And the drifts keep on coming…

Another week, another snowstorm coming to Oshkosh. We spent the past few days working quickly, as more snow is predicted for the end of the week. It was below-zero this morning, so again a lot of credit goes to the crews working in the elements. Also, I want to give credit to EAA photographer Bonnie Kratz, who stomped around in the cold to get these photos.

Quite a bit of our work centered on the new location of the Flymarket, which is just south and west of Exhibit Hangar D. This location works well for several reasons: It’s close to Camp Scholler and Showplane Camping, and shoppers will no longer have to dodge vehicles when crossing Waukau Avenue. We also have the opportunity to lay in new electrical wiring for the exhibitors there.

It’s kind of interesting how the underground utilities are being installed. Instead of traditional trenching through the frost layer, a special machine actually sucks dirt out of the ground, creating an opening where the lines can be run. These guys are placing the lines in the Flymarket exhibit area.

Other activities this week included installing fencing near the new Flymarket site. That is cold stuff to handle when the temperature is in the single digits. The photo below shows the fence and the Flymarket area looking toward the control tower from the southwest.

The newly relocated computer operations building has also been moved to the new main gate. That was an interesting project, too, since there’s not a lot of give in the wood when it’s this cold. The movers have to be extra careful to make sure everything is level when moving and lowering the structure. It’s just one of more than a dozen buildings that must be relocated in this first stage of the site plan.

I thought I’d throw in one extra photo in this week. We’re getting a lot of practice moving snow so far this winter, such as here in Camp Scholler. And we hear there’s more to come!