the filtered light, and my leisurely 90 mph cruise speed became more of a luxury than a hindrance.

Evenings like this bring out the paramotor training at my home airfield, and I’m fortunate the instructors and students monitor the frequency with vigilance. Upon hearing me report my position inbound, they requested a few minutes to clear the runway for my arrival. I was happy to orbit the picturesque fields for a bit and comply. 

Still a relative newcomer to the world of tailwheels, I’d just assume not have a live audience lining the runway edges while I land. While I was confident I could land safely and without placing the crowd in danger, I also knew chances were good that I’d resemble an injured wildebeest staggering across the runway while doing so. Fortunately, the tailwheel gods smiled upon me. With the help of my squishy Alaskan Bushwheels and the 8 psi of pressure within, I believe I fooled my audience into thinking I possess something resembling proficiency and skill.

It was a perfect end to a perfect day of airplane ownership, and I’ve come to learn how important it is to deposit these kinds of memories into the vault for safekeeping. Snow, ice, and future setbacks are certain to arrive, after all…and like a big stack of nicely seasoned firewood, reflections upon days like this help to ensure you stay warm and happy in the inevitably challenging times ahead.

The post Golden-Hued Memories of a Late Summer Fly-In appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

On Thursday night, the council will vote on a resolution, but that doesn’t mean the Portage Municipal Airport (C47) will close, stressed city administrator Michael Bablick.

According to Bablick, the resolution as written directs city staff to contact the Wisconsin Bureau of Aeronautics and the FAA to determine what steps would need to be taken to shut down the 106-acre, city-owned facility and potentially sell the property to a developer. 

Bablick, who has served in his role with the city for just a few months, said  the airport has been a topic of discussion for decades.

Leif Gregerson, president of Experimental Aircraft Association Chapter 371 based at the airport,  pointed out that what makes the airport property so valuable is its field elevation of 824 feet, which puts the land above the floodplain for the Fox and Wisconsin rivers. 

“There have been grumblings about closure of the airport for years,” Gregorson said. “It is in the city limits, one of the few spots considered prime building location because most of the city is located on wetlands.”

According to Airnav.com, there are 21 single-engine aircraft based at the airport. Most of the traffic is transient, as the airport is a popular destination for cross-country flights.

Gregerson said that during EAA AirVenture, the aviation convention that attracts pilots from all over the world, the airport gets very busy as a popular fuel stop or a divert airport when Wittman Regional Airport (KOSH) in Oshkosh is closed because of the air show or field capacity—or when the weather turns sour.

“We’re just 50 miles away from Oshkosh,” Gregorson said, “which makes the airport very convenient for pilots. Our EAA chapter sells food during that time, so the pilots don’t have to walk down the street to the convenience store.”

Other EAA activities held year-round include Young Eagles rallies and pancake breakfasts, which Gregerson said are usually well attended.

Airport History

Portage Municipal Airport was privately constructed by the Mael family in the early 1940s. The airport has two runways: 18/36, measuring 3,770 by 60 feet, and 4/22 ( 2,688 by 40). At the time, the property was a flat spot outside of town.

“In 1961 the Mael family donated the airport to the city,” said Bablick, adding that it costs the city approximately $100,000 a year to operate the facility, representing about 1.25 percent of its annual budget.

Over the decades, the city grew to a population of approximately 10,500, and the airport is surrounded by light industry and housing developments. In addition, it is hemmed in by infrastructure.

“Interstate 39 is extraordinarily close to the airport on the north, and on the south end are high tension wires, cutting off the ability to expand the north-south runway,” Bablick said.

“The high tension wires shouldn’t have been put there,” Gregerson said. “The city didn’t have the foresight to create ordinances and setbacks to protect the airport. The city did not establish any ordinances that would have protected the airport against encroachment by businesses and residential development or height restrictions.”

As an example, Gregerson, a 20-year pilot, mentioned that at one point the city was using land off the extended centerline of the runway as a dumping ground for brush and weeds cleaned up from different parts of the city. The pile grew so tall that it became a hazard for air traffic, forcing the airport manager to take the issue to public works to get it relocated so it was not situated off the end of the runway.

“The city is not anti-airport,” said Bablick, noting the idea of building a new airport in a different location has been discussed since 1965. “When there was a development plan for the airport, [it] noted deficiencies of the current property, which included the inability to extend the runway. People have been saying ‘we’re 20 years away from a new airport’ for 30 years. Twenty years ago, the city purchased farmland to the north to build a new airport, but it didn’t work out, and that resulted in bad blood with the FAA.”

Bablick said the city has never accepted funds from either the state bureau of aeronautics or the FAA for airport improvements, although the airport could benefit from infrastructure enhancements like new pavement. When an airport sponsor accepts state or federal grant funds, it often comes with the caveat that the facility must stay open and  for a specific amount of time, perhaps as long as 20 years, depending on the size of the grant.

The airport is part of the FAA National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2021-2025 as a general aviation facility, even though the city has never accepted funds from the FAA or the Wisconsin Bureau of Aeronautics.

The state bureau referred questions from FLYING to the city of Portage, and the FAA did not respond to queries by press time.

The Pilots React

When the aviation community learned of the resolution to explore the closure process, it was quick to sound the alarm. Portage city hall has been flooded with emails and phone calls urging the council to vote against the resolution to keep the airport open.

The resolution is expected to be heard at the August 24 meeting at the municipal building council chambers, located at 115 West Pleasant Street in Portage. The meeting, scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. CDT, will also be broadcast on YouTube at the following link:

The post Future Looks Questionable for Portage Airport in Wisconsin appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

The expanding FLYING Media Group team has been on site at EAA AirVenture for the past couple of days putting together our new outdoor media hub (display sites 439/440 between the control tower and the flightline) and gearing up to report on the big stories for the week.

You’ll hear from the breaking news masters at AVweb.com as well as detailed analysis on FLYING’s digital site, while Plane & Pilot and ByDanJohnson report on affordable aviation. The investigative team at Aviation Consumer will be on the lookout for new products to test, and folks at KITPLANES, Aviation Safety, and IFR Magazine will seek out enterprise stories for future issues.

Stop by FLYING’s on-site HQ to say hello to the team delivering FLYING’s aviation marketplace, Aircraft For Sale and BusinessAIR, too.

In the meantime, here are the top five things we’re looking forward to seeing at the show.

First Look at the Beechcraft Denali

Textron Aviation normally brings eight or nine aircraft to display—and in the past several years, it has counted amongst those the mockup intended to represent its latest bid into the single-engine turboprop market, the Denali. Well, this year, instead of a very nice simulation, we get to see one of the test articles in real life.

Several other OEMs will debut “first looks” at the latest models, including the HondaJet Elite II, which will fly to the event utilizing the Sustainable Aviation Fuel Book and Claim (SAFC) program to offset the emissions from the ferry flight to get it to the show. We expect other operators to announce similar SAF use—either directly or through the SAFC.

EAGLE Update

Unleaded avgas continues to take center stage as we move toward greater distribution of the current lower-octane products as well as the development of the eventual replacement(s) for 100LL. 

In an update forum on at noon CDT Monday at the Theater in the Woods, the Eliminate Aviation Gasoline Lead Emissions (EAGLE) initiative will host participants from the cadre of manufacturers in the process of creating those new fuels. Afton/Phillips, GAMI, Lyondell/VP Racing and Swift plan to give progress reports. We’re all ears.

Follow-Up on MOSAIC

Speaking of big, important initiatives, the FAA’s preview last week of the Modernization of Special Airworthiness Certification (MOSAIC) notice of proposed rulemaking is set to publish on Monday as well, in the Federal Register. That makes official a broad sweep of changes allowing light sport aircraft acceptance and certification to transition to a performance-based methodology. 

The aviation community thus far has responded with broad praise for both the content of the NPRM and its timely release—before Oshkosh, so we can all get together and talk about it. We’ll report on the FAA’s in-person comment on the subject, as well as other reactions from key industry leaders and the pilots directly affected by the ruling—which is just about all of us.

Advanced Air Mobility on Display

While a couple of the big players in electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) and advanced air mobility (Joby for one) won’t have their actual flying machines at AirVenture, we can look forward to several who will. Boeing-backed Wisk Aero is one of those, though it has yet to receive clearance to enter flight test with its 6th generation prototype.

We’re also excited to catch up on the latest from Lilium, Volocopter, Archer, Ampaire, and the U.S. Air Force’s AFWERX.

Warbirds Soar Again

Perennially the most popular of aircraft types at Oshkosh, the warbird area looks like it will be hopping again this year, with a couple of notable returns of beloved aircraft. The B-17 “Yankee Lady,” from the Yankee Air Museum in Ypsilanti, Michigan, unfortunately won’t be one of those, as it blew a jug and won’t make it to the show in time.

Warbirds in Review will feature a string of classic and historically important aircraft, including a North American B-25 and the P-51C Mustang Tuskegee Airmen.

The post Top 5 Things We Look Forward to at Oshkosh appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

As this is the first winter in which I can fly my airplane without the complications of major engine maintenance, I’m free to stumble through winter ownership unhindered by anything beyond general inexperience. One by one, I’m learning lessons and discovering solutions that collectively make winter flying more fun, and I’ve compiled a few products and lessons that have stood out thus far.

Engine Preheater

Up here in the frozen north, a well-heated, fully-insulated hangar is the stuff of dreams. Owning such a hangar is the Wisconsin equivalent of owning an oceanside villa in Monaco—it’s pricey, exclusive, and instantly makes you the envy of your circle of friends. My friend Jim has a hangar like this, complete with a mini fridge, a sectional couch, and enough cool wall decor to make you dread going home.

Most of us keep our machines in primitive, unheated T-hangars that may or may not be completely sealed from the elements. It’s not lost on me that this is a good problem to have; even basic hangars are palaces compared to outdoor tie-downs. Nevertheless, those of us in unheated hangars are presented with a few challenges, and for us, an engine preheater is a wise investment. 

The basic premise of any engine heater is simple; using forced air or electric elements, they heat an engine compartment or components of the engine itself, warming engine oil and easing engine starts. In addition to expediting engine (and cabin) warmup, this reduces engine wear and increases engine longevity.

Engine preheating generally comes in two forms. The cheaper and simpler option consists of small portable heaters with ducting to direct the heat into the engine compartment. While these are often the less expensive option, they also introduce more of a fire hazard. 

Should an unattended portable heater malfunction, or should the ductwork become dislodged, piping-hot air can be redirected onto surfaces and components that react poorly to such temperatures. Many people use these systems successfully throughout the winter, but I am haunted by the idea of being responsible for a hangar fire that may claim multiple airplanes.

• READ MORE: Tundra Tires Bring More Than Just Good Looks

A number of companies manufacture dedicated preheat kits that are installed directly onto the engine. Accordingly, there are fewer ways in which they can malfunction and create a fire hazard. This was one of the main reasons I chose this option, and I went with a company called Reiff. Only after my system was installed did I learn the company is based only about 30 miles away from me, in rural Wisconsin. 

Reiff offers two main types of preheat kits; the least expensive utilizes a single heating element to warm the oil pan, and the best kits add a heating element to each cylinder, effectively warming the entire engine. I opted for the latter, reasoning that consistent, uniform engine heating is beneficial.

A local maintenance facility took 3.5 hours to install the $950 system. Provided I remember to plug the engine in the night before I want to fly, I’m now greeted with a very warm engine and an easy start for every flight. 

Battery Charger

Last Saturday morning, my friend Jim and I hatched a wonderful plan. Temperatures were in the 30s, the ceiling had lifted to around 2,500 feet, and the local lakes had 6 to 8 inches of solid ice coverage. Wisconsinites everywhere were out frolicking on the ice, partaking in everything from ice fishing to ice boat racing to paraskiing. 

In past winters, I’ve joined Jim as a passenger for some ice landings, and this was finally my chance to fly along with him in an airplane of my own. My airplane was running well, I was familiar with the area, and best of all, Jim could serve as the guinea pig, landing first to ensure there were no issues with the ice surface.

There was only one issue—my engine was cold-soaked. Because our plans had come together at the last minute, I hadn’t plugged my engine in to warm it up. I agreed to go anyway, hoping I’d get it started in spite of this.

Unfortunately, it was not to be. A combination of ice-cold temperatures and my overpriming seemed to offend the engine, and despite catching and running roughly for a moment here and there, it simply refused to start. I ended up pushing the airplane back into the hangar and joining Jim as a passenger once again.

After we returned, a nearby hangar tenant offered to lend me his portable Diehard brand battery charger, a robust unit capable of trickle charging and quick charging. I set it up overnight, and it effortlessly brought my tired battery back up to a 100 percent charge. Having experienced how useful the charger was, I ordered one the following day and am now prepared to solve future battery issues independently. 

In hindsight, it seems like an obvious item to add to the list of necessary hangar accessories, but in my case, I first needed to experience a major inconvenience to take the idea seriously.

Powered Tug

This one is still on my wish list. I presently own a massively overbuilt tow bar that appears to have been engineered for Douglas DC-9s, and up until this past summer, it has worked reasonably well to pull my airplane around.

Then I installed some 26-inch tundra tires.

Set to only 8 to 10 psi, the new tires are pillowy soft. They make landing on rough surfaces a breeze, and they make the airplane feel like a big Tonka truck, shrugging off my blundering landings without a second thought. But they also make it far more difficult to pull the airplane into and out of the hangar, even on concrete.

At first, I chalked this up to a badly-needed fitness opportunity. I’d simply hunker down, put my weight into it, and muscle the airplane around as needed while burning off some burger- and cheese-curd-induced calories. But after winter weather set in, a close call with an unseen patch of ice nearly sent me to the ground, and visions of my recent rib-breaking refueling incident scared me straight and inspired me to shop for a powered tug.

Initial research suggests that there is little middle ground when it comes to powered tugs. On one end of the spectrum, you’ve got used Frankentug specials available on classified sites. These contraptions may or may not work properly, they will likely date back to the Clinton administration, and whether they’re gas or electric, they’ll almost certainly be covered in decades of grime. But they’re cheap, ranging from around $500 to $1,500.

On the other end of the spectrum, you’ve got companies like Best Tugs. Starting at around $3,000, their tugs work perfectly. They’re reliable, quiet, and rather than looking like you’re involved in a wrestling match with an angry snowblower, you can enjoy buttery-smooth fingertip control before and after every flight. 

The price is hard to swallow, though. Were I definitely remaining in my location long term, I’d consider hitting up an adjacent hangar tenant for a partnership opportunity in which we share one nice tug. That way, we’d each be able to enjoy the luxury anytime for half the price.

For now, I stubbornly continue to scour the local classifieds in the hopes that a decent used Frankentug happens to become available. But then again, the upgrade to that Best Tug would amount to less than the cost of one of my tundra tires…and it certainly would be a lot less expensive than another hospital stay.

The post Flying Through a Wisconsin Winter appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

Many people’s thoughts turn firmly to football during this time of year  and the college game is particularly attractive to pilots. The airport network will get you close to many venues, and the same social atmosphere and sense of anticipation that make college football games classic road trip destinations also apply to flying.

While just about any game is worth flying to as long as weather and other conditions are favorable, we have narrowed the field by focusing on rivalries. From the Big 10 Conference to the military academies and the Ivy League, certain matchups tend to draw crowds and stir emotions more than others. Below are a few of the contests we have enjoyed over the years or would like to see. 

Mississippi State University at University of Alabama

October 22

Tuscaloosa National Airport (KTCL)

This might not be among the season’s hyped “brand name” rivalries, and the Mississippi State Bulldogs have not beaten the Crimson Tide since 2007. However, the teams’ games tend to be more competitive than expected given Alabama’s powerhouse status. Could their series be ripe for an upset? 

Michigan State University at University of Michigan

October 29

Ann Arbor Municipal Airport (KARB)

These teams have played each other since the late 1890s and while the Michigan Wolverines have won nearly twice as often as Michigan State Spartans, their long history has seen numerous ups and downs with both teams enjoying strings of victories and extended periods of dominance. In 2007, Michigan player Mike Hart referred to the Spartans as the Wolverines’ “little brother” and the Spartans answered the insult with a famous series of wins.

• READ MORE: Six Sports Halls of Fame That Make Ideal Flying Destinations

Yale University at Harvard University

November 19

Laurence G Hanscom Field Airport (KBED)

In 1957, the Yale Bulldogs beat the Harvard Crimson 54-0 in this classic confrontation, but historically the teams have been well-matched. In a rivalry that dates to 1875, Yale leads with 68 victories to Harvard’s 61, with 8 ties. The games are often good, but the scene, arguably, is almost always better, with students from each school waving flags and wearing shirts emblazoned with clever insults against the other. 

University of Minnesota at University of Wisconsin

November 26

Dane County Regional Airport-Truax Field (KMSN)

It seems the Ivies have nothing on these tough teams from the OG Big Ten when it comes to close rivalries. The Wisconsin Badgers lead 62-61-8 in a series that began in 1890. The squads battle for a trophy known as Paul Bunyan’s Axe. Sentiments among the universities’ fans also tend to reflect those at the NFL level Those rooting for the Minnesota Golden Gophers tend to be Vikings fans while Badgers fans support the Green Bay Packers.

Army vs. Navy: Lincoln Financial Stadium, Philadelphia

December 10

Wings Field Airport (KLOM)

Another classic matchup dating to 1890, the series between the U.S. Military and Naval academies may have been a bigger deal decades ago, in terms of national championship aspirations, but it remains an institution, and occasionally a player from these teams will emerge as a star. Quarterback Roger Staubach, a 1965 Navy grad, famously led the Dallas Cowboys to two Super Bowl victories and landed in the Hall of Fame.

The post Will Fly for Football: Five College Gridiron Matches Near Airports appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

Let me explain. Last weekend, there were two small fly-ins taking place within about 50 miles of my home airport. The plan had originally been to attend one or both of them. Both were scheduled for Sunday, and the weather was looking like it just might cooperate. 

Here, in Wisconsin, fly-ins have achieved some notoriety for being more than just a simple gathering of airplanes. The homebuilding and restoration communities are vibrant. Warbirds and vintage aircraft are commonplace, and the owners of such aircraft love to gather. Additionally, these events usually feature some pretty tasty cook-out cuisine, typically in the form of bratwurst, burgers, and freshly fried fish.

• READ MORE: Relocating Can Be Complicated When Airplanes Are Involved

For all of these reasons, I had been looking forward to a full day of flying around the countryside, admiring beautiful airplanes, and meeting the people who fly and maintain them. But as the day approached, the main meteorological concern shifted from low ceilings to winds that, while not very high, were outside of my personal limitations—by 1.4 knots. In the interest of discipline and safety, I scrapped my plans and dedicated the day to tasks that were far less enjoyable but far more productive. 

Cancellations like this were becoming a pattern, but while frustrating at times, they were entirely a product of my own decisions. It was my decision to rent a hangar at an airport with a runway that’s perpendicular to the prevailing winds. It was my decision to be conservative with regard to my crosswind limitations. And, indeed, it was my decision to purchase a taildragger at all.

Posing the Question 

The latter decision became a point of discussion with a friend recently. Already a helicopter pilot, he was beginning to explore the possibility of purchasing something with fixed wings and then earning that rating. As fun as helicopters are, their insanely high hourly rental rates put a damper on things. 

It was he who posed the question of whether the benefits of owning a tailwheel airplane might be outweighed by the downsides. I had, after all, been canceling flights fairly regularly owing to my conservative crosswind limitation. Through his lens as a prospective owner and mine as a new one, we explored the question.

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A taildragger’s downsides are few in number but pretty consequential in nature. The primary downside is, of course, the lack of stability on the ground as compared with a tricycle-gear airplane. 

In a tricycle-gear aircraft, the airplane naturally wants to align itself with the runway when touching down on the main gear. Imagine trying to push a car door open at highway speeds. It wants to remain closed, and the further you push it, the more strongly it tries to return to a closed position. Simply letting go will restore equilibrium.

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Conversely, it’s possible to salvage a tailwheel landing in which you touch down in an extremely slight crab…on grass, anyway…but the further out of coordination you are, the more difficult it will be to recover. From the perspective of stability, a tailwheel airplane’s lack of stability would be comparable to performing the same car door experiment in a car with so-called “suicide doors,” hinged at the back. 

Crack the door open just a bit, and it will pull outward slightly. Push it open another few inches, and it will take most of your arm strength to hold in position. Each subsequent inch will increase the outward force exponentially until you can no longer hold on. The farther away from neutral you go, the more difficult it becomes to recover. Just like landing a taildragger in a crab.

The Other Downside

The other major (and related) downside to a tailwheel airplane is the higher cost of insurance. I commonly hear new taildragger pilots being quoted around $2,000 per year for insurance on types like the Cessna 170, and less than half that amount for the tricycle-gear 172. This amounts to an approximate $100/month premium for the privilege of flying a taildragger.

Considering these factors, then, what benefits are in play? And looking back, are they worth it? And in my case, has it been worth having to cancel many flights because of crosswinds that would have been manageable in something with a nosewheel?

The Technical Advantages

The actual technical advantages to owning a tailwheel airplane are legitimate, but few apply to my situation as a mediocre private pilot playing around at grass strips in the upper Midwest. The configuration provides more propeller clearance and eliminates the possibility of a gopher hole swallowing a nosewheel and ruining your engine. It also eliminates the possibility of a bad landing damaging the firewall of the airplane. Taildraggers are typically beefier and excluding ground loops, are more resistant to damage from rough surfaces and botched landings.

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Immensely Satisfying

There’s another advantage. One that’s entirely legitimate but nearly impossible to quantify or measure. Because a taildragger demands more involvement from the pilot—more physical and cognitive skill to achieve consistently good landings in varying conditions—they can be immensely satisfying to fly.

The comparison is not unlike that of a car and a motorcycle. Most modern cars are admirably easy to maneuver through sweeping curves at speed. One simply turns the wheel a bit to remain in their lane, and the car’s tires, suspension, and sometimes stability control ensure the driver is left alone to continue composing their text message. Negotiating that curve is easy and efficient. 

The motorcycle, on the other hand, is the tailwheel of road vehicles, far more demanding of the operator and far less forgiving of miscalculations. The motorcycle rider must continually remind themselves to focus farther away as they consider their line through the curve, modifying it as necessary. Along the way, body English is required; some pressure on the outside peg here, a flex of the torso there. The experience is a precisely calibrated and controlled rush, human and machine depending on each other to negotiate whatever challenges lie ahead.

It’s a big price to pay for simply getting through a curve in the road. But to those of us who bask in the ongoing mastery of a machine, it’s hugely satisfying…and addictive. To step back into a tricycle-gear airplane is to dismount the motorcycle and slide back behind the wheel of the car— fun in its own way, but a wholly different experience. 

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It was this difficult-to-quantify quality of taildragger flying that I attempted to convey to my friend. Yes, an airplane with tricycle gear is more logical in most ways. It’s cheaper to own, more forgiving to fly, and quicker to master. It enables you to operate in far more challenging winds. But a taildragger will never leave you feeling unchallenged or bored…and when you hop out and walk away after successfully negotiating a challenging crosswind or a particularly lumpy airstrip, you feel that much more personal satisfaction.

So despite having to regularly cancel planned flights because of my conservative personal crosswind limitations, I think it’s fair to say that I’m happy with my airplane choice. Sure, the learning curve is long and steep, but on the other side are many years exploring all the lush grass strips that pepper the rolling farmlands of Wisconsin and Michigan. And as far as I’m concerned, I’m going to wring every last bit of enjoyment out of the experience.

The post Should Your First Airplane Be a Taildragger? appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

It all started last winter. Fed up with endless frustrations inherent in my public-sector job, I began exploring options in an entirely different career. By spring of this year, I had accepted a new job that is 100 percent remote and allows me to live anywhere. By any measure, it was a huge improvement.

Initially, visions of unbridled freedom filled my head. Shall I leave Wisconsin and move up to the northern Michigan paradise I love so dearly? Or should I move back to live closer to family and friends near Detroit? Then there’s always the possibility of branching out and trying someplace wildly different, with no snow, humidity, or mosquitos at all. The mind boggled at the possibilities, but I ultimately decided I’d like to move back to the area in which I grew up, near Ann Arbor, Michigan.

Certain Accommodations

As I began to scour the various real estate websites, one thing became very clear: Great housing options were easy to find…but great hangar options, not so much. As a single guy with no kids and the ability to fit every last non-motorized personal possession into the footprint of one small car, even the most modest studio apartments or tiny houses would suffice. The airplane, however, demanded certain accommodations.

First and foremost, it would require a good T-hangar. As I would be remaining in a northern climate, an outdoor tie down wouldn’t suffice. I had no interest in clearing snow and ice off of the airplane before every flight, nor did I want to expose the airframe to UV rays and violent, hail-filled thunderstorms.

An open hangar without a front door wouldn’t cut it, either. For lack of a better option, I used one briefly when I first bought the airplane. I wasn’t thrilled about the bird droppings that collected atop the airframe, and I definitely wasn’t thrilled about the idea of various other creatures taking up residences of their own within it. 

No, a decent, fully-enclosed hangar with a concrete floor would be required. Electricity for my engine heater would be necessary for the cold months, and it would have to be an individual T-hangar as opposed to a communal hangar, where the airplane is subject to hangar rash from others. This combination, I came to learn, was an exceedingly rare commodity in the area I was considering. 

To make matters worse, I’d also require an option for landing on grass. I installed a set of tundra tires this year, and operating from hard surfaces quickly chews up the soft rubber. Even ignoring this, however, I simply prefer taking off from and landing on grass, as it’s more forgiving when it comes to taildraggers and crosswinds.

Grass is fun, too. When the conditions are just right, you can open up the side window and use the sound of dandelion heads smacking against the left tire to precisely calibrate your flare and landing. I once took a flight instructor friend up for a ride in a Cessna 152 and did this without revealing my secret. He was mystified at my ability to hammer out one perfect landing after another. I finally came clean about 10 years later and we shared a good laugh.

The requirement for a grass option doesn’t necessitate an actual grass runway. Thanks to the efforts of the Recreational Aviation Foundation (RAF), the FAA recently acknowledged turf operations within runway safety areas. These operations most commonly entail taking off and landing from the grass immediately adjacent to an existing hard-surfaced runway. Good airports that lack a grass runway recognize the benefits and welcome such operations.

My No. 1 airport choice was the airport at which I did all of my primary training: the Ann Arbor Municipal Airport (KARB) about 30 miles west of Detroit, Michigan. It met nearly all of my requirements. The T-hangars were nice and well-maintained, the airport was situated right where I wanted to live, and it was equipped with a 2,750-foot-by-110-foot grass runway that intersects with the main, paved runway. 

However, my excitement was tempered when I learned that there were 33 people on the hangar waiting list. Frustrated, I mailed in a nonrefundable $100 check to secure position No. 34. The owner of the local FBO estimated that it would most likely take more than a year—and possibly as many as three—for me to reach the front of the line. 

Still motivated to find a hangar, I opened up a VFR sectional chart and began working my way outward in an ever-increasing radius. My findings were bleak. Every direction I looked, there were either no T-hangars available, the airports had fallen into disrepair, or my calls were simply never returned. Ann Arbor appeared to be the one and only option that would meet my needs.

Discouraged, I reflected upon what this meant for my living situation. I’d sold my house earlier in the year and had since found an inexpensive apartment, still in the Madison, Wisconsin, area. I was renting a great hangar at a nearby private field with a beautiful, 3,100-foot grass runway. Best of all, I had, over the preceding year, met some really great friends who got together for all kinds of flying adventures pretty regularly.

Although it wasn’t close to my friends and family in Michigan, it was an enviable situation. 

A Lot To Offer

Before long, it occurred to me that I’d only just scratched the surface of what Wisconsin flying had to offer. From lush grass strips, to remote northern destinations near Lake Superior, to uncharted strips in the surrounding counties—potential adventures were in no short supply. 

Even the barren, sub-zero, Arctic-esque winter months had a lot to offer. A couple of years ago, my friends Jim and Ross took me along for some landings on a nearby frozen lake. It was a blast, and now that I had an airplane of my own, I could join them in my own machine.

Exploring frozen lakes can be a really fun winter activity. After confirming the ice is sufficiently thick, usually by the presence of large diesel pickups driving to and from ice-fishing shanties, you can land and park on the ice at the nearest lakeside restaurant. There, you can enjoy some excellent local fish while admiring your airplane against the vivid blue sky and white landscape. 

While I’m sure similar opportunities exist over in Michigan, there’s a certain lakeside fish-fry culture in Wisconsin that makes it particularly enjoyable.

The Airplane Was Steering Me

Gradually, my frustration with my inability to find a good hangar option in Michigan was displaced by visions of autumn and winter flying adventures where I was already living. Sure, I still wanted to move away in the long term. But in the shorter term, if the main problem was that I had to continue exploring my current state with some good friends, well, that’s a good problem to have.

I also reflected on the irony in the greater scheme of things. On any given flight, I steer the airplane to the places I want to go. But when it came to choosing which city and state I wanted to live in, the airplane was steering me. I may have been stuck in limbo, but maybe limbo wasn’t such a bad place to be.

The post Relocating Can Be Complicated When Airplanes Are Involved appeared first on FLYING Magazine.