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Airventure 2014

MikeyDale

Well Known Member
I am thinking about booking flights to Air-venture 2014. I have never been and there is a chance I can get off work from Aug 1-4. I would take a commercial flight with my wife to Milwaukee on SW (credit card points and companion pass thanks to buying so many airplane parts last year) and rent a car and drive to Oshkosh. Does anyone have good suggestions for a place to stay? I have checked hotels and for the three nights it would be around $1,000 :eek: I have seen dorm rooms for around 60 per night and we are practical people so I'm thinking that might be the way to go. Thanks in advance.
 
Easiest way is to look through the many listings of private individuals who rent out spare bedrooms, or their whole houses / condos, for a few nights or the week.

http://www.airventure.org/planning/where_to_stay.html#housing - The "official" link
https://www.airbnb.com/ - Not as good, but has some suggestions

The link for Oshkosh's BBB, Convention Bureau, etc is eluding me. But you get the idea.

My cousin and I, the past two years that we've gone to Oshkosh, just rent out a patio home for the whole week from a very sweet old lady. She basically takes the week away as her own vacation. And my best friend and his fiancee, last year, rented some bedroom up in Appleton for a few nights near the last minute (maybe a month before Oshkosh, when everything's normally already booked solid).

Good luck. Hope to see you up there walking the RV fields in the morning! :D
 
Two years ago I made late (June) reservations at the best western in Waupaca. Yes it's a 1hr drive every day but was only $150 per night. I wouldn't hesitate to do that again ... and since I haven't made reservations yet, I may have to.
 
The last few years I've been staying with friends in Mequon, which is on the north side of Milwaukee and about an hour drive.

Staying anywhere in or north of Milwaukee would be entirely reasonable, it's a very easy drive on well maintained 4-lane right to Whitman field.

Camping at the airport is also pretty easy, you could go to walmart and pick up a cheap tent and supplies for what one night in the hotel would cost you. There's good infrastructure for that with porta-potties, showers, food vendors, and wi-fi in the campgrounds. It's fun, but can be miserable in bad weather.
 
I second camping. Cheap, convenient, and the best way to get the real "feel" of life at AirVenture. Actually, not all that uncomfortable, either. It will increase the time you will have at the show, compared to any other option. No parking problems!

Bob
 
Oshkosh Christian Academy Rooms

I've enjoyed staying at Oshkosh Christian Academy.
They clear the desks out of the classrooms each summer and install cots and air conditioners. Very affordable.
Gym style showers for men and women.
They have breakfast and dinner available, and the volunteers do a great job preparing the meals. The whole event is a fundraiser for the school.
You get to meet a lot of people from all over the country.
They have a big school bus to take you to Airventure in the morning and pick you up at the end of the day. No need to have a car.
They have a few couples each year, but mostly "mature" gentlemen.
Make your reservations early.
www.OshkoshChristian.com
 
Green Bay

Last year was our rookie trip. We booked a hotel in Green Bay. It was nice, about $75/night and the 50 mile trip was easy. They really know how to handle traffic so getting in and out was easy. This year we booked in Appleton for just a little more. We love camping but not in a crowded venue like Oshkosh.
 
I have spent 6 years in dorm rooms in Ripon, 3 years at hotel in Oshkosh, 5 years in bed and breakfast in Appleton, and 2 years at a motel right on Green Lake. This is the year to camp on the field. Plenty of choices around about especially if you have a car. All expectable and each has pluses and minuses.
 
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Thanks everyone.....Camping sounds exciting but not sure the wife will agree. Dorm room sounds pretty good. I'll have to think about it.
 
Thanks everyone.....Camping sounds exciting but not sure the wife will agree. Dorm room sounds pretty good. I'll have to think about it.

Just beware, many of them don't have A/C and become an absolute heat box.
 
YES - dorm room heat box - we took a box fan and some bungee cords in 2012 and managed to put it in the window (not easy) but it did not help much. You are just sleeping in the cramped single bed on top of the sheet. The TV-common room down the hall was air conditioned but you don't sleep there. A wife would NOT be happy. OK breakfast and dinner at the cafeteria though. Some years it is cooler - place your bets.
 
I am thinking about booking flights to Air-venture 2014. I have never been and there is a chance I can get off work from Aug 1-4. I would take a commercial flight with my wife to Milwaukee on SW (credit card points and companion pass thanks to buying so many airplane parts last year) and rent a car and drive to Oshkosh. Does anyone have good suggestions for a place to stay? I have checked hotels and for the three nights it would be around $1,000 :eek: I have seen dorm rooms for around 60 per night and we are practical people so I'm thinking that might be the way to go. Thanks in advance.


Practical people live in dorms first time. Go for it! You are welcome :D
 
YES - dorm room heat box - we took a box fan and some bungee cords in 2012 and managed to put it in the window (not easy) but it did not help much. You are just sleeping in the cramped single bed on top of the sheet. The TV-common room down the hall was air conditioned but you don't sleep there. A wife would NOT be happy. OK breakfast and dinner at the cafeteria though. Some years it is cooler - place your bets.

I can vouch for every word. 5 times in dorm for me before wife, sometimes fine sometimes sweltering but always with one or two fans (bring extension chords). Once in dorm with wife and that was the last. Bed and breakfasts after that.
 
Camp ground

I've been in a tent when a front passed through,the only thing holding the tent down was me.Other years The tent was 100 degrees one night freezing cold the next,expect rain you won't be disappointed.On the plus side its cheap,porta potty's/showers and real toilets at the display buildings,lots of food choices,more every year. The best part you get to hang out with 100,000 airplane nuts for a week. I'd consider a local RV rental for the week or a private home/room.Rental cars get snapped up,so lock one down early.How ever you get there its the greatest place on earth for one week a year!:)
RHill
 
Don't give up on dorms ..

I have stayed in the dorms for many years. If you are in Gruenhagen/Scott it can in fact get warm sometimes. If you have a friend that is across the hall and will leave their door ajar, you can get a cross breeze.

Better yet, there are a lot more air conditioned dorms now. Of course, they cost a bit more.

Be sure to look into the "suites" (assumes four renters).

The basic idea is that there are options to making it work in the dorms, so please look into it.

James
 
If you want to make points with your wife and are flying into Greenbay, the Tundra Lodge is the way to go. Fifity minutes from Osh Kosh, but in a centralized spot in Greenbay, and has a water park! Many places to eat nearby. It's a bit pricey, but you won't be dissappointed. And our preference is to be near the airport so the day our flight leaves, there's less chance of being late.

 
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CAMP!

It's the best way to truly experience Airventure. My wife camped with me when she was 4 1/2 months pregnant, but then again, she's quite the trooper. If you want the best compromise, I'd recommend taking the money you would spend on hotel/house/dorm ($$$$) and put it into renting a nice air-conditioned camper. There are outfits in Oshkosh that will even set them up for you, so when you arrive, you only have to find your camping spot and set up shop. That way you get the real feel of being at OSH (more time on site, movies, visits with neighbor campers, etc), plus you'll be in air conditioned (or at least well-ventilated) comfort at night in your camper. Happy hunting, and make those reservations EARLY.. See you there!
 
There are outfits in Oshkosh that will even set them up for you, so when you arrive, you only have to find your camping spot and set up shop.

Mike-

Any links you can recommend to help find one of these local rent-n-go places?
 
Some dorms are air conditioned

Most of the cheap dorms are pretty hot (but let's face it, not any worse than camping!), but realize that there are a number of air conditioned dorm rooms available as well. I can't remember which colleges offer them off the top of my head, but I live in Madison and occasionally just decide I don't feel like driving home and then back up the next day. Even as a walk-in I've been offered air conditioned rooms on more than one occasion.
 
Indoor camping at the YMCA

This is a reasonable priced option for most. The wife and I stayed here in 2013. Pitch a tent on the indoor soccer field or just throw a air matress down. Air conditioned and bug free, no worries about the rain. Have shuttle bus (included) to and from airventure, offer reasonable priced food. Use of showers, pool and exercise equipment included for the week. Close to grounds. The people there were super nice. Rarely fill up I am told so could be good last minute option as well. Bring ear plugs though. Consider renting a car so can go back in evening for shows, out to dinner etc., not much to do walking distance

Gerald.
 
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Country Inn and Suites

Call the Country Inn and Suites in Appleton. We stay there every year. They aren't listed in the EAA website for places to stay but we've never had a problem getting a room there. It takes 20 minutes to get to AirVenture straight down Hiway 41. They have free breakfast but we usually go to Blueberry Hill for good omeletes and pancakes. I'm flying into AirVenture this yet so I won't be needing my room.
 
I've never been. So let's assume you fly in commercially and have a rent car, and decide to camp. How does it work parking the rental car? Is there a designated spot to park, then you hike to your campsite? And what about hauling in your camping gear? Can you initially drive close to the campsite?
 
You can park right at your campsite. Sites are roughly 20X30', lengthy of room for a car and tent.

I was in the "tent and car" group until last year when I joined the motorhome crowd. It sounds like ancient history now, but camping used to mean just that, and I enjoyed it. My wife likes the MH better...

Just to get a handle on what we are talking about, go to the field on Google Earth. That was shot in July, 2011 (I found my tent) and the campgrounds haven't changed all that much. You will see how MHs, campers, and rolling castles dominate the scene now. It used to seem strange that a two man pup tent paid the same as a 40' MH. Now I am kinda glad it is that way. I have talked to people who camp everywhere (I don't,) and they all say this is the best campground there is. Fun, all the way.

Bob
 
Room in Private Residence

I have camped at the show and had a great time until one year the clouds opened up overnight and I was swimming in my sleeping bag. The next year I looked up rooms for rent in private homes. I found a great room in a home within walking distance from the show. Air conditioned house with clean bathrooms and nice beds. At night everyone sat in the back yard talking airplanes and drinking adult beverages. The homeowners were not pilots but they were awesome folks. I highly recommend this option. Here is the link to the website: http://www.visitoshkosh.com/eaa-lodging/private-listings/
 
I used to fly into Wautoma (Y50) about 30 miles west of KOSH, and stay at a motel there and have a rental car to drive in every day, or drive to Y50 and fly into KOSH and back to Y50 in the evenings after the airshow. It sure was a lot more comfortable to have a nice airconditioned motel room waiting for me every nite, and dinner fit for a king every evening at the Silvercryst. Sure was costly too.

The last 2 years, I've camped on the field and saved a metric ton of money. Waking up in the mornings to the sound of warbird engines starting up is awesome. I doubt I'll ever stay in a motel for Airventure ever again. The money saved allowed me have two big flying vacations last year: Johnson Creek Idaho and Airventure. Hope to repeat both again this year.
 
I too wish that everyone would tent camp...

...there's just something wrong about all the motorhomes being there, chokin' up the place with generators.:( But, alas, the times they have changed, and everyone's gone soft. Then again, I've been inside some of these mansions on wheels and they really are nice, if you've got the bucks.

As far as renting the "everyman campers," here on some links. They're pricey, but I think your wife will be fairly comfortable in one of these. Plus you'll get the benefit of really being "at the show" instead of offsite, getting caught up in the masses boarding buses in the early evening, just when the fun really begins...

http://www.happytrailsrvrentals.net/Page/EAAAirVenture.aspx
http://www.eventrv.com/
http://www.vanboxtelrv.com/rv-rentals.html

Some of these aren't as local as you would think, but I guess all are willing to go to Osh once a year to bring home the big bucks.:D
 
Camp, Camp, Camp!

Camping on field will give you the best of Oshkosh.
I have been camping under my wing Cessna or beside my RV6,and 8 since 1980. I have missed a few years,,, but not many.
Fun week! not to be missed.
 
Just rented a bedroom from a homeowner 5 miles from Whittman field on Winnebago Lake. Half the price of a hotel room and not to far from the show. Decided to arrive on Thursday for an extra day because Sunday will probably be short as the show winds down. Wife is happy but understands in 2015 we will be in the tent beside the plane!.....
 
Congrats!

Just rented a bedroom from a homeowner 5 miles from Whittman field on Winnebago Lake. Half the price of a hotel room and not to far from the show. Decided to arrive on Thursday for an extra day because Sunday will probably be short as the show winds down. Wife is happy but understands in 2015 we will be in the tent beside the plane!.....

The most important thing is that you're there and she's there with you. You're going to have a blast!
 
I have to throw in a plug for the YMCA on 20th Avenue. They divide up their indoor soccer field into camping spaces. It is air conditioned. There are ample, clean shower/bathroom facilities. You can get a breakfast there. They have indoor swimming, rock climbing wall and ice rink (things for kids to do.....). 5 minutes from parking, traffic is NEVER an issue. If it rains, you never know. You wake up to P51s departing every morning. Great experience, and very affordable.
 
consider midway as well

Mike,

Having done the commercial air route a couple times, consider flying in and out of Midway. yes it's a further drive and it's chicago but the rental car companies in MKE are very well aware of airventure and prices are through the roof. plus many more flight options. if you haven't booked already, i suggest do it now.

stump
 
I have a mid size car rented from dollar rental car through Southwest Airlines for 124.00 for 5 days picked up at the airport in Milwaukee. I thought that was pretty reasonable. 25 per day. I have a confirmation number.
 
Camper delivered to camp Scholler

I just went online and did a search for renting campers at Air Venture. A local company ( happytrailsrvrentals.net ) will rent a camper and deliver it to the camp grounds.

This will be my first experience camping at the show, and I have not rented from this company before. I have reserved a small 17' camper, which looks to have all the comforts of home, in a very small package. As my RV9A started flying last April, this will also be the first year I fly into the show. Can't wait. Wish it was time to take off now!
 
Green Bay to Oshkosh Transportation Tues noon 7/29?

Anyone arriving Green Bay Airport Tuesday 7/29/14 around noon and want to share transportation to Oshkosh or Appleton?
Any suggestions on affordable shuttle transportation from Green Bay Airport to Appleton Airport or Oshkosh?
There is a regularly scheduled & affordable bus from Appleton Airport to AirVenture/Oshkosh, so I just need to get from Green Bay to Appleton.
Thanks
 
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