by Pete Miller
I’ve attended Airventure several times over the years, and I always had a lot to do. When I was building my airplane there was always research that had to be done. Now that the airplane is finished, and quite honestly, I’m not as interested in the airshows anymore, so I find myself with more free time at Oshkosh.
Two years ago I volunteered to help with the One-Week Wonder, when they completed a Sonex Waiex during the week. So this year, I decided to volunteer again. The trams at Airventure provide a vital service to the attendees. Many times I’ve taken advantage, not just for transportation, but even to take a break and cool off a bit while rolling through the grounds. I’ve always heard that when tram service is slow, it’s sometimes because of a lack of volunteers, so I decided to give it a shot.
I registered back in the spring, and put in for the shifts I wanted. I volunteered to work Sunday, Monday and Tuesday, and I asked to be a conductor, which is the person in back that monitors boarding, and can give a bit of guidance along the way over the speakers.
On Saturday at 11:00am, there was a training session in the pavilion at the Nature Center. On Sunday morning, I got to where the trams are parked overnight. I received my assignment and met my driver. Promptly at 8:00am, we pulled out and started our route.
Our first route was the Blue route, which goes through Vintage, past Ultralights, and out to the connection to the busses for the South 40 and the Seaplane Base. It took me a round trip to get my bearings so I’d know what to say, but I got the hang of it pretty quick, and we had a great time for the next 6 hours.
On Monday and Tuesday, I worked the afternoon shift, which was from 2:00 until 8:00. On those days we did the Red tram, which runs past the Forums, Homebuilts and Warbirds, and out to the connection for the North 40 busses and a Purple Express route. We also got pulled to the Yellow line, which runs the short distance between the four large exhibit hangars, and connects the Blue and Red.
I would do the trams again. I enjoyed meeting the other Tram volunteers as well as the people riding.
I highly recommend that you consider volunteering at Airventure. There’s all kinds of work that needs to be done, and it’s very rewarding.