One of the things I really find amazing about AirVenture week in Oshkosh is that ten thousand or so aircraft show up for the event, with most arriving one or two days before the beginning of the air show week.  During the week-long show, he FAA staffs the control tower at the OSH air field, a temporary approach control trailer at Fisk, WI, and a temporary control tower at the near by Fond Du Lac airport, which is normally uncontrolled. A NOTAM is published with all of the arrival procedures for the AirVenture event.

The ATC staff is made up of professional controllers from the 17 state Central Terminal Service Area who volunteer their time to work the show.  This year, 78 controllers were selected from a group of over 180 volunteers. 

This year, I decided to pay a visit to the temporary approach control facility to observe the operations on one of the big arrival days just before the opening of the show.  I plugged my radio into my video camera, and set out to record some of the action.  I drove to Fisk, and located the site where the controllers were located on the hilltop.

The control facility consists of a trailer with a row of strobe lights positioned in front of it set on top of a hill that’s in-line with the railroad tracks that lead from Ripon, WI to Fisk, which is in line with a roughly 45 degree approach path to the runways at Oshkosh.  Placed under the awning of the trailer is a table and some folding chairs on which 3 or 4 controllers sit, peering through binoculars at the airspace above the railroad tracks toward Ripon.

  I was hesitant to get too close, I didn’t want to disrupt operations.  After a minute or so, one of the guys spotted me watching them, and waved me up. “Come on up! Don’t be shy!” he shouted.  I walked up the hill to the trailer and was greeted by all 3 of the controllers on duty.  I spent the next hour or so watching, listening, and chatting during the brief breaks in traffic.

One controller mans the radio, while the two on either side spot and identify aircraft as they approach the town of Fisk.  In rapid succession aircraft are spotted, identified as best as possible, and directed to one of 3 runways in use at Oshkosh.  Pilots generally maintain radio silence, or give quick responses to direct questions made by the controllers.  It is truly a sight to behold as a constant, never-ending stream of aircraft of all types, speeds, and capability randomly arrive at Ripon, and file up the railroad tracks toward approach control at Fisk.

Listen to a 30 minute audio recording  (Microsoft Media Player Stream) of the Fisk approach controllers directing traffic to the runways at Oshkosh.  Except for a couple places where I paused the camera, this is a real-time recording, with no edits.