I promised the group to reprint one of the letters that was in reply to a fellow who was irate because he had to wait a few minutes for the Bonanzas and Mooneys to arrive. There are two more letters by Dr. Schiffman (USAF Ret.) and if anyone cares to read them, please feel free to email me and I'll fire them to you off list. First is from Mr. Baas, then Elliott's reply.
I say get enough 'Coupes together, fly down and show everyone how they built them back then! 25 'Coupes would be more of a crowds pleaser than 200 Bonanzas! Al DeMarzo Visit the Ercoupe Swap Page Free, Easy and No Membership Required http://www.ercoupeowners.com/swap/swapbook.htm From: http://generalaviationnews.com: Letters to the Editor Just say no to mass arrivals 10/7/2005 I must commend you for publishing the excellent article by Lisa Kondrick, "Time to get outta Dodge" (Sept. 9 issue) as it relates to the feelings that I have had for years regarding the mass flights to OSH made by type clubs. I have been attending OSH since 1972 in several types of aircraft and have always followed the arrival procedures. As a professional pilot I agree that it is necessary to have procedures in effect that regulate arrivals and assure maximum safety. Due to the mass formation arrival of certain types of aircraft I have had to depart my home base much earlier to beat the scheduled arrival times of these aircraft. I was lucky enough to beat the weather and the mass arrivals this year, but it was close and I feel for those aircraft owners who had to burn the fuel, subject their aircraft to unnecessary wear and tear and in some cases change their reservations for the night due to the field closing. It not only is unfair to these aircraft owners but borders on being illegal making them hold for the unseen aircraft yet to arrive when they are in a position to complete their arrival. How many pilots really get a kick out of seeing 100 of the same type arrive at one time? Others are waiting to land that were there first and should be able to complete their trip without having to cater to the type club flights. OSH is a public airport supported by our tax money and not the EAA's to dictate to the FAA the landing sequence. Obviously it is all about money. Get a group on the ground as fast as you can, make them join and let them leave after a day or two. Comments that I have overheard from these mass arrival pilots are that they wouldn't come unless they were guaranteed a parking place with their group and that they wouldn't have to comply with the arrival procedure when they come as a group. I have heard many negative comments from aircraft owners who have had to bow to the formation flights and give them priority which they don't deserve. If this keeps up, members will be lost in the long run. Michael R. Baas My response (to be published shortly): I must respond to the October 7 letter from Michael R. Baas complaining about the mass arrivals of type specific aircraft at AirVenture. His complaint centered about the need for him and others to hold during the arrival. As leader of Bonanzas to Oshkosh I can answer most of his issues. Our arrival plans have been implemented in cooperation with the FAA, their Tower personnel, the Regional Administrator and AirVenture ground personnel to provide an orderly arrival and impact as little as possible on other aircraft. We have used the general arrival Runway 9/27 only once in 16 years because of adverse winds, and then only because requested to do so by Tower. Our standard arrival on Runway 36 enables us to land three abreast and we typically accomplish this in 15 minutes or less. Traditionally we have not interfered with the Runway 9/27 arrivals. Because of the unusually heavy downpours preceding our arrival this year Oshkosh personnel correctly felt taxi to parking on the grass would be hazardous and closed 9/27 temporarily for our taxi. This was a most unusual occurrence and not requested by us. While the Mooney Caravan generally takes longer to land because of the difference in their formation, the same general rules apply. We cannot control the weather. The unusually intense thunderstorms preceding our arrival delayed everyone and bunched up arrivals. I regret that Mr. Baas was inconvenienced, but the FAA Notam Booklet clearly states that holding may be necessary, that extended periods of slow flight may be required and to watch fuel status. If we had arrived by the standard Ripon arrival with 101 aircraft followed by the Mooney Caravan with another 50 aircraft, I can assure Mr. Baas that his hold would have been much longer, far more hazardous and not a pretty sight. Elliott Schiffman for Bonanzas to Oshkosh ----- Original Message ----- From: Syd Cohen Cc: [email protected] Sent: Friday, May 23, 2008 8:33 AM Subject: Re: [ercoupe-flyin] Re: Oshkosh 2008 Right. None of them mentioned Ercoupes because I never use the "sanitized airspace" procedure that the Mooneys, Bonanzas, etc. use. We just come in using the normal Fisk arrival procedure. There are 2 reasons for this: 1. I want all the Ercoupers to experience the normal Fisk arrival procedure so if they ever want to come to AirVenture on their own, not in our flight, they know what to expect. 2. I really think it's unfair that the Mooneys, etc. are able to totally disrupt the inbound traffic for their arrival. All inbounds are shut off and told to go elsewhere or hold for about an hour while they make their grand arrival. We just blend into the flow of inbounds. I thought of a third reason yesterday, but can't think of it now (getting old). Anyway, that's why we're not mentioned. Syd kgassert wrote: There seems to be a lot of press on various groups doing group flights into OSH this years yet none of them mentioned Ercoupes. Kevin1 --- In [email protected], Syd Cohen <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > See? I told you this is the Year of the Ercoupe at AirVenture. > > Syd > > > > ght28 wrote: > > > Hey folks, > > > > Check out the header photo on the Oshkosh 2008 home > > page. > > > > http://www.airventure.org/ <http://www.airventure.org/> > > > > Spook > > > > >
