It has long been Wausau, Wisconsin’s desire to renovate its terminal building at Wausau Downtown Airport (KAUW), which was originally built in 1952 to serve Wisconsin Central Airlines and the Federal Aviation Administration as a Flight Service Station. The building remained in that capacity until 1969 when North Central Airlines moved to the then brand-new Central Wisconsin Airport (KCWA) in Mosinee, Wisconsin, and a couple of engineering firms rented the office space. Wausau Flying Service moved into the building in 1998 and has been there ever since (https://midwestflyer.com/flying-a-stearman-for-the-first-time-you-can-do-it-too/).
Minimal ascetic upgrades kept things going, but in 2019, it was becoming apparent that it was time to upgrade the building and its systems. But the project was pushed off year after year in the city’s capital improvement program due to the perception that other projects were more important.
“We wanted to keep the nostalgic look of the building to pay homage to Wausau’s rich aviation history, but we needed to modernize all the utilities and create a building that represented the progressive forward-thinking community that the Wausau Metro Area had become,” said John Chmiel, airport manager and coowner of Wausau Flying Service. Not to mention the enthusiasm and effort put forth by Chmiel and coowner, Angela Uhl. For without a good airport manager and fixed base operator, and the enthusiasm and expertise of fellow pilot and aircraft owner, Karl Kemper, President of Becher-Hoppe, the project would not have succeeded.
Combined these delays with being fed false information that renovating the terminal building could not be funded with FAA dollars because of its shared usage with the FBO.
But thanks to the efforts of Becher-Hoppe, which dug into the rules for FAA funding eligibility, it was learned that in fact, both public-use terminal spaces, and “behind the counter” FBO-use spaces, were eligible for FAA funding at general aviation-only airports! Wausau Downtown Airport met that criteria (https://www.becherhoppe.com/).
It took a fair amount of coordination to enlighten the Wisconsin DOT Bureau of Aeronautics and FAA on this topic, but eventually, they agreed that the project was eligible for 95% federal and state funding. The City of Wausau was ecstatic to learn that it would only need to contribute 5% towards the cost of the project. The total cost of the project was $2.5 million.
Completing the project involved the airport manager, John Chmiel; the President and Project Engineer at Becher-Hoppe, Karl Kemper; the City of Wausau; Wausau Flying Service; WisDOT Bureau of Aeronautics; Federal Aviation Administration; the architectural firm The Samuels Group, Inc.; and the prime contractor, J.H. Findorff and Son, Inc.
“Evan Krueger was our airport engineering specialist with the Wisconsin DOT Bureau of Aeronautics,” said Chmiel. “The chemistry on this project between Karl, Evan, and myself made it so much easier to accomplish. We all communicated perfectly with one another, and we shared the same vision.”
One of the founders of Becher-Hoppe, which is headquartered in Wausau – the late Archie Becher, Sr. — was the city engineer when the original terminal was built. Karl Kemper stated: “We trust that Archie is smiling down on the project.” Archie Becher, Sr. was a pilot and aircraft owner, as is Karl Kemper (https://midwestflyer.com/airport-consultant-finds-flying-fun-professionally-rewarding/).
For pilots who enjoyed seeing all of the aeronautical motif that adorned the old terminal, rest assured that piece by piece, Wausau Flying Service is returning most, if not all artifacts, to the remodeled facility.
“Our goal for interior decor is to create a museum-like interior that honors the long past and present aviation legacy of aviation in the Wausau area,” said Chmiel.
Photos courtesy of Becher-Hoppe, Wausau Downtown Airport, Wausau Flying Service, and Dave Weiman.
