AirVenture Grounds are Better Than Ever in 2018

June 21, 2018 - EAA strives to improve AirVenture at every turn, and as a result, a host of improvements have been made to the Oshkosh grounds since EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2017.

The EAA Seaplane Base saw a lot of traffic last year and is better equipped to handle the increased volume of visitors this time around with various improvements. The food area has been moved to better accommodate traffic flow and easier access to vendors are two new AirVenture 2018 improvements.

The Tailwind Café in the Homebuilts area received a concrete foundation and tent for last year’s convention, which made it a popular spot. It’s now even nicer, according to EAA Director of Facilities Steve Taylor.

“This year we put in a pavilion over that to create a nice area for people to gather within the homebuilt community, to sit down and watch the activities,” Steve said.

The Vintage area has been updated, too, with Charlie’s Park opening on Monday. Charlie’s Park was named in honor of Charlie Harris, a longtime Vintage Aircraft Association member who served in several capacities during his lifetime.

“It’s a park-like setting behind the Homebuilt Hangar in honor of Charlie Harris, enhancing the area and adding some nice new landscaping in order to make it more of that welcoming attraction to the attendee,” Steve said.

The Warbirds area is now home to a new Quonset-style hut, which will be the Warbirds Youth Center. It will house several of the flight-training simulators formerly located in a Warbirds area tent.

The building near the tower that formerly housed the sweepstakes is now supporting the Oshkosh Convention & Visitors Bureau and the Wisconsin Department of Tourism. The sweepstakes can now be found in the EAA Member Center located in the Four Corners.

Other grounds additions include enhancements to the North 40 convenience store, a well to provide additional water for attendees plus another shower trailer on the south end, a new road in Camp Scholler to improve accessibility, and 117 new electrical campsites.

“Last year we sold out the Wednesday prior to the show. We see the demand there,” Steve said. “We strategically decided to go with approximately 120 sites.”

Some other smaller updates and modifications were made as well, so keep your eyes peeled this week. EAA is working to provide AirVenture attendees the best possible experience during their stay in Oshkosh.