Flamping

Flamping in Wisconsin (WSJ photo)

By now most people are familiar with the term glamping (glamorous, i.e., luxurious camping), and now there's flamping:

Meet plane campers. They incorporate an obsession for aviation into their rustic getaways, and pitch tents beneath the wings of their small aircraft.

“There’s something about camping with your airplane that’s different from camping with your car,” explains Roger Roberts, a cardiologist.

Fans flock to the Sun ’n Fun Aerospace Expo in Lakeland, Fla., or to smaller airports that offer that unique blend of flying in and camping out—call it flamping.

The epicenter of this pastime is at Wittman Regional Airport here in Wisconsin each summer. Plane campers park in neat rows that stretch as far as the eye can see. Wet clothes and towels hanging from propellers flap in the breeze.

This isn’t your typical commune with nature. The Experimental Aircraft Association’s AirVenture Oshkosh, sometimes compared with Woodstock, routinely draws more than 10,000 planes to Oshkosh and surrounding small airports.

Flamping is squarely a middle class activity. Used Cessnas are in the $200,000 range, well within the reach of retirees with a decent nest egg and a paid-up house.

Flamping, or even glamping, is not something that this traveler is inclined to do, however. Preferring to maximize the enjoyment at each destination, I don't want to be burdened by hauling around too much stuff, much less setting it up and taking it down. Nevertheless....is this a great country or what?