C2O Mass Arrival to Oshkosh

How can you make Oshkosh more fun and flying into OSH safer at the same time? Read on…….

This year in planning to fly into Oshkosh I found what I thought would be a safer way to fly in instead of using the required Fisk arrival routes. Last spring (March 2010 timeframe) I found the Cessnas 2 Oshkosh (C2O) website and signed up after reviewing their info. C2O organizes the Cessna mass arrival and is sponsored by Cessna Pilots Association. It is a formation flight arrival which was limited to 75 aircraft for 2010. To participate, each pilot is required to attend a 1 day formation flying clinic, and to attend the pre-flight briefing just prior to the formation flight departure to Oshkosh. C2O had several formation flight clinics this year around the country, which were free except for the cost to get there and stay overnight if necessary. The departure airport for the formation flight to Oshkosh is Dodge County airport about 40 miles south of Oshkosh.

Due to the flooding and wet camp grounds, we were not able to land the planes at Oshkosh this year. We were scheduled to fly in on Saturday, 7/24, so instead of landing we did a formation fly-over with 25 planes participating, and then returned to Dodge Co. In all there were 58 planes that arrived at Dodge Co. for the mass arrival. We had three Cardinal RG join the mass arrival, and we were all grouped together in one flight element for the formation fly-over. (And, thanks to Jim Perkins and Andy Pawlish in N7568V, I now have two gorgeous pictures of my plane in flight.)

After flying the formation flight, I’ve decided it’s the only way I will fly into Oshkosh in the future. (I did fly into Oshkosh the following Saturday, 7/31, via the Fisk arrival. Something I’m not excited about doing again; too many unknowns and aircraft all at once.) The C2O mass arrival is coordinated with the EAA, and is approved via a letter of agreement with the FAA. For the mass arrival the Oshkosh airport is closed to all other traffic, so that eliminates the biggest safety concerns I have for flying in, so many other airplanes and not knowing what they may do. Because all the pilots in the mass arrival have been trained and attended the flight briefing, there’s little question what the other planes may do, where they are, or where they may turn. For the formation flight, all the planes are matched up in flight elements of 3 planes of similar performance, and the planes in each element are flown at safe 4 wing-spans distance. The gap between elements is 1/2 mile, with wider gaps in between some to compensate for higher performance aircraft elements flown at higher speeds.

At the end of the formation fly-over on 7/24, the landing back at Dodge Co. was something to behold; 25 planes all landing on the same 5,000’ runway in rapid sequence. (The planes are landed one at a time; the 3-plane elements go into trail formation about 4 miles from the airport.) There were usually four planes on the runway taxiing on the ‘cold’ (up-wind) side to the end while the fifth was landing. All 25 planes were landed within about 10 minutes, with only one going around. The biggest hang-up was the taxi-way backing up; becoming filled faster than the first planes could taxi back to the ramp.

I suspect some of the above descriptions sound a bit un-nerving to some; it would to me. However, the formation flight training, the pre-flight briefings, and the overall organization by the C20 folks are exemplary. Their primary focus is on safety. One of the organizers, Rodney Swanson, flies formations daily for work, and does most of the planning for the actual flights, as well as the briefings. This organization and focus on safety makes the formation flight a true joy.

Because of the wet grounds at Oshkosh, C2O got a U-haul and busses and we all loaded up our camping gear and moved to Oshkosh North 40 on Sunday, 7/25. Camping with this group turned out to be some of the highlights of the week. CPA provided a large tent for group functions, C2O provided a BBQ Sunday night, and Cessna, CPA, and several other sponsors came by on subsequent nights with drawings for some great prizes. A couple nights there were movies in the tent and each morning there was a group breakfast. Looking back it is really amazing that three guys, Rodney, Craig and Gil living hundreds of miles apart, can put together and coordinate such a successful gathering, do it with such a focus on safety, and deal with all the last minute complications; such as the flooded grounds at Sloshkosh this year.

On Saturday 7/31, Rodney told me that he has gotten approval from the FAA for an unlimited number of Cessna’s to join in the C2O Mass Arrival for 2011. I’d sure like to see a whole bunch of those being Cardinals. I’m sure planning on being one of them.

Here’s the link to the C2O website for anyone interested:
http://www.cessnas2oshkosh.com

Shirts and Lost & Found

Hey Guys,

Sue and I collected a few items left forgotten in the Big Tent. They have been delivered to our Cessnas 2 Oshkosh Lost & Found Department. Once we catch our breath, we will mail them to their respective owners.

Among them is a pouch that looks like a cell phone case labeled "GANDEE". Heads up Chief Chef Jim!

We also have Ms. Jeanette's Oshkosh hoody which Miss Gabi Swanson turn in to us at Juneau. Heads up, the other Jim, Haley.

There's maybe more stuff, but we haven't finished unpacking and sorting all the stuff yet.

Those of you who signed up and didn't show up for whatever reason, and paid for your shirts, will be getting them in the mail soon. Give us a few days.

Stay tuned,

Our Return Trip from Sloshkosh

Good to be back home! We had an interesting return trip. We didn't leave OSH on Friday until after 2:00 pm, made it into Juneau at around 3:30 pm and couldn't get the plane loaded until late. Before we knew, it was already 5:00 pm before we could takeoff. For Sue and me it would have meant a landing at White Plains at 1:30 AM. We decided to spend the night in Watertown. Thank God we made that decision. I'll explain later.

We had a nice dinner with Alex, Gabi and Rodney and went to bed early. Next day, got up at 6:00, breakfast with Alex, Gabi and Rodney, bumped into Jim Blackman, one of our pilots from Ontario who finally made it to Sloshkosh, and off we went.

After taking care of one last thing, we took off IFR and broke out at 3,500. A minute later cancelled IFR and continued VFR. First fuel stop, Wood County Airport (1G0) in Bowling Green, OH. The line boy was by himself, obviously inexperienced, and overwhelmed by the OSH crowd. He topped off my tanks instead of pumping only 13 gallons in each side as I had asked. He didn't know what to do and almost had a meltdown. I had to teach him (which I love to do) how to cut a piece off a rubber garden hose and sucked the excess gas into 5 gallon gas containers. Sue and I got in the crew car and went to eat Mexican fast food (Chipotle, not bad at all) while the boy cleared with his manager my refund. We came back and took off into a high overcast and stayed at 3,500.

Then came the excitement. While flying inside the Cleveland Bravo at 3,500 the "VOLTS" light in the annunciator panel began to flicker and the ALT FLD breaker popped out. I ran the electrical failure checklist twice with no luck. Called Cleveland Approach, told them we were switching to handheld and asked them to keep us on flight following using our primary radar target. They were cool with that and I shut everything down. Flew to Youngstown, Ohio, an ANG base, landed on runway 14 (the longest) with six emergency vehicles awaiting us. I didn't ask for them. In fact, when the controller asked me if I needed assistance, I just said: Yes, I need a mechanic, I have no electrical power and I need the longest runway in case I can't deploy flaps. ATC and ground crew were dolls. Good kids handling the FBO but no mechanic on the field until Monday. The only one who was willing to come and check the airplane wanted $470, just to come to the airport ($120 per hour, 3.5 hour minimum plus $50 for the house call), and he didn't have an alternator or regulator in stock. I called Jim Andres and Rodney, who called Ben Dubois, one of our pilots and A&P in the area. After pondering their advice, I decided to spend the night in Youngstown.

This morning we got up at 5:00 AM and headed for the airport, charged the battery, took off at 8:00 AM and flew 3.3 hours to Westchester County Airport (HPN). Everything went well, used the handheld for all communications and used the airplane battery to run the transponder for 5 minutes while in the YNG Delta airspace. Flew the rest of the flight NORDO and did quite a bit of scud running but always VMC. Upon reaching the edge of the New York Bravo Airspace, fired up the battery, turn on one com and the transponder, called NY Approach and 5 minutes later was on final to Rwy 11 at HPN. Two hours earlier I texted Dmitry and he met us at the airport. I unloaded the plane and dropped Sue off. My son Marcos was also awaiting us at the airport and he took Sue and the load of crap home while Dmitry and I flew in formation to FOK in Long Island to drop my plane at my mechanic's place. He took me back to HPN and then flew to Danbury. I'll find out tomorrow what's wrong with my plane, but I've already talked to Craig Chipley and got his advice on what alternator brand to buy, if I need one.

When I got home, Sue's mom had a great meal of rice and beans, platanos and carnita ready for us. I just finished it, and it was only after that great meal that I got enough energy to write this post. Now I'm ready for a shower and bed.

I had a blast this past 10 days. Saw good friends again and met really nice people. Rodney, Craig and I are already conspiring for next year's event. We have agreed on a few things already. But you all will have to wait a few months to find out.

Cessnas 2 Oshkosh 2010 Group Picture

Photo by Jim Pearce

Thanks to all the courageous and perseverant pilots, relatives and friends who have kept the faith and have made this year event an unforgettable one.

UHaul2Oshkosh

We're on the ground in Oshkosh, with our virtual planes all around us. Our actual planes are still parked at KUNU (thanks, Wisconsin Aviation!!).

Cessna Base Camp is in front of the large Cessna Welcome banner at the west end of Rwy 9/27. We had our delicous catered BBQ last night, and are looking forward to the meet-and-greet with Cessna/Textron at lunch today.

Our generous sponsors supplied some great door prizes which were given away last night. My winning streak is going through a slump -- nothing for me.

The new griddle was put to use this morning to cook up a delicious breakfast. Donations collected during each morning's breakfast are being used to fund the next morning's breakfast. Mmmm.

July 25, 2010 1700Z

Cessnas 2 Oshkosh 2010 Update

Our general brief has concluded. Cessnas 2 Oshkosh 2010 will conduct a showcase flyover OSH with the participation of 35 aircraft.

This is the sequence of events for the day:

1800Z Flight Brief

1930Z Cessna Flight Launch to Oshkosh

2000Z Buses Arrive UNU

2100Z Cessna Flight Trail Landing Juneau

2200Z Buses Leave for Oshkosh

2300Z Cessnas 2 Oshkosh Camp goes up in the North 40

Stay tuned!

July 25, 2010 1400Z

Cessnas 2 Oshkosh 2010 Update

We would like to thank every one of our pilots, relatives, friends and sponsors who have supported us through this difficult crisis caused by mother nature.

EAA and FAA have cancelled all mass arrivals for Sunday, and even the chance of a Monday July 26 arrival is in serious question. As a result, we have come up with an alternative plan for our Cessnas 2 Oshkosh 2010 celebration.

Today, July 25 at 1600Z we will disseminate the definitive plan which has already been drawn and is waiting on one critical piece of information.

Our normally relaxed timeline will be greatly compressed today. We need everybody standing by their message receiving device (i.e. computer or cell phone) between now and 1600Z to receive the definitive timeline of todays events. If you are, or plan to be at Juneau today, you need to be here by 1600Z (11:00 CDT).

Thank you for your patience, support and solidarity during these most difficult times.

Successful CessnasOverOshkosh today

The FAA let us overfly the field this evening around 5:30. Rodney suggested this idea to the FAA tower and they thought it'd be a great idea (we think they're bored :-).

25 airplanes did the dry run (pun intended) and scooted down Runways 36L and 36R at 1200AGL. We then returned, still in formation, to our temporary base camp at KUNU.

During the overflight, we were all able to see first-hand that the turf parking areas are empty, empty, empty.

We're hoping to do another overflight tomorrow (Sunday), and I believe they'll let us in on the ground on Monday. Time will tell.

Good Morning Guys!

Thanks for the kind words of encouragement. God only knows how much we need them.

We're still waiting to hear from FAA/EAA. The morning meeting has now extended over an hour. It is still going on. We'll have some info soon after. Stay tuned.

We had a nice pancake breakfast by the local EAA chapter and are now waiting on pizza for lunch.

Planes keep coming. I just saw Mike Madlener, in his 172RG and Laura Tweed in her 182 land. They came all the way from New Mexico! Talk about courage and enthusiasm!

We'll continue to post here and tweet (message via Twitter for the technology-challenged :grin:) as often as we get info to share.

Stay tuned!

Saturday, July 23, 13:30 CDT

Attention All Cessnas 2 Oshkosh Pilots:

We have just received notice from top officials at FAA and EAA informing us that all mass arrivals scheduled for Saturday July 24th have been cancelled.

Cessnas 2 Oshkosh will continue ahead with all the planned ground activities at Juneau and Oshkosh.

Top officials at FAA and EAA will issue the next official notice regarding plans for Sunday at 18:00 CDT.

The July Issue of The Pirep Was Published

Check your inbox, junk or spam folders for the 2010 fourth issue of The Pirep, Cessnas 2 Oshkosh newsletter.

In it you will find very important information about how to make your arrival and stay in Juneau a safe one, links to our mass arrival routes, our schedule of activities for the extended weekend and useful hints on camping at Juneau and the North 40.

This is very important information to be included in your pre-flight planning before you launch for Juneau.

Ten days and counting...

See you in Juneau!

Surviving C2O and North 40 Camping

This will be my first time flying in and camping at Air Venture. I started this blog to solicit ideas that will help me survive the North 40 and C2O. I’ve heard a few good tips as I spoke to people (Gil Velez) but I am sure that there are many more tips that will improve my experience and more importantly, my wife’s experience!
Feel free to add your suggestions for all to read. Here are a few that I have heard:

Bring 8x2 boards to put under the tires
Make external control surface locks that mechanically block the surfaces, especially the rudder.
Purchase the camping days for more that you plan on using then get a rebate on the day you leave.

I have a few questions:
What is the best placement of your tent in relation to the aircraft and also is it a good idea to put a tarp over the wing with the tent underneath?
How do you keep drinks and food cold? Obviously coolers are the way to go but how accessible is ice?
I understand that they usually get a few heavy rain days but does the ground in the North 40 drain well or do I need a contingency plan (ie hotel)?

Oshkosh clinic went great

The Oshkosh clinic went very well. We did have a late start and at least one pilot not make it due to weather. Friday night the fog was forecast to lift by 6 a.m. It didn't actually lift until about 9:30.

While flying the 27 approach, the ceiling was significantly lower over Lake Winnebago. I was IMC at MDA, then broke out just before the MAP. Dropped in full flaps and landed way down the runway. Within an hour it was 9 miles and SKC.

Dick L arrived just before it cleared and Jim M had diverted to Madison. He flew in when we called and let him know it was now VMC.

After our late start, we had a great ground session in the Batten Board Room. I don't think you could have a better meeting room for an aviation meeting. There was a model (about 1/8 scale) of a Pitts in the center of the table which we actually used during the presentation and the windows looked out on Pioneer airport.

After the ground presentation, we had a break, then briefed the practice session. On the way back to the Weeks hangar, we picked up Subway and ate while discussing sight lines and distances. With only three aircraft, we conducted our practice as flight of three. The exercise during our briefing of figuring out how to make the lead changes safely was also a good learning event. (We had chalk 3 take over lead, then the new chalk 3 cross under from Echelon left to a V formation.)

Despite our late start, by combining lunch with the ramp portion, and only having to conduct one practice flight, we were able to have everyone on the way home by 5:00.

Our hosts from EAA and Basler were excellent. The Kermit Weeks hangar was just as interesting as the museum itself (at least for pilots). The hangar is the EAA maintenance facility. They had the P-51 from the museum in the hangar, the EAA photo ship (an early model 210 with the small passenger door in the rear removed for photo taking), the Bleiriot XI replica EAA is building (http://www.eaa.org/news/2010/2010-01-21_bleriot.asp), and various Trimotor and B-17 engines and spare parts, and several other aircraft. Basler graciously shuttled us between the hangar and EAA plus had some of the most inexpensive fuel around.

If there is interest and we can work out a date, I am open to hosting a second clinic. Looking at my schedule for the rest of the summer, it would have to be in Waukesha. If anyone else is interested, please send C2O a message (https://www.cessnas2oshkosh.com/contact2010.aspx).

Important Announcement: We Will Not Have A Training Clinic In Juneau This Year

We urge each and every pilot planning to fly the mass arrival in July to register and participate in a training clinic as soon as possible. Make plans to attend the clinic nearest you and meet the training requirement to fly the arrival now. Do not wait until the last day.

Camp cooking (gluten-free)

One of my favorite things about Oshkosh is camp cooking. Please send me email if you would be interested in collaborating: mike@mwilt.org . With >100 people in this community there is even a pretty good chance of finding some people who need to avoid gluten. Please don't post follow-ups to this post just yet; I will summarize the responses.

Mike

Michael Wilt
C210B N9648X

Formation Flying Clinic - from a non-pilot's view

I recently attended the formation flying clinic at Wings Airport, April 24, 2010 with my significant other, Rod Reeves. As a non-pilot I wasn't too sure what to expect and then, would I even understand what is being taught? I encourage anyone that will be in the plane during the formation flying to attend the clinic. Below is a copy of the letter I sent to Gil Velez, our clinic instructor.

Hi, Gil -

It was great meeting you!

I am glad I went to the clinic with Rod. Even as a non-pilot, I was able to understand the morning portion of the clinic - positioning of the planes to eliminate prop wash, downwind, route formation, close formation, trail formation, etc. Where I got a little lost was on the briefing right before the actual flight portion of the clinic but I get a little lost when it comes to talk on the headings, and such anyways. I do understand the concept of it all though.

I did not think the length was too long as I was learning new things - I don't know how I would feel if I've done it before. But, it's always good to refresh if it's something that's not done all the time.

I feel safer doing the formation flying now that I've attened the clinic and feel I can be another set of eyes for Rod. I can watch the instruments checking altitude, speed and even our position while he is watching the lead, or checking the chalk positions if we are the lead. Having attended the clinic it will help me when Rod asked me to watch or do a specific thing - I will know what he's talking about.

Craig Johnston was great as our safety pilot. Calm and when giving instructions he explained the why part of it - which Rod liked. It helped me too.

I was glad to be included in the debriefing. You all were encouraging and gave the pilots a positive attitude even knowing that improvement is needed! Rod and I had our own debriefing after we got back (which I recommend) and we've already watched the video a couple of times!

All-in-all, it gave me a greater appreciation and understanding of formation flying. It's not as easy as the Blue Angels or Thunderbirds make it out to be! We are glad we are going to be a part of it at Oshkosh.

My recommendation to anyone that is going to be a passenger in a plane that is doing the formation flying, attend the clinic. Sitting in the back seat observing having a hands on experience prior to the actual fly-in will make the formation fly-in that much safer and fun!

Bobbi Donley

Cessnas 2 Oshkosh Training Webinar

We are doing a webinar on Wednesday, April 14th at 8:00 PM EDT for formation flight training clinic host, lead and safety pilots. The main goal of this meeting is to reinforce the principle of standardization of the training of pilots participating in the Cessnas 2 Oshkosh Mass Arrival into AirVenture on Saturday, July 24th at 2:30 PM CDT. The webinar will last approximately 2 hours.

The growth of our roster of pilots and the geographic spread of our pilot base has made it impossible for our organizers and lead pilots to travel to every home base airport to organize and supervise every clinic. We are experiencing the natural growing pains that every successful organization goes through during the growth process. This webinar, and the ones that will follow, may not be the only and definitive solution, but it is a very good start. We want to convey to each one of you and to all our pilots that safety is our main concern and that we are serious about managing the intrinsic risk that formation flying carries. We want our formation flight and arrival to be a great fun-filled flying experience, free of worries for our pilots and their families.

We will start the meeting with a brief introduction of the program and the interactive process by Gil Velez, immediately followed by a presentation by our Director of Training and Operations. Rodney will review the most important points of the training slide presentation and provide tips on how best to communicate the information to the trainees during local clinics. Every few slides he will pause to take questions from the audience and for participants to share their own experience. Needless to say, we want this process to be as interactive as possible, and expect participants to prepare for the meeting ahead of time. We are not going to lecture the audience.

Some of the topics that participants in the meeting should expect are: organization and hosting of a clinic, recruitment of safety pilots, the practice flight briefing and debriefing, safety concerns such as runway width, communication among pilots in a formation flight and between flight leads and ATC, and whatever topic participants bring to the table.

Fort Collins/Loveland, CO Clinic Shaping Up

I'm finalizing plans for the Rocky Mountain Clinic on May 8. I've created a map with locations on the KFNL airport here. We're using the Modular Building (that's its official name, really!) for our classroom, so we can only accomodate 100 participants or so... :-)

We'll start at 9am on Saturday, May 8. We'll import the food around lunchtime -- plan on about $10 for food.

The FNL Jet Center has graciously offered a $.50/gallon fuel discount for clinic participants.

Local Knowledge
When flying in, you'll hear many radio calls referencing Fort-Love Traffic. Please don't be pulled to the Dark Side -- the official radio designation is Fort Collins-Loveland Traffic. And when people report their position over Walmart, they're referring to the gargantuan warehouse about three miles southeast of the field.

If you have any questions about this clinic, you can contact me at eightdeltamike@gmail.com. I look forward to seeing you there!

Oskosh Clinic Transportation finalized

I have arranged for our transportation from the Weeks hangar to EAA and back.

The maintenance manager at the Weeks hangar had said that EAA would probably have a vehicle, but EAA is already doing a lot for us (Those rental rates on the board room are the actual rates, but they aren't charging us for their use.) so I didn't want to ask for anymore.

Basler has a van and they are willing to transport us. Please plan on buying fuel from them. They have self-serve just a little ways down the ramp from the Weeks hangar or they can bring it to us in their truck. Their prices are very competitive, currently $4.09 Self-serve Guaranteed on Airnav. (Full service is $4.29)

They will plan on picking us up just before 9:00 a.m. and bring us back to the hangar when we call them.

Everything seems to be falling in place. This is going to be a great clinic.

I know we have three pilots including myself planning on attending, we could still use some safety pilots.

Down Memory Lane

If you want to reminisce a little, watch this video that I rediscovered while searching the EAA Video Player archive.

You will see interviews with Rodney Swanson, Bill Palone and Rick Kitsworth. I had a link to that video on our original website in 2008 but the link to EAA video stopped working. It is now back.

To watch the video (3:16), click on the image above, click on the 2006 tab of the EAA Video Player and select the third video from the top.

I think that we should get a list going of things that C2O needs for the Base Camp Tent. I can make a trip to the storage unit in early June.

1 Shelving unit

Wisconsin Clinic Details Finalized

After several months of phone tag and chasing, I finally have something finalized for a clinic in Wisconsin.

The Wisconsin clinic will be at Wittman Regional Airport (KOSH) in Oshkosh. The meeting will be in the Batten Board Room at EAA Headquarters. Ramp operations will be at the Kermit Weeks Hangar on the north side of the airport. This is the where EAA maintains their aircraft and where the airshow performers park their aircraft during Airventure. Transportation between the ramp and the meeting place will be provided.

This is a great opportunity to bring the whole family. While dad (or mom) is attending the clinic, the rest of the family can visit the EAA Airventure Museum when it isn't nearly as crowded as it is during Airventure.

Lodging is especially convenient at KOSH. The Best Western Garden Inn is a through the fence facility. They have their own ramp on the northwest corner of the airport. There are many other lodging choices within a mile or two of the airport.

Click here to register for the Oshkosh Clinic if your are already registered to fly the mass arrival or click here to register to fly the mass arrival and sign up for the clinic using the registration form.

Please note, this clinic was initially listed as the Waukesha Clinic. That's because my home airport, Waukesha, was the backup location. I had always been working to have it at EAA - Oshkosh, and now is final. I will need some experienced C2O pilots to serve as safety pilots, so if you can make it, please let me know.

Dothan Formation Flight Training Clinic

Our first Dothan Formation Flight Training Clinic in preparation for our mass arrival on July 24th, will take place on April 3rd at Dothan Regional Airport (KDHN) in Dothan, Alabama. The clinic will start at 9:00 AM CDT. Participants will meet at FlightLine of Dothan. Please mark your calendar, if you haven’t done so yet. Rodney Swanson, our Director of Training and Operations will be the host and lead pilot for the clinic.

Register to participate in the Dothan Formation Flight Training Clinic as soon as possible. Among other things, we need to have a precise head count to plan the practice flights and pair each first-time pilot with an experienced safety pilot.

If you have already registered to fly the arrival this year, register to attend the clinic by following this link: Clinic Registration. If you have not registered to fly the arrival yet, you may register for the arrival and the clinic at the same time by following this link: Mass Arrival Registration.

To prepare for the clinic and save ground “classroom” time, review the Formation Flight Slide Presentation prepared by Rodney Swanson, our Director of Training and Operations, available on our website, or by following this link: Rodney's Slide Presentation. As questions come to mind, make a written or mental note of it, and bring your questions to the clinic. We’ll make the ground presentation an interactive one. In addition, download the Formation Flight and Practice Waiver and the Formation Briefing Card which you may find on our website or by following this link: Formation Flight and Practice Waiver and the Formation Briefing Card. You should bring these documents with you to the clinic. Bring one formation waiver for you and one for each passenger flying the practice flights. Bring as many formation briefing cards as you want.

Please try to be on the ground at FlightLine of Dothan by 8:30 AM CDT for coffee and donuts, and get acquainted with your fellow pilots. The clinic will start on time at 9:00 AM CDT. Following is a preliminary program for the day. Rodney will send each registered pilot the final program for the day within 7 to 10 days.

09:00 - 10:30   Ground (“classroom”) Slide Presentation
10:30 - 10:45   Coffee Break
10:45 - 11:15   Ramp Exercise
11:15 - 11:45   Questions and Answers
11:45 - 12:30   Practice Flight Briefing
12:30 - 13:00   Lunch Break
13:00 - 13:45   First Practice Flight
13:45 - 14:30   Second Practice Flight
14:30 - 15:00   Practice Flights Debriefing
15:00 - 15:15   Wrap-up & Good By

Don’t miss this opportunity to enjoy a fun-filled flying day, sharpen your pilot skills, and meet one of the requirements to fly the Cessnas 2 Oshkosh Mass Arrival.

Cessnas 2 Oshkosh Training Post 1

Mike’s 03/20/10 post about training was excellent and brought to the table some very important practical points. I would like to emphasize some of these points and add a couple of my own, if I may. Due to time constraints, I’ll break it in several posts.

The Classroom
I couldn’t agree more. Although sometimes the geographic location of the airport is so good that it trumps the reality of the suboptimal facilities, an extra effort should be made in selection of optimal classroom/conference room facilities. The room should be comfortable, with sitting and writing space for every attendee. The room should have a decent screen installed or space to deploy a portable screen. If nothing else, at least a good, light-colored wall surface on which to project the slide presentation. If there are windows, they should have shades or curtain to darken the room for the projected images to be viewable to the audience. There is no question that in a crunch, we can do without these facilities. But it is always nice to have the best we can get; besides good classroom facilities enhance the learning process.

The Ramp, Taxiway and Runway
Whether we train in a non-towered airport or one with full ATC facilities, I believe the important point is the ground and air visibility from the airport surface. What I mean is that the visibility from the cockpit, starting from the ramp and all the way to the takeoff threshold, should be enough to allow the pilots, trainee and safety, to clearly visualize enough distance ahead to move in a safe way and to interfere as little as possible with other traffic on the ramp, the taxi surfaces, and the pattern. The ramp area should allow for before-takeoff run-up without throwing the propwash onto other aircraft on the ramp. The idea is to leave the ramp ready for takeoff. If enough run-up space is not available on the ramp, then there should be enough space available at the takeoff end of the runway in use for two to four aircraft, which is the size of most training sorties. At the hold-short point, there should be enough space for the lead PIC of the first element to do a 360° turn to scan for traffic in the pattern. For runways less than 100 feet wide, the full-length surface should be as level as possible, without bumps and dips. It should allow the PIC of each aircraft to see all the way to the end of the runway, or at least, all the way to the liftoff point of the aircraft taking off ahead. If this is not possible due to runway imperfections, then precautionary measures during the takeoff run, and contingencies for takeoff aborts should be discussed during the pre-flight briefing. These precautionary measures should include at a minimum, a procedure to avoid a collision on the runway or having to exit the runway, in case the aircraft taking off ahead has an emergency and needs to stop on the runway, i.e. a blown tire. Pilots should not start the takeoff run until the aircraft in front has lifted off the runway and a positive rate of climb is established. This would apply to narrow runways, less than 100 feet. The wingspan of most of our aircraft is about 36 to 38 feet. These wingspans would preclude closely-spaced takeoff on runways less than 100 feet for lack of wingtip-to-wingtip clearance. On runways 100 feet wide or more, closely-spaced takeoff, like the one we do at Juneau, are safe and should be practiced.

More to follow…

Canadian Participation

How do we get more Canadians involved in C2O? With $ at par it should be more inviting for the Canucks.

C2O Training

So, it sounds like we're all here... And, as I have a particular interest in making sure everybody's up to speed on this, please allow me to insert myself into the training stuff...

We had a great training session last Sunday here in California! You've seen this written about in the newsletter, and in a couple forum entries around CPA, CPS, AOPA, Yahoo:182, etc...

Here's a few things that I'm happy we did right:
1) Decent classroom. Much better than our last year effort. An enclosed space, with a screen and plenty of chairs for participant pilots. I could have made it a bit darker so the screen was more visible, but I forgot about that. Strange thing, 'cause I'm often told (by one person anyway...) that I do my best work in the dark!

2) Lots of clear airspace nearby. I'm always worried about this, and probably more than I need to be worried. Non-tower airport was kind of handy, 'cause I didn't need to worry about runway clearances, etc., but the bad news was that it required a little more heads-up time, especially from my safety pilots, to make sure we were clear of traffic. I finally figured out how to capture a screenshot of a local sectional chart, and overlay on that the practice areas. I highly recommend that this be included in future clinics.

3) Decent food. First year: John Frank flipping burgers in his hangar. Second year: cheesy restaurant, small, crowded, slow. This year: awesome food, reasonably priced. Bad news: I didn't tell my elements to order food before they started their debriefs. Two elements waited until they were done with their debriefs before they ordered food. This made the flight debrief run late.

4) Training sortie pairing. I consciously planned on having high time safety pilots paired with low time pilots, formed up with with higher time pilots and slightly lesser-experienced safeties. I started with matching similar type airplanes. From there, I tried to get a read on experience levels. I figured that high time pilots with high time safeties was not the best use of time. I've since heard from a few that this worked out really well, so I recommend it as a standard practice.

Things I did wrong:
1) Don't pick the Daylight Savings Time weekend. Second year I did that. I should know by now! Time zones don't mean much to me, but I should be aware of this for others.

2) Saturdays may be better. This is the first time I did it on a Sunday, and the result was the same as the last two times I've done it on a Saturday. But, timing was an issue.

3) I thought I drove the classroom session as fast as I could. I'd like to think I'm pretty decent at keeping things going, but still it dragged on a bit. Worst thing was that I had to have element assignments done before I could brief the training sorties. Can't do that until I know who is there. Training staff needs to have a handle on who should be paired with whom, because I'd like to have that sorted out by the end of the classroom portion.

For the flight debrief at the end, plan on discussing at length how the training scenario is different from the OSH flight. Start with the fact that nobody will be changing position. Continue with the fact that more experienced pilots will tend to be slotted in lead positions. Talk about the inter-element spacing, and that the PIC of the lead elements of each faster type will need to be aware of the extra gap at takeoff.

We probably need to discuss the landing situation in much more detail. In particular: If there is room between you and the airplane in front of you, "hover taxi" or fly down the runway before you land. Make sure everybody knows there is another airplane right behind you that needs the runway, and if you're comfortable continuing down the runway in the air before you chop and drop, then do that. Don't dirty up on final and slow down to your slowest speed. We all know that we can fly slower and land shorter, but again, this is a team sport. Cooperate and graduate. Leave space for the umpteen airplanes right on your tail. At my clinic, everybody seemed to understand this fact, and it worked well for us. I think this point needs to be underlined during the OSH brief.

Undoubtedly, more to follow, and I'm happy to hear comments from others who lead clinics about how to get these points across, and from participant pilots about what makes them feel uncomfortable. We all need to come to agreement on what we feel we can do, and we need to be comfortable in telling each other when something doesn't feel right. Even more important (and a major point I tried to drive home at my clinic) is that you have to listen up during the preflight brief, and if you don't like something that is specified, either speak up and get your point addressed, or man up and drop out.

Welcome to the Cessnas 2 Oshkosh's Blog

The idea behind this blog is providing a communication tool between the pilots participating in the Cessnas 2 Oshkosh mass arrival. Here we can share news, pictures and answers to common questions. If you feel that this format is too new for you, don't worry, we feel the same way.