Oshkosh Scenery
By Tony Vallillo (19 July 2002)
Patty Wagstaff eye view of Wittman Field during AirVenture
any years ago, around Flight
Simulator 5 as I recall, Microsoft apparently realized the huge marketing
bonanza that exists every summer on the shores of Lake Winnebago in central
Wisconsin. The Experimental Aircraft Association's annual fly-in
convention, held late every July at Oshkosh airport (Wittman Field), is
without doubt the greatest aviation show on earth. I know, because I've
been to most of the others too - Reading, Paris, Lakeland (also known as
Sun'n Fun, the little brother to Oshkosh, also put on by EAA) and many more
without names. But "Oshkosh", as it was simply known until a few years
ago, has always been the one pilots look forward to. Politically
indelicate as the comparison may currently be, Oshkosh is an aviation
Mecca, and most pilots try to make at least one pilgrimage. Many of us
have been making it a yearly event for decades. A revered few have not
missed a convention since the first EAA fly in was held near Milwaukee in
the mid 1950's. Through a decade of conventions in Rockford Illinois in
the 60's to the current complex of EAA owned museums, pavilions and ramps
at the Wittman airport, Oshkosh is best and best run large crowd event in
the world. Yes, including Disney World!
Eventually, this was not lost on the boys (and girls) from Redmond, who have become one of EAA's best exhibitor customers in the last decade or so. The Microsoft booth, mega-booth really, is always right up front in one of the large exhibit hangars flanking the fairway at the north end of the main exhibit ramp. That's the place where the big iron parks! MS's exhibit is always one of the busiest, as children of all, and I do mean all, ages crowd around the dozen or so ultra-mega-giga computers that MS brings to show off the upcoming unreleased iteration -- usually an alpha, or perhaps a beta version. Whatever; the sawdust on the floor is always wet from so many grown men and women drooling.
The very first time I saw Microsoft there, around the early '90's, I specifically remember telling them two things. First, since I had by then already built my own Wittman Field in FS4 using the original Scenery Designer (which included Ripon, Fisk, and a good chunk of the EAA buildings of the day), I encouraged them to make Wittman a photorealistic area, depicting the appearance during the show. Photorealism was just starting out then - remember when it was only at Meigs? The other recommendation I had then, not quite germane to this missive, was to develop a train simulator! Honest to God! I'm still waiting for some credit for that one!
Well, it took them over a decade, and it didn't come as an integral part of MSFS (which was my original advice), but it's here and it's great -- if you overlook a terribly annoying lack of critical instructions for the installation. We won't dwell on that, because many have taken up the keyboard to set us straight on how to get it working right. And when, eventually, you do get it working right, it is really something! And best of all, the price is right!
90 degrees of a 360 degree panorama of EAA Oshkosh on a relatively uncrowded day
Like I said, I've been going to AirVenture (the current official trademarked name for the convention) since 1986. That makes me something of a seasoned attendee, but by no means a veteran. The real veterans have been going since at least the Rockford days in the '60's! Nonetheless, this review will definitely be from the perspective of someone who has been there, and flown in and out in a small plane.
First of all, this is extremely dense scenery. It has to be. The real Oshkosh has over 12,000 airplanes parked around the runways at the height of the show, to say nothing of almost half a million people at the busy times. The campground alone houses more people during the height of the show than live in the city of Oshkosh the rest of the year! Now this is a simulation, of course, so even with all of the sliders maxed, you do not experience anything at all like the spectacle that exists during the real show!
In fact, to someone who goes there, the simulation resembles how the field looks several days before or after the show, when the grounds are more or less empty of cars and people, and most of the show planes are gone. Add to that the fact that not a single person is to be seen anywhere, and you might think that the folks from "Left Behind" joined with EAA and MS in putting this together! It's true that crowds of people have not previously been a factor in MSFS scenery (it IS getting to be a factor in the Train-Sim scenery, but that is another story). But it sure feels strange to someone who has been there. You can see the real people from any altitude below about 500 feet. I know, because I have taken the helo round robin tour of the grounds.
 The aviation flea market (tents) with the green topped forum tents beyond.
|
 Much the same area a few years ago, before they rearranged things and the flea market was off to the left. |
Here we see they have done a bang-up job with the flea market. That is where it is and that is what it would look like if all the people and junk disappeared. Ditto the forum tents just beyond. By the way, if you go to Oshkosh for the first time, do not miss the flea market...it's an aeronautical Alice's Restaurant without the drugs!
Overall they have done a great job of getting the major buildings in their proper places, and their proper appearances. This is critical, because, like Disney World, there are icons here in the form of long venerated structures of unique design and significance. Most are depicted, although for some unknown reason several are not. The arch in front of the tower, for example, one of the most photographed spots in the aviation world, is absent, although the newer one at the main entrance is present. They could have just duplicated it! In perhaps a lighter vein, notably absent are the hundreds of porta-potties which are another Oshkosh icon. This is one of the very few events of this magnitude in which the organizers have adequately provided for ALL the needs of the visitors!
 Looking west at the main entrance to the flight line. The famous arch would be at the crossroads |
 Camp Scholler - in reality it extends to the highway and way out of the picture to the left |
Looking the other way, east, from above the main exhibition fairway toward runway 18-36
 Above the flight instruments would be the Warbirds - hundreds of them! |
All right, I'll get real here! After all, it is something of a wonder that
frame rates are as good as they are with the stuff they have in there now!
When I first made my Oshkosh for FS4, I started sticking a lot of static
airplanes around, to get a shadow of the effect we have here. Frame rates
dropped to seconds per frame, instead of frames per second! This time
around things are much better. I got between 15 and 30 fps most of the
time, which is more than adequate for flying. And that with a PIII/900, no
longer really state of the art (at least not since last week!)
 EAA Museum, one of the world's greatest, with Pioneer Airport |
 And the corresponding view in flightsim |
Nevertheless, if you have been here, especially if you have flown in yourself, you are in for a mixed feeling! This scenery is so overall accurate and photorealistic that it becomes a bit jarring when you get real close and notice what is missing! Especially the crowds.
I'm not sure if anything can be done about that, but I'll put in my two cents. After all, what is a pilot if not to put in his or her two cents? Two ideas. First, some of our bright folks can create an add-on to the add-on. Another layer of static scenery - I'd suggest the big iron. The Qantas 747 (yes, the gaudy one!) comes here every few years, ditto the Concorde. C-5's, F-anythings, C-17's, B-17's you name it and the more the merrier, up to a point. Park 'em on the main exhibit ramp. Second, and here is where the crowds might come in, use overhead photography shot during the height of the show. In years gone by, there were some very good overheads taken during the show by a woman from Milwaukee, and EAA probably has their own as well. With this, from altitudes higher than 500 feet or so, you would get quite a bit of the crowd effect, as well as the full extent of Camp Scholler, the parking lots, the traffic on the highways and so on. Now the ramps and taxiways have been changed a good bit in the last few years since these original overheads were taken, but as I said, I'm sure EAA has some. I'm actually surprised they didn't use something like this, instead of trying to do it all with 3D objects.
Enough of the free advice. Now, lets go flying. One of the most interesting (in the Chinese sense!) bits of flying you can do these days, outside of the military, is to fly into Oshkosh just before the show opens. In the day or two prior to the official opening of the show, this is the busiest airport in the universe. O'Hare? Not even close! Planes land at the rate of up to one every several seconds on this airport at those times. You don't even get the whole runway to yourself! You get half of it, and share that half with two or three other airplanes. At a time!
EAA has, through long experience, developed traffic flows and procedures that work to a fare-thee-well, and are not especially difficult for the initiated. They also publish (nowadays on their website) these procedures, so that everyone (simmers included!) can be prepared. And prepared you must be! This is no place for the unprepared.
The real circus is above a small otherwise sleepy town called Ripon. (I always wondered where its'sister city Ripoff was!!) This is where you enter the approach route, and this is where the pilots have to work out among themselves who goes first. More 360's are spun here than probably anywhere else in the world! The first time I flew in here I had to do two 360's at Ripon just to fit myself into the flow. It's all on your own, no ATC here. That comes later, after you are proceeding single file, like Disney elephants on parade, down a well-manicured railroad right of way toward a crossroads called Fisk. At Fisk, the FAA has caused to be placed a strobe light where the controllers are sitting on the ground, with their water jugs slung to their belts no doubt, using hand-helds to issue instructions to the gaggle overhead. This is not O'Hare patter either. "Yellow biplane straight ahead to runway 27, rock your wings". Wing rocking is the "Wilco" of Oshkosh; actually talking is very rare. Just as well with literally hundreds of airplanes in the sky at one time!
 Past Fisk now, heading for runway 09 |
 Short final runway 09 |
By this time, you will be in contact with the Oshkosh Tower, although as a VFR arrival you will probably be talking to someone near the threshold with a brick, not unlike an LSO on a carrier. This person will assign you the left or right side of the runway and a spot to land on.
Now bear in mind that you have been following another airplane at an in-trail distance of around 300-500 feet all along the way since Ripon. What they do is to stagger the arrivals - first guy lands left real long on the last spot, next guy right same spot, next left at the spot before, next right and so on until they wind up going back to the long ones again. You don't actually land right over someone; they have turned off by the time you are in the flare.
 Cleared to land on the right side at the first spot |
The EAA procedures allow for three levels of performance, so to speak. The guys who can fly at 90 knots (and in my little airplane that's high cruise!) do that, the ones who can't do that fly at 130, if memory serves me right, and at a slightly higher altitude, and the warbirds and hot stuff that stall at warp 2 get their own higher pattern. They generally go for a 360 overhead pattern anyway, and Oshkosh accommodates them. Check the EAA website (www.eaa.com) for the actual procedures. I believe the flights included with the scenery include a briefing of sorts.
Departing is easy - the hassle here is on the ground before you leave. The lines can be so long you need the runway side porta-potties! They shoot 'em off rapid fire, using FAA controllers with flags, just like on a carrier again. (Strong Navy influence here for some reason, although EAA founder Paul Poberezny was an Air Force (actually Air Guard) guy!) Just wait for the flag and you're off. Next guy rolls when the first rotates. Fly straight out and stay low for a mile or two to clear the area and slide under any arrivals, then scatter to the four winds!
Do I still fly into Oshkosh this way? No. It's the thrill of a lifetime to do it, and everyone should, either for real or now in MSFS. But there are also attractions in doing Oshkosh the way I do it now, which is to jumpseat into ORD and rent a car. It is a nice three hour drive from ORD to OSH, and that gives me time to unwind and get into Oshkosh mode. Oshkosh mode is a state of mind in which all material wants and needs are suspended save for those that involve flying or the acquisition of something pertaining to flying! I know that they sell LOTS of copies of MSFS there, for example. Probably more now, because I'm going to say something that EAA and MS probably won't. If you are a real pilot headed for OSH for the first time, GET THIS AND PRACTICE on it! I'll say that again. GET THIS AND PRACTICE on it! This is just what you need to get ready for what is an intense experience, and it is realistic enough to be of great value. Think of it as a LOFT (Land at Oshkosh Flight Training). Then again, maybe that's what Tom Poberezny had in mind all along. Way to go, Tom!
Tony Vallillo
Visit
the official EAA AirVenture web site.
EAA Chapter 27
avallillo@earthlink.net
