There is a little building just southeast of Homebuilder’s HQ with a sign identifying it as the Homebuilt Tower. I’ve been flying in for over a decade and never notice or known of their role so I made a visit today. I learned that the FAA does NOT provide any ground control at KOSH during AirVenture.
Instead, these men—Rob Beuligmann and Rick Setzer—keep an eye on what is happening along the parallel taxiways to 18/36, listen to the tower and ATIS, and help North Point, Center Point, and South Point EAA ground crew move people in the proper direction. They also look from their high perch for dangerous situations developing on and along the taxiways and alert the EAA folks on the ground. It appears that they generally sit back and enjoy the show when the pre-arranged taxi patterns are working, but there are times when a wrench is thrown into the system, say, a Dreamliner comes into the field and blocks the taxiways for 20 minutes—when Rob and Rick earn their pay. They are among the thousands of EAA volunteers who make our event a little easier and less stressful.
