Mooney Caravan XII to Takeoff Saturday,
July 25th, 2009
The 12th Mooney Caravan to Oshkosh will be a repeat of the hugely successful 2008
Caravan. Departure from Madison’s Dane County Regional Airport (MSN) will be
Saturday July 25th this year. Once again, the emphasis will be on safety and
comradery. As in 2008, the Caravan will be comprised of eight groups of six
aircraft for a maximum of 48 aircraft.
Our 2008 Mooney Lead, Bill Rabek felt that “The most important thing is that we have a
safe flight, regardless of how many planes participate. We are keeping the level of
participation the same as for 2008 so that we can focus on safety and successful
flight performance.” Pilots participating in the flight must have successfully
flown in a previous Caravan or have relevant prior experience and proficiency to
hold station.
The mandatory pilot briefings will include information on weather, routing and the
flight profiles. Each pilot/crew will be required to undergo a ‘situational
awareness’ briefing on the ground and view another aircraft spaced at the
appropriate distance for the Caravan flight. “We’ll place an aircraft on the ramp at the appropriate distance and ask
everyone to sit and look, to get a good ‘sight picture’ of what they will see
during the Caravan while flying the route” offered Rabek.“This way they’ll have the
opportunity to understand when they are too close or too far away.”
Caravan participation will be limited to 48 aircraft. However, additional
registrants may sign up since there is traditionally significant attrition in
the rolls between January and July. The order in which individuals sign up does
not guarantee inclusion. Individual participation is at the discretion of the
Flight Leader. Caravan volunteers who are working to make all this happen will
have first priority for participation in the Caravan. (Here is another great
reason to volunteer for one of the work groups!) Final selection will be based
on a review of flight experience, prior Caravan participation, total and recent
hours flown, and certificates/ratings. If you have not paid your
registration fee, consider yourself a “standby” only. The registration fee MUST
be received no later than June 1 to ensure
participation. As of June 1, paid registrants not contacted by the Caravan
Flight Leader may consider themselves accepted into the Caravan and all unpaid
registrants will be moved to the bottom of the list.
After May 26th, people will be
restored to the list in the order that we receive the registration fee.
The Flight Leader may ask for additional information about your flying experience.
We may request a sign-off from a CFI as
to a pilots' proficiency in basic station-keeping, traffic pattern work, spot
landings or similar situations. Anyone not accepted into the Mooney Caravan will
have all fees refunded. Co-pilots are strongly recommended and their
participation in the flight briefings is requested.
Any cancellations after July 11 will not have their registration fee refunded. Reservations cancelled before July 11 will be refunded, however if they are over 30 days old, they will be fefunded
at 90% - the other 10% covering credit card and processing fees. SAFETY and FLIGHT PERFORMANCE are overall goals
of the flight. In the event that extra aircraft should arrive at Madison, the
overflow will fly the FAA’s AirVenture Fisk arrival procedure with an arrival
time coinciding with the arrival of the Caravan. It is important that
you review the flight procedure and other information at the official EAA AirVenture web site,
www.AirVenture.org. Should you break out
of the caravan during flight, you will be following the standard AirVenture
arrival procedures into Oshkosh .
This should cause all Mooney aircraft to be parked in close proximity.
Departure Point:
Madison Dane County Regional Airport (MSN). The distance from Oshkosh is 62
nautical miles
Date:
Saturday, July 25, 2009. The Caravan departure from Madison is scheduled for
3:30pm. (See the detailed schedule below)
Friday Accommodations in Madison: We
have arranged for a group rate at the Holiday Inn Crown Plaza
hotel across from the East Towne Mall and about 3 miles from the airport. The
price for either a single or double room is $92.00 per night (regular rate is
$119.00). The hotel
amenities include: Pool, Fitness centre, Free Shuttle, T1 internet access, free
HBO, Bar on site in the hotel lobby (Good Wisconsin beer and bar cheese!), and
Restaurant on site. The hotel is close to at least 5 eateries. Caravan
participants will need to book their own room by calling: 1 800-404-7630 and
reserve under the rate quoted for the MOONEY CARAVAN. 35 rooms have been
reserved for us. First come first served. The reservations must be made at least
30 days in advance (cutoff date June 21). Cancellations need to be in 1.5 weeks prior if a refund is to be made (ed. note: when I made my reservation they said 24hrs for cancellation).
Madison Transportation: The
Caravan may provide a van for transport between the airport and the hotel from
noon Friday until noon Saturday. At other times, the hotel provides free round
trip transportation (once per room).
Groupings:
The Caravan will be configured as eight groups of six aircraft, with a maximum
participation of 48 aircraft. See the procedures for details.
Fee:
$40.00 Registration Fee, covers Caravan participation and one BBQ ticket. A box
lunch at Madison as well as extra tickets are available at an extra charge and
can be reserved at the registration page. Payment for the Caravan as well as extra BBQ tickets and MSN
lunches are now handled over the web. It is requested that you pay when you register. You will also be able
to pay later via a link that is sent with your confirmation email.
The fee MUST be received no later than June 1 to
ensure participation. Any cancellations after July 15 will not
have their registration fee refunded.
To Join: Pilots wanting to
participate must register by visiting the registration page. Click on the
REGISTER button to the top of the page.
Pilot Requirements: All pilots will be expected to have the following minimum experience:
-
500 Hours Total Flight Time
-
Instrument rating, Commercial or CFI certificates are not required, however
advanced training is a plus
-
50 hours Mooney time
-
Minimum 25 hours last 6 months, some should be practice for the Caravan
Group Leaders: One of
the special pleasures of the Caravan is being a leader of a six-plane group. If
you would like to volunteer to be one of the seven group leaders, please check
the appropriate box in the Caravan Registration form. Group leaders are selected
from volunteers with the most experience and who best meet the following
criteria: 1) Copilot on board (especially those with pilot ratings), 2)
functioning autopilot preferably with altitude hold, 3) GPS installed, 4) prior
Mooney Caravan experience, 5) Caravan volunteer. Group leaders must attend a
special briefing at 12:00 noon CDT on Saturday and will later conduct a plane
side group briefing prior to departure.
Lunches at Madison:
$6.00 each. Please add this amount to your registration fee for every extra
person in your party desiring a bag lunch at Madison on Saturday, July 25st. Please include a note indicating what you are paying for: Caravan, BBQ,
lunches....
T-shirts, apparel: Available separately from James
Oliphant (caravanorders-at-sbcglobal.net)
Visit the Caravan catalog. Click on the CATALOG Button in the header.
Sunday, July 26th Barbecue: Limited Availability. One ticket to
the BBQ is included as part of Caravan registration. Additional tickets can be
ordered at the registration or registration update paces for a cost
of $20.00 each.
Prepaid BBQ tickets can be picked up at Madison check in or at the BBQ.
Schedule:
|
SCHEDULE
|
EVENT
|
Time (CDT)
|
|
ARRIVAL at Madison (MSN) |
NO LATER THAN 11am Saturday July 25, 2009 Central Daylight Time |
|
Registration
|
2pm-5pm Friday, July 24 & 9 am-11am Saturday, July 25 |
|
Pre-ordered box lunch (Saturday) |
Available 11 am - 1 pm |
|
Group Leader Briefing |
Noon - 1:00 pm |
|
Main briefing (All pilots and crews) |
1:00 - 2:30 pm ATTENDANCE IS MANDATORY !! |
|
Group photo |
2:30 - 2:40pm |
|
Individual group briefing and review of procedures (planeside) |
2:45 - 3:00pm |
|
Load up, cockpit checks, get AWOS |
3:00 - 3:15 pm |
|
Engine start (by group) |
A-D 3:15
E-H 3:20
|
|
Taxi, form up, engine run-up (by group) |
3:15 - 3:30 pm |
|
Pre-takeoff check-in (by group) |
When run-up complete |
|
Alpha Group takeoff |
3:30 pm |
|
Hotel (last) group takeoff |
3:35 pm |
|
Mooney Lead lands at Oshkosh |
4:00 pm |
|
Mooney Tail lands at Oshkosh |
4:08 pm |
Caravan History
In the spring of 1998, a small group of loyal Mooney owners decided to fly
together into Oshkosh and started what we now know as Mooney Caravan. They flew
together and camped together. Over the years the Mooney Caravan has grown in
size and stature, reaching as high as 97 planes in 2000 and receiving
evermore-widespread news coverage. In 2002 the Caravan temporarily relocated its
departure point to Watertown, WI due to construction at MSN. Weather and other factors created
delays and almost caused the cancellation of the flight, but 80 aircraft
departed Watertown and arrived safely at OSH. For all other years the Caravan
has departed from Madison Wisconsin (MSN). For more information, click the
"Past Caravans" button in the header.
Volunteers
Please help! This event is carried by the strength of those who volunteer their
time and efforts to make it successful.
Please note the following working groups and where you would like to help.
Contact these folks directly or write to one of us at the following emails to
volunteer for a working group.
Procedures/FAA Liaison: Bill Rabek,wrabek_at_bellsouth.net
Mooney Lead: Dave Piehler,davep_at_aviating.com
Website: Scott Cutler,cutler_at_alum.mit.edu
Finance/Sponsorship: Jody Voss, jmfv_at_yahoo.com
Registration: Jonathan Paul, jonathan_at_razzolink.com
MSN Events: Ken Beaubien, beau_at_ jefnet.com
Barbecue: John Bartholomew, jcbart_at_cableone.net
Apparel: James Oliphant, caravanorders_at_sbcglobal.net
Plan to Join Us!
We'll keep you posted of Caravan developments.
[Updated April 06, 2009]