Looking for general information, directions, or exhibitor details? Visit the Welcome Center, where EAA staff and volunteers will get the answers for you. This year the Welcome Center will also offer unique aviation attractions including:

• A display from Virgin Galactic, including scale models of the world’s first "spaceliner," White Knight Two and SpaceShipTwo, currently being developed at Scaled Composites, the company founded by EAAer Burt Rutan.
   
• See the Sonex Electric Airplane, and learn about a new initiative, backed by EAA, to make electric-powered flight available and affordable to recreational aviators.
   
• Find out what the future holds for the AirVenture grounds and check out the proposed AirVenture site redesign project at a special Welcome Center showcase. This 10-year site project will enhance the World’s Greatest Aviation Celebration experience while maintaining the culture of the event. It will ensure AirVenture’s continued stature as the destination that embodies the spirit of aviation.
   
• History buffs can hear Historian Bob Kupon recount WWII B-17 bomber stories, including open discussion segments.
   
• Women aviators are invited to help EAA make history by signing the WomenVenture logbook at the WomenVenture exhibit. WomenVenture is a joint effort by EAA and Women in Aviation International aimed at recognizing and encouraging women of all ages to get involved in aviation. Women pilots are asked to converge upon AeroShell Square at 10:30 a.m. Friday, August 1, to help establish an unofficial record for the number of women pilots gathered in one location at one time!
   
• The symbolic 30,000th homebuilt aircraft to be registered in the United States will be celebrated at AirVenture this year, and the EAA Welcome Center will feature a special mural where members can have their picture taken or add a picture of their homebuilt. By the end of the convention, we’re hoping to create a unique tribute to builders. As EAA Founder and Chairman Paul Poberezny says, "It’s the airplanes that bring us together. It’s the people that keep us coming back."
   
• EAA’s Government Relations area will update visitors on what’s new with user fees, the FAA homebuilt aircraft regulations, and more.

Some of the "staples" EAA members can find at the Welcome Center return. They’ll have a quick and easy way to renew their membership and sign up for Autorenew (includes a free gift). "We want our members to spend their time enjoying their membership," says Barry Elk, director of EAA membership marketing. "With Autorenew, they won’t have to worry about keeping their membership current; we do it for them."

Visitors can ask questions about the many benefits included with an EAA membership, and they can join EAA right at the Welcome Center.

Representatives from Ford Motor Company, John Deere, Enterprise, AeroPlanner, the U.S. Bank EAA credit card program, AirFleet Capital Aircraft Financing, and EAA Aircraft Insurance Plan administered by Falcon Insurance Agency will be present. (EAA members receive a free hat with an insurance quote.)

The Welcome Center also brings back the Internet Café. It is a convenient place for EAA members to browse the Internet, check their e-mail, or research a new aviation gadget inside the AirVenture gates. Members can also rest tired feet at café tables in a cool, sun-free nook.

AirVenture offers some fantastic drawings, giveaways, and sweepstakes. EAA has made the entry process for the Visitor Passport drawing (a booklet of daily prizes and special discounts given to you with your AirVenture wristband) a lot more user-friendly this year. Applicants can drop off their entry forms at the Welcome Center. AirVenture attendees can also pick up their SPOT satellite messenger, support the Young Eagles in the Mustang Bullitt raffle, and enter to win a Cirrus SR20 and the second prize RotorWay Talon A600 helicopter kit in the Share the Spirit Sweepstakes.

EAA AirVenture guests should think of the Welcome Center as the "help desk" to The World’s Greatest Aviation Celebration, with some great perks that can’t be missed!

• Virgin Galactic’s Scale Models, White Knight Two and SpaceShipTwo
• Sonex Electric Airplane
• 30,000 Homebuilts Member Mural
• AirVenture 10-year Site Redesign Plans
• Sign the WomenVenture Logbook
• WWII B-17 Bomber Historian Bob Kupon
• Find Out What’s New with 51 percent Rule and User Fees
• EAA Member Internet Café
• Visitor Passport Drawings (daily at 3 p.m. – See Visitor Passport for Complete Listing)