The 2015 season opener of the Wisconsin Flying Hamburger Social, held June 3 at Marshfield, Wisconsin. Approximatelly 130 peple and 42 aircraft showed up for the event.
As airport manager at Wisconsin’s Wausau Downtown Airport, John Chmiel has observed that today’s general aviation pilots are very different from the ones he grew up around in the 1970s. Back then, pilots hung out at airports on weekends and went flying just for the fun of it. Airplane owners would launch into the sky simply because the weather was nice and their afternoons were free. Today, Chmiel said, pilots always seem to need a reason to go flying. So he decided to give them one.
Chmiel's idea was simple: Once a week from June through August, an airport in central Wisconsin would set up tables and chairs and serve hamburgers from 5 to 7 p.m. Pilots could fly in or drive in—and, for the cost of a donation for dinner, socialize with other pilots while they ate. The event would rotate to different airports throughout the summer. “I called some airport managers and about halfway through my explanation they said, ‘Stop talking. We’ll do it,’” Chmiel said. Thus the Wisconsin Flying Hamburger Social was born.
The first few hamburger nights, held on Wednesdays in June 2013, were hampered by poor weather. Then the rotation hit Stevens Point Municipal Airport on a cool, cloudless evening. That night, about 40 airplanes flew in and about 120 pilots gathered for the meal. It was the most activity the airport had ever seen for a single event, including its annual airshow.
Now in their third year, hamburger nights routinely bring in 20 to 40 airplanes and 40 to 150 people, depending on weather. Of the 98 active airports in the state, about 30 participate on a regular basis. To keep flying distances short so pilots of slower aircraft can make it home before dark, Chmiel and fellow organizers divided the state into 10 sections, or “branches,” each of which is assigned a specific night of the week to hold its hamburger social.
There are only a couple rules for hamburger night: Keep it simple and have fun. “If it’s work, you aren’t doing it right,” said Jeff Gaier, airport manager at Marshfield Municipal Airport and host of the inaugural event. Airports that stick to basic fare—hamburgers and fixings with some chips or cookies—recoup their costs in donations. The key is to remember that the event is not about the food. Instead, as the group’s website points out, the emphasis is on “getting aviation-minded people to the airport, getting local pilots flying, fellowship with friends, and meeting people from other local airports.”
So far, it is working. Getting aviation-minded people to the airport? Check. At one recent event, more than 200 pilots and their families showed up for dinner. Getting local pilots flying? Check. Pilots have told Gaier they are flying more because of these events and Chmiel has observed an uptick in flying activity among participants. “I’ve noticed that people who fly for hamburger night are now flying two to three times a week,” he said. “They are just more comfortable. It’s all about proficiency.”
Meeting people from other local airports? Check. When hamburger night first started, Chmiel said pilots hung out in groups according to their home airport. Three years later, everyone knows each other and when they get together at hamburger night, they are simply one big group.
Gaier and his wife have a standing date night every Wednesday to travel by airplane or car to whichever airport in the central branch is hosting hamburger night. It has been a boon for both their marriage and their friendships with other aviators. “Pilots that I used to see only once a year, I am now seeing a lot more often,” he says.
Chmiel and Gaier say they hope hamburger night someday becomes a nationwide initiative that spurs a boost in GA activity. Now that’s an idea we can really sink our teeth into.
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