July 31, 1999 Ground Zero: Campers Prefer Close-In Accommodations

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by	Dave Higdon

About the Author ... Dave Higdon has a distinguished background in aviation journalism. As aviation editor for The Wichita Eagle for more than five years, he has established a reputation as one of the best general aviation reporters in the business. Previously, Dave held a variety of aviation journalism assignments with The Journal of Commerce, Air Transport World, and AOPA. He has covered every facet of aviation from sport aviation in Tennessee to the FAA in Washington, DC to Cessna, Beech, Boeing and Learjet in Kansas. He's also a professional aviation photographer. Dave is an instrument-rated private pilot and owns a very clean Piper Comanche. He and his wife Annie live in Wichita, Kansas. Complete Coverage from AVweb (Links to Related Articles) Preliminary Reports: Monday & Tuesday, July 26-27 Day One: Wednesday, July 28 Day Two: Thursday, July 29 Day Three: Friday, July 30 Day Four: Saturday, July 31 Day Five: Sunday, August 1 Day Six: Monday, August 2

Right-stuff Lodging Comes Large And Small, Fast And Slow, Surface And Airborne

They come from near, they come from far, many by air, even more by car — and bus, camper, motorhome, motorcycle and any other form of conveyance that will get these diverse travelers to their common destination: Oshkosh.

And once on the grounds, they all share an address that seems to double the population of the city, all to camp close to the planes they love and watch the flying they crave. These are the hardiest souls of the EAA AirVenture experience, the campers.

Now if you love the smell of avgas in the morning, if you covet the sound of airplane engines as your wake-up call, or the sight of wings rocking in the morning breeze only feet from your accommodations, you might find the camping at Oshkosh the perfect enhancement to your AirVenture experience.

"It's just the best," said 11-year Camp Scholler veteran Terrie Dishman, as she emerged from one of the camp's general stores Saturday, a bag of supplies in hand. "We look forward to this so much each year that we start planning for the next trip when we leave."

Every walk of life exists in Camp Scholler, Paul's Woods, the North Forty, Ultralights Vintage Aircraft, the South Acres. Doctors, lawyers, engineers, executives, laborers, sales people, the odd writer and photographer, and, of course, pilots — lots of pilots.

The Comforts Of Home, The Convenience Of An Airshow Out The Tent Flap

Most of the people are warm and hospitable, the grounds are generally impeccable, and almost everything you might need to survive the convention is available inside the perimeter fence.

The stores make it possible to stock up on ice and snacks; milk, bread and cereal; charcoal, lighter fluid, even disposable grills. Don't feel inclined to cook? Then the campground and showground offer snack bars, cafeterias, pizza and burger grills.

Of course, all these conveniences can't erase the sundry irritations that can make camping life, well, challenging.

Soggy, Soggy Night

Wisconsin's unusually wet July made some areas of the camps much damper than usual, and the rainstorm of Friday night didn't help.

But most of the tens of thousands of campers seemed to be bearing up well the day after, if maybe a little soggy.

"We got a little damp last night," said Doris Opp, as she did some housekeeping around the tiny pup tent she's sharing with her husband, Pinky. With about 25 Oshkosh visits under their belts, the Opps have their camp kit pared down to the point that it fits under the boot of their pristine 1926 Bugatti Model 37 replicar for extended travel from their home in Bethalto, Ill. "We don't lack for anything here," said Pinky. "Buses to the flight line, stores, places to eat; it's all here."

Likewise, Al Tangen couldn't find much to complain about, even after the rain, as he stretched out in a hammock strung behind his flat-bed-turned-camper truck. "The rain didn't get deep enough to get to me," he said.

If The Buzz Bites, Swat It

And then there are those things that just can't help but bug people, like, well, the bugs: a bumper mosquito crop — and we're not talking a de Havilland bomber, here. Except for Tangen: "I'm from Wisconsin, so I knew to expect the swarms."

Coloradan Bob Armstrong didn't have any Oshkosh experience to help him prepare for his first visit to AirVenture, and by Saturday morning, he'd had more than his fair share of bug bites at his tent site in Paul's Woods. His solution: Pop the tent atop his Taurus and move to another spot a little less damp.

"I decided to move before the mosquitoes carried me off," he said. "And over here, my tent may have a chance to dry out before I pack it away."

There Goes The Neighborhood

But not everything that bugs campers is small and aerial; some of the irritations walk upright on two legs. Generators running too late; into-the-dawn, by-the-campfire hangar-flying sessions, even simple snoring in the tent next door are recurring peeves for some campers. And it was a noisy generator that prompted Michiganers Joanie and Wayne Cleveland to move their huge fifth-wheel camper-trailer a half-dozen rows away from the offending neighbor. "You get some who just can't read the hours signs," Joanie lamented.

Watching Wayne maneuver the hulking rig into a new camping space made Armstrong's use of his car roof to move his tent look simple by comparison.

But of all the ways to camp at Oshkosh, the purest seems always to be to arrive by air and camp under or near the wing, like so many thousands on the field.

Oshkosh, Wingabago Style

The tough and ready stuff a minimal amount of gear into a tiny shelf and make do. Others, like the Penders of Midlothian, Texas, bring all the comforts they need in the huge interior volume of their 1942 V-77 Gull Wing Stinson. Parked in the Vintage Airplanes campground, the towering Stinson made a perfect support for a big rope hammock. A tent, though, was nowhere in sight.

"We didn't know we could camp right here with the airplane, so we loaded up and carried our stuff over to the main [Scholler] campground," explained Lezlie Pender, as he cleaned and preened the big bird and a clutch of kids lazed in the shade of the big wing.

"It's our first time; we'll know better next year," she added.

My personal vote for the king of the air campers is an ultralight pilot from Minnesota who flies his Titan Tornado in each year while friends tow his Airstream trailer to the Farm at the south end of the airport. There, with his cappuccino machine, a stove at the ready, and a dry bed, Al, as we'll call him, doesn't want for any of the creature comforts of home.

And his shiny, silvery digs serve as a haven for neighboring campers homesick for some of the comforts they left behind. And Al enjoys playing the hospitable host for a stream of repeat visitors every year.

"The idea is to come, have fun, be comfortable and fly," Al once told me. "It doesn't matter what it takes to make you happy, as long as you're having fun along they way."