Short Final: Oshkosh Short

Gemini Sparkle

Key Takeaways:

  • A low-time, confident pilot offered to make an "Oshkosh short" approach when asked by air traffic control.
  • Despite his initial bravado, the pilot struggled with the landing due to speed and gusty winds, resulting in multiple touchdowns.
  • He humorously attributed the messy landing to being "just the same way I did it at Oshkosh," implying his "Oshkosh" flying wasn't as polished as the tower might have assumed.
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Many moons ago I was flying into Denver’s Centennial airport when tower asked me if I could make a short approach. As full of confidence as a low-time pilot could be, I replied, “Certainly, you want Oshkosh short?”

Tower answered, “Sure, show me some of that Oshkosh stuff!”

I turned base to final a little hot and tried to get it down, with the usual results. Combined with some gusty winds I think I made about 4 touchdowns heading in the general direction of the runway before getting it wrestled under control. Tower comes back on frequency, “Well, that was really something, all right …” and I replied “Yep—just the same way I did it at Oshkosh!”

Greg Niehues

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