Thursday, November 12, 2009

A new countdown, a new list

We spent much of the fall planning “what’s next” for AirVenture site improvements and enhancements. While the list isn’t nearly as long or extensive as what you saw for last summer’s event, it’s still pretty significant and you’ll notice it on the grounds in 2010.

One thing I like about this year’s to-do list is that nearly all the projects relate directly to making everyone’s experience at Oshkosh even better. As we go through the winter, I can give more detail on the projects, but let’s just run through the short list of what we’re planning before the end of next July:

Exhibit Hangar C expansion
-- We’re adding 18,000 square feet of indoor exhibit space to the north side of Hangar C
-- Adding indoor restrooms on the east side of Hangar C, which can be accessed from either the exhibit hangar or from outside

North 40 aircraft camping
-- Building a new shower building along the perimeter road, about halfway between North 40 registration and the current shower building. And yes, the new shower building will also have flush toilets!


Camp Scholler
-- Establishing about 250 electrical hook-up campsites in the area currently reserved for 24-hour generator use. Those sites will cost a little more, and a process for reserving them (either a lottery or other method) will be created in the near future.
-- Maintaining no-electricity areas in some of the traditional camping areas, such as Paul’s Woods and the 101 Woods

Roads
-- Expanding the north/south road between Exhibit Hangars B & D and extending it to Kilps Road, just north of Hangars A & C. This will allow a better, more efficient tram loop to be established that will include a stop at the new restrooms.
-- Chip-sealing roads in the Flymarket area, as well as major roads in Camp Scholler and Foundation Road near the Nature Center. This will help reduce the dust created by traffic and dry conditions.


IAC building
-- Constructing a porch addition on the south side of the IAC building to help support the aerobatic group’s forums during AirVenture

Wow. Along with all that, the Warbirds are currently considering several projects and enhancements in their area, too. Combined with the usual maintenance items, that should be enough to fill our lonely hours throughout the winter and spring. We’re eager to get started and show you the next stage of progress – even if over the winter, it means wearing everything we own to stay warm outside.

Thanks for reading!