----- Original Message -----

From: Bill Hannahan

To: lml@lancaironline.net

Sent: Saturday, August 15, 2009 1:10 PM

Subject: [LML] OSH arrival

If you have any comments on the Oshkosh arrival procedure you can send them here. My $0.02 below. https://secure.eaa.org/airventure/atc_feedback.html Two comments. 1... I flew my Lancair 360 using the high approach. All traffic was landing 27 and it was busy. The first half of the approach to Fisk went well. At Fisk I was instructed to descend and merge with traffic in the low pattern. Merging fast with slow traffic miles from the airport out of sight, and instructing them to maintain 1/2 mile spacing with no S turns is requiring them to violate  fundamental limitations of physics. The situation will get worse each year as light sport planes proliferate. This is why pilots of many fast aircraft are switching to the warbird arrival. If  that is what you want eliminate the high approach and instruct fast aircraft to use the warbird arrival. My recommendation is to keep the fast and slow aircraft separated by altitude until the controller has them in sight and calls the turn to base on 27 or final on 36 R/L. The controller can point out the aircraft to follow and there are at least two sets of eyes looking for a potential collision instead of one. You could position another controller out at half mile final watching the merge up close. That controller would remain silent unless a conflict develops. 2...  There was a substantial north crosswind. the controller repeatedly instructed me to fly a close in downwind, which I refused to do as I was already at my comfort limit. The controller called a very close-in base behind a slow moving Cessna. Half way through base he instructed  the Cessna to land long and for me to land on the pink dot, closest to the threshold.. This called for a steep power off turn to final. With  a continuous steep turn from downwind I still overshot the centerline somewhat due to the tailwind on base. Had I flown as close in as the controller wanted, the overshoot would have been been much greater. With 2,200 hours in the aircraft including countless practice dead stick landings and many Oshkosh arrivals I found the situation challenging. I flew on hair trigger, prepared to go around if at any point it became "uncomfortable". I am concerned for the new builders who have just completed flying off the 25 hours on a high performance aircraft and are bringing it to Oshkosh for the first time, especially inexperienced pilots who feel compelled to do whatever the controller calls for.  Asking them to perform such an unusual and challenging maneuver is too dangerous. The compounding of multiple factors, following a slow aircraft, close in downwind, tailwind on base, close in base and last minute land short instruction can overload the pilot into a situation where he is low and slow pulling too much G in a steep turn. That could easily end with a snap roll into the ground. Fast aircraft should not be expected to fly as close in on downwind as a the slower aircraft. The call to turn base should include the proposed touchdown point so that he can set the right power setting, and give the pilots at least a 1/3mile final to the proposed touchdown point allowing them enough time to stabilize their approach. Given the wide range of experience of Oshkosh pilots, the arrival procedure should not ask them to do things that are dramatically different and more difficult than what they do in their normal flying. Regards, Bill Hannahan wfhannahan@yahoo.com