Business View Magazine | November 2020

183 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE NOVEMBER 2020 THE WI TTMAN REGIONAL A I RPORT Schell adds that the Airport is actively marketing the Oshkosh Aviation Business Park and looking to secure an anchor tenant. “It’s actually a joint venture with the City of Oshkosh,” he says. “Out of the 80 acres, the Airport owns 50 and the city owns 30. We’ve got an economic development corporation here in Oshkosh – the Greater Oshkosh EDC - that’s a partner in the marketing, promotion, and development of the Park. They’re the economic development arm of the city. So, it’s a joint effort, with the Airport taking the lead.” Because the Airport has great infrastructure – two main runways and the taxiway system that connects them to different areas on the field – there had been a push years ago to return Wittman Regional to commercial service. But Schell doesn’t see that happening. “In this day and age, and with the growth that we’ve seen to the north at the Appleton Airport, and the level of service that they have, plus the airport down in Milwaukee (General Mitchell International Airport), there’s really not a whole lot of opportunity for Wittman, or Oshkosh as a community, to solicit air service. It’s about a 25-minute drive to Appleton, and you can be on any major airline –American, Delta, or United.” Going forward, Schell says the focus is on expanding upon and capitalizing on what our core strengths are. “Our mission is to be the premier general aviation airport in Wisconsin, facilitating a wide variety of uses and contributing to the economic growth of the region. We’re looking forward to the opening of our new general aviation terminal in 2021, and the return, of the EAA AirVenture event. We’re also going to be hosting, for the first time in our history, the NIFA (National Intercollegiate Flying Association) SAFECON (Safety through Education, Excellence through Competition) event, which was originally scheduled for 2020, but due to the pandemic, had to be rescheduled. We’re also looking forward to finishing our Master Plan update, the construction of new