After starting up, calming my nerves, keying the mic, and receiving my taxi clearance, I joined the slow parade of aircraft taxiing up to the departure point of Runway 27. This looked startlingly familiar to the long lines of aircraft I’ve seen for years on the taxiways at KOSH during the real AirVenture.

Fond memories returned to me of short breaks taken beside the taxiway watching aircraft, a northerly breeze keeping the summer heat in check, puffy white cumulus clouds rolling softly over the field as innumerable one-of-a-kind, rare, and well-loved GA, warbirds, antique, and homebuilt aircraft slowly roll by on their way to go flying.

Although I’m in my home flight simulator, I am excited to be trying this bucket list flight simulator activity, knowing that landing at KOSH this afternoon will be a test of concentration and flying skill as I join my fellow sim pilots in attempting to traverse the famous Fisk arrival. 

Snapping out of this momentary reverie, I receive my clearance from the tower to line up and wait on Runway 27, and then: 

“November 3-8-3-Romeo-Sierra, cleared for takeoff, Runway 2-7.”

• READ MORE: Earning Your Winter WINGS

Then, with as much calm in my voice as I can muster: “Roger, 383RS, cleared for take-off, runway 2-7.” 

Ahead of me, another Cessna 172 is on the upwind, a safe distance ahead. On either side I can see many more GA aircraft waiting their turn to launch, propellers all spinning in anticipation. We are 12 miles due south of KOSH, but my heart rate is up, left hand on the yoke, push the throttle forward, and the takeoff roll begins. A quick glance at the oil pressure, it is in the green, and my airspeed is alive: 30, 40, 50 knots, but no faster—something’s wrong. 

I can hear something is not right with the engine. But this is near impossible as I thought I had turned off major failure modes for the event. Another check of oil pressure—still green. A bit exasperated and running out of runway, I contemplate what it will feel like to botch this takeoff in front of 30 other sim pilots who are probably watching and listening on the radio.

If I don’t figure this out, I will need to abort the takeoff. I have only a few seconds to make the decision when I look across my sim cockpit and spot the culprit of the engine trouble. I leaned the mixture on the long taxi to the takeoff point, and it was still at roughly 50 percent. I jammed the mixture full forward, the engine responded, and the 172 returned to normal acceleration, up through 70 knots. I pulled back on the yoke and cleared the end of the runway to my upwind climb. Certainly an inauspicious start to the most exciting live flight sim event in which I have participated.

Having failed to double-check the mixture, I made a silent promise to myself—no more big mistakes. After all, this is the big live event of the summer for sim pilots. 

With my heart rate settling back to normal and Fond Du Lac fading into the distance behind me, it was time to get ahead and stay ahead of the aircraft. One of my goals for the flight was to hand fly it, which was made easier by the calm weather programmed into the flight simulator. 

I turned the heading bug on my Real Sim Gear G1000 PFD CDI and steered my 172 in a south-westerly direction over the small town of Waupun, Wisconsin. I set my altitude bug for 1,800 feet, per the arrival instructions, and trimmed to maintain the altitude.

• READ MORE: Highlights From FlightSimExpo 2024

Just like in the real world, twins and faster aircraft could opt for the 2,300-foot altitude arrival, but I purposefully chose the slower single-engine piston Cessna 172 Skyhawk, knowing that it would still provide plenty of challenge. Once I reached Waupun, I would turn the aircraft in a north-westerly direction toward the Fisk arrival Transition starting point. This would be revealed as soon as I checked the ATIS, which functioned in this SimVenture event exactly as it does in real-world flying. 

There were a few important differences between the real-world EAA AirVenture Oshkosh arrival and the SimVenture version. To coordinate the same flight sim environment for all participants, pilots were asked to set their simulator weather to CAVU skies, calm winds, and standard pressure altitude of 29.92 on the barometer. This assured that all pilots were flying at the same altitude and that there were no major crosswinds, given the high density of live aircraft in the simulation.  

The most interesting and compelling similarity to the real-world AirVenture experience was the fact that real Oshkosh ATC were controlling all pilots participating in SimVenture. Some of the participating controllers were even using SimVenture to warm up for the real AirVenture environment just like some pilots use simulators to fly routes in advance.

Having some of the real-life KOSH air traffic controllers join the flight simulation community to provide the ultimate full-immersion experience made it a can’t-miss event. Working from their own homes, the controllers were provided with software and access so they could see the activity on their screens and control the sim participants effectively. As soon as I tuned into the ATIS to learn which Fisk arrival transition was in use, I recognized the familiar voice, having watched numerous real-world arrivals on YouTube as part of my preparation.

PilotEdge delivers the integration of the live ATC service with participating sim pilots connecting to the event through their software client. For SimVenture, PilotEdge designated one of the four runways at KOSH for each day, providing incentive for sim pilots to fly the Fisk arrival all four days of the event. For those pilots wishing to be surprised, the runway information can be picked up when listening to ATIS or from the announcements of the approach controllers. Trying to preserve that element of surprise and realism, I briefed all four runways as part of my prep work and felt reasonably prepared for each. 

I experienced some trepidation about how much of the critical scenery I would be able to see out my left window, even at 1,800 feet. Spotting the railroad tracks at Ripon, for example, and picking up Fisk Avenue over the town of Fisk were both critical details. So, a few days before SimVenture, I took a practice flight on my sim from Ripon to Fisk, trying the Fisk Avenue transition first, and then looping back to try the railroad track transition over the gravel pit second.

• READ MORE: Here Are 2 Quick VFR Flights to Try on Your Home Flight Simulator

My justification for this practice flight was simply that I would use my home simulator to do the same thing if I was flying the arrival in real life, so why not get a quick familiarization ahead of the big event? Also, I knew how task-saturated I would feel on the day of SimVenture, and I wanted to ease that a bit. 

I was 10 miles south of the start of the Fisk arrival now and dialed in the SimVenture ATIS, confirming that Puckaway Lake was the selected transition starting point and that Runway 27 was the active arrival runway for the day at KOSH. I then tuned to the Fisk Approach frequency and started to listen to the controller providing a series of directions to aircraft far ahead at the RIPON checkpoint. For now, I turned my attention to the aircraft forming up over the lake. Whatever aircraft I could form up with would become the loose formation that would make the run up the railroad tracks to the town of Fisk, and then on to landing at KOSH. 

When I arrived over Puckaway Lake, the informal formation of aircraft had the organizational qualities of what I remember my middle school dances looking like— a few parts of chaos and a lot of improvisational choreography as we danced with two left feet—trying to find an aircraft of similar size and speed to fly with. It was a group assembly en masse, like a murmuration of starlings but with much more function and a lot less beauty. 

Aircraft of all varieties were moving generally eastward but at a wide range of altitudes and speeds. I counted no fewer than 30 aircraft and did my best to join a small group near the southern edge of the lake. There was a concerted effort among us to order ourselves, with some jockeying for position. I slowed down to 82 knots momentarily to set myself in the back of the flying-V formation that was beginning to take shape. It wasn’t pretty, but we were Oshkosh-bound.  

The next transition point ahead of us was Green Lake. Per the notice, we had until the town of Ripon to form a single file line, and this had to be completed without talking to each other on the radio. All of us were doing our best to balance the many simultaneous tasks of navigating visually, watching out for nearby traffic, holding altitude and airspeed, and listening to the controllers. The leg from Green Lake to RIPON isn’t more than 10 miles, so there wasn’t much time to make it all work. It was odd to be so close to other aircraft but with no direct way to communicate with them. The flying-V shape was holding on the right side, but there was a bevy of aircraft that still needed to sort themselves into order off to my left. 

Farther ahead, the radio was alive with the Fisk Approach controller turning around a group of sim pilots that couldn’t get themselves into a single file. They were receiving the “turn back” instructions, which meant the whole group had to enter a left turn counterclockwise and fly over the northern shore of Green Lake, then fly nearly 20 miles back to the transition point on Puckaway Lake and try the entire process again. In my group, we had 6 miles to go until RIPON and we still had some work to do.  

I used the hat switch on my yoke to move the camera view to my left and right so that I could read our position and progress towards single-file-ness. Satisfied with my relative position to the other aircraft, I clicked the button to return my camera view to straight ahead out my windscreen, and without warning, another single-engine piston aircraft flew directly in front of me from the left, giving me cause to wonder if I would feel the prop wash in sim.

If it had been real life, it would have been a nerve-wracking close call, and I suspect that I could have seen the other pilot’s eye color. I immediately corrected more to the right and tried to slow down by a few knots, wanting to avoid the accordion effect of stacking up the sim pilots behind me. Not an ideal situation, but one I probably should have been expecting given all of the traffic. By now, the frequency was alive with activity from the Fisk Approach controllers, who were exercising equal parts patience and directness. 

Soon we were on the doorstep of the RIPON transition, and I began looking for the railroad tracks that would lead us to Fisk. I was confident that I could see the tracks from 1,800 feet, having run the practice flight a few days before. I was glad I had done so since Route 44 runs closely alongside and can be visually mistaken in the sim environment if glanced at casually.

Our informal gaggle of aircraft formed a decent single-file line of four, and we made it to RIPON without getting sent back to the end of the line. The others in our group had pressed ahead, probably at faster than 90 knots. No matter. I double-checked my altitude, airspeed, engine instruments, fuel remaining, and that I was still tracking correctly over the railroad just out of my left window.

This feature first appeared in the July/August Issue 949 of the FLYING print edition.

The post SimVenture Adventure Doesn’t Disappoint appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

The mass arrivals in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, begin on Friday, July 19, at 11 a.m. CST with the Piper Cherokees. Later at 5 p.m., the Cessnas will make the scene. On Saturday, July 21, at 10 a.m., the Mooney contingent will arrive, followed at 1 p.m. by the Bonanzas. On Sunday, July 21, at 10 a.m., the Cirrus group arrives.

How to Get Involved

These group aircraft arrivals are organized by specific type clubs well in advance of the annual aviation convention. To participate, you need to be registered, as there are a limited number of spaces available in the mass arrivals. Move quickly on this since reservations fill up rapidly.

Pilots are also required to attend a flight clinic and to be very familiar with the multipage Notice to Air Mission (NOTAM) issued each year for AirVenture.

• READ MORE: Dates for Next 4 EAA AirVenture Conventions Announced

The mass arrival aircraft stage from an airport near Oshkosh’s Wittman Regional Airport (KOSH).

For pilots who aren’t going to be part of the mass arrival, the times of these events are published in the EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2024 NOTAM to help with planning. You do not want to cut in line and disrupt the mass arrival—that’s like cutting in on a funeral procession. Just don’t do it.

More information on EAA AirVenture can be found here.

The post AirVenture Announces Group Arrivals appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

Even before the last aircraft had left the hallowed ground of Wittman Regional Airport (KOSH),

many visitors to the world’s largest general aviation event knew they had been part of something massive and unprecedented.

Dick Knapinski, EAA’s director of communications, validated this by supplying the numbers that marked this year’s fly-in convention.

• READ MORE: Oshkosh 2023 In Pictures

Number of visitors: 677,000

That’s a record total, up from the previous mark of 650,000 set in 2022.

Total aircraft: More than 10,000 arrived at Wittman and other airports in east-central Wisconsin.

According to EAA, there were 21,883 aircraft operations from July 20 through 30 at KOSH alone.

To break it down further, that’s approximately 148 takeoffs and landings per hour during the airport’s hours of operation.

Showplanes for Viewing

A total of 3,365 aircraft made the scene, including:

• 1,497 vintage aircraft
• 1,067 homebuilt aircraft
• 194 ultralights
• 134 seaplanes and amphibians
• 52 aerobatic aircraft
• 41 rotorcraft
• 380 warbirds

The People Numbers

More than 13,000 campsites, both the drive-in and fly-in variety, were booked, housing an estimated 40,000 visitors.

It is well known that AirVenture could not run without its army of volunteers. This year more than 5,500 helped out, contributing in excess of 250,000 hours.

The display hangars and showgrounds were stuffed with commercial exhibits, 848 in all.

Learning took place with more than 1,400 forums, information sessions, and presentations hosted throughout the week.

For 2023, international visitors returned in a big way, with 2,372 attendees registering at the International Visitors Tent from a record-tying 93 countries outside the U.S.

EAA officials were left impressed by the numbers. 

“We had record-setting totals of campers, exhibitors, volunteers, and more,” said EAA CEO and chairman Jack Pelton. “It was also a challenging year at times with weather, logistics, and other factors, which makes me even more proud of the efforts by our volunteers and staff to organize an outstanding event.”

AirVenture is a popular platform for product and aircraft introduction, two aspects that would be lost were it not for the vast media presence on site. This year there were 863 media representatives in attendance, representing six continents.

Virtual Visitors

Those who couldn’t make the actual trek to Oshkosh did so virtually, as social media and internet and mobile traffic registered that more than 18.3 million people tapped into EAA’s social media channels. That’s a whopping 78 percent increase from 2022.

The Gathering Shines

It was a good year for the EAA Aviation Foundation’s Gathering of Eagles, the annual event that raises funds to support aviation education programs. More than 1,000 people attended, raising more than $2 million that will be focused on EAA’s mission of growing participation in aviation.

It is well known that AirVenture is an economic engine for Oshkosh and the surrounding communities. According to a 2017 economic study from the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh, the economic impact was estimated to be $170 million for the five counties in the Oshkosh region: Winnebago, Outagamie, Fond du Lac, Calumet, and Brown.

According to Pelton, planning begins soon for AirVenture 2024.

“We are already looking at a number of big activities, including the 100th anniversary of the Royal Canadian Air Force,” he said. “Plenty of ideas have also been forwarded to us from EAA members and others that will be part of the planning for 2024.”

The dates for the 2024 EAA AirVenture are July 22 through 28.

The post AirVenture 2023 by the Numbers appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

While heliports figure to do some of the legwork, the U.S. will require more vertiports designed specifically for eVTOL aircraft. Volatus Infrastructure, one of the firms building those airfields, on Tuesday announced its third planned vertiport at Greenport International Airport (GIA), a sustainable airport project currently under construction near Austin, Texas.

Volatus’ letter of intent with Greenport builds on the firm’s commitments to construct vertiports at Wittman Regional Airport (KOSH) in Oshkosh, Wisconsin and Bellefonte Airport (KN96) in Pennsylvania. The company also has strategic agreements with eVTOL manufacturers such as SkyDrive, Air, and Plana to allow them to use its facilities and will be the exclusive vertiport provider for eVTOL fleet management company EVFly.

Each Volatus vertiport will receive eVTOL traffic management services from Embraer’s Eve Air Mobility and will be outfitted for drone delivery services through a partnership with Valqari. Agreements with real estate companies such as JLL, meanwhile, will support the company’s efforts to open more locations across the U.S.

Volatus’ Greenport vertiport is expected to open in early 2024.

“This partnership is revolutionary for the AAM industry,” said Grant Fisk, co-founder of Volatus and a member of the National Air Transportation Association’s AAM Committee. “Greenport is going to set the tone and create standards for the U.S. vertiport market by being one of the first FAA-compliant, fully operational eVTOL vertiports open.”

Greenport International Airport—a 2,600-acre project under construction in Bastrop County, Texas, 17 miles outside Austin—is expected to be “fully sustainable off-grid” and privately owned and operated. It will feature a 10,000-foot runway, 2.9 million square feet of hangar space, and now a vertiport, primarily serving large business jets and AAM aircraft.

The airport will be surrounded by the 2,800-acre Greenport International Technology Center, a corporate campus with 9 million square feet of data center space and research and development facilities. Both projects are supported by real estate developer CBRE Group and Carpenter and Associates, a local corporation that first unveiled the concept in 2010.

Greenport also has its share of detractors, who claim the development would pose a danger or nuisance to local residents. They add that the decision to undertake the project was made without public input. And interestingly, opponents say the airport may actually harm the environment.

CBRE and Carpenter and Associates did not immediately respond to FLYING’s request for comment.

Greenport is billed as “the world’s first green airport,” but others claim they have already achieved net-zero operations.

Swedavia, a Swedish airport group, eliminated Scope 1 and 2 emissions at 10 facilities in 2020, reaching net-zero airport operations. The group does not address Scope 3 emissions, which come from aircraft themselves. But Airports Council International (ACI) Europe lists Swedavia as the only operator to achieve the organization’s net-zero goals.

Vertiports, like the ones Volatus plans to build, could speed international aviation sustainability goals by promoting the use of electric aircraft.

In June 2021, ACI World, its five member regions, and its 1,950 member airports committed to reaching net-zero carbon emissions from airport operations by 2050. Industry leaders at the National Business Aviation Association Business Aviation Convention and Exhibition would announce the same target a few months later.

This spurred the U.S. to roll out its own “net-zero by 2050” goal in November 2021. The following April, the FAA got involved, partnering with U.S. airports to eliminate carbon emissions from airport operations. The U.K., too, is targeting zero-emissions airport operations by 2040.

In fact, 235 airports across 29 European countries pledged to do away with carbon emissions in 2021, a number that expanded to over 300 airports last month. Of those, 132 are set to fully decarbonize by 2030.

ACI World publicly promoted the International Air Transport Association’s Net-Zero Roadmaps, released in June, as a model for airports making the switch. It also teamed with the World Economic Forum to launch the Airports of Tomorrow initiative, which aims to bring together public and private stakeholders committed to reducing airport emissions.

Volatus and Greenport, though, may offer a complementary solution: constructing a net-zero airfield from the ground up. So far, no airport operator has launched carbon-free operations from the jump. But, if construction stays on schedule for early 2024, that could soon change.

The post Volatus to Add Vertiport to Texas ‘Green Airport’ Project appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

Answer: 

Practice reading notice to air missions (NOTAMs) because for  EAA AirVenture, there is a huge one. The NOTAM is released a month or so in advance. It comes in PDF form, and it’s often more than 30 pages long. The NOTAM contains all the information a pilot flying into and out of AirVenture needs. There are arrival and departure procedures, radio frequencies, details about Wittman Regional Airport (KOSH), notes on parking, and so on. The NOTAM is updated yearly. Study it and print it out in a hard copy and have it in the cockpit just in case your tablet—if you are an e-document pilot—fails.

• READ MORE: How Do I Report Braking Action?

Pay special attention to communications procedures. Because there are so many pilots and aircraft in the area during the event you need to keep your radio calls brief and to the point—the NOTAM has pointers on that too—and expect to rock your wings.

As far as flying techniques go, practice that wing rock—and staying coordinated—because it’s easy to get squirrely doing that. Also, practice your spot landings, because at AirVenture it’s all about landing on the green dot, the red dot, etc. You don’t want to be the pilot who messes it up for everyone else.

• READ MORE: Should You Add Flaps Mid-Takeoff on a Short Runway?

As an added layer of protection, you may want to find another pilot to fly in with, perhaps even a CFI who is experienced with going into these big airshows. Have them come along as a second set of eyes during the great adventure.

Do you have a question about aviation that’s been bugging you? Ask us anything you’ve ever wanted to know about aviation. Our experts in general aviation, flight training, aircraft, avionics, and more may attempt to answer your question in a future article.

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