Volunteers work on flower beds next to KidVenture’s new location at Pioneer Airport. Photo by Phil Weston

For the past eight years, EAA’s KidVenture has provided untold thousands of children with delightful, educational aviation experiences at its customary location, in the big white tent directly behind the AirVenture Museum. There’s never been much room for expansion, however, and the road bordering its eastern edge has created occasional bottlenecks of buses, gators, golf carts, and other vehicles.

In 2007, KidVenture will be transplanted across Pioneer Airport’s turf runway where there will be much more room for kids to enjoy safe, hands-on aviation activities.

"We’re looking for a fantastic year this year with our expanded square footage," said KidVenture Chairman Dan Majka, who coordinates volunteers from some 25 EAA chapters to staff the area. The large hangar will provide not only additional space, but also some protection from the weather for some of the high-tech equipment.

"We’ll also be able to put the blacktop in front of the hangars and grass areas by the runway to good use. KidVenture will certainly have a much larger footprint than in past years," he added.

This year, high tech is one of the main themes, with additional flight simulators. Flight training sessions with National Association of Flight Instructors (NAFI) certificated flight instructors (CFIs) will be doubled, plus eight stations will be available offering introduction to meteorology, navigation, and other subjects.

A daily RC (radio-controlled) air show will be held outside, and kids can also try their hands at control-line flying. At KidVenture’s "Skunk Works," kids can build and fly their own balsa gliders, featuring a new canard design. Or they can dream up their own design on the computer with DaVinci Technologies software. Kids can modify and even test-fly aircraft, with a daily contest to determine the best airplane.

Other returning activities: The KidVenture Heroes Stage; riveting instruction (supported by Van’s Aircraft and Avery Tools); prop shaping (supported by Hartzell Propeller); the artist booth; and the cockpit climb. The U.S. Army also returns with its 18-wheel science laboratory, featuring physics experiments and lots of cool demonstrations, including a robot kids will be able to operate.

KidVenture sponsor this year, Andy’s Airplanes, will feature an interactive video display for younger kids. Andy’s Airplanes is a new television series for young children.

Thursday through Sunday, ham radio operators will set up their equipment and allow kids to communicate with other faraway operators.

KidVenture hours are 9 a.m.-3:30 p.m. daily, except for Sunday, July 29, when closing time is 2 p.m. due to the earlier air show. Shuttle buses will run regular schedules to KidVenture throughout the day from the main AirVenture bus stop and AirVenture Museum.

Youth Flight Education program expanded at KidVenture

Building on the success of last year’s My First Logbook program at KidVenture, the National Association of Flight Instructors, Aviation Supplies & Academics (ASA), the FAA Aviation Education Program, and the NASA Ames Research Center will conduct an expanded Young Eagles Flight Education experience at KidVenture during EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2007.

This year the program will include 10 learning stations located in one of the hangars at KidVenture’s new site on EAA’s Pioneer Airport. Each station will offer guided, hands-on educational opportunities as volunteers provide the basics of aviation regulations, weather, navigation, air traffic control, human factors, aircraft design, pre-flight, flight lesson, and post-flight. When completed, participants will receive a Young Eagles Flight Education certificate along with their first "Training Starts Here" pilot’s logbook from ASA, including log entries for their training.

"What we’re trying to do is not all about the airplane," said Program Chairman and Master Instructor John Teipen. "Aviation has so much more to offer than what appears on the surface. What young people can hope to get from the program are the disciplines, the responsibilities, their own personal performance levels, goal setting, and of course, the accomplishments. Those are the things that those of us who have been in aviation long enough love so much about it."

At the Flight Lesson booth, NAFI CFIs will provide dual instruction on ASA’s FAA-certificated basic aviation-training-device simulators. This logged and CFI-endorsed time counts toward the FAA private pilot certificate. Headsets provided by Sigtronics add realism to the flight lesson.

KidVenture Hero Stage not just for kids

For years kids of all ages have seen aviation legends and notables at the KidVenture Heroes Stage. There’s a full roster of presentations planned at KidVenture’s new location on the other side of Pioneer Airport, including such figures as Chuck Yeager, Dick Rutan, Mike Goulian, Julie Clark, Kyle Franklin, and Matt Younkin, and many others.

Look in AirVenture Today for the daily Heroes Stage schedule, or visit the web and search locations at
www.AirVenture.org/forums.