WAUNAKEE — The traffic is steady on South Division Street, a major connector between this village's south and north sides.
A motorist pauses on South Division Street as a plane takes off Wednesday morning at the Waunakee Airport. The airport was established on farmland in 1946 but is now surrounded by the village of Waunakee and its more than 15,000 residents.
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Dan Silvers is operations manager for the Waunakee Airport. The airport has 14 hangars, but there are about 30 other hangars at homes of pilots who live along the airport's 2,300-foot-long runway.
A Van's Aircraft RV-12 owned by James Sorenson takes off Wednesday from the Waunakee Airport. Just moments before takeoff, the plane could be seen warming up next to Sorenson's home on the north side of the airport's runway.Â
A plane sits parked in front of a hangar adjacent to a home on the south side of the Waunakee Airport's runway. There are other airports with housing and hangars around the state, but Waunakee's is one of the oldest, established in 1946.
Duane Esse, 88, flew for 54 years and has lived in a home with a hangar at the Waunakee Airport for more than 30 years. On Wednesday, he used his lawnmower to visit the airport offices along South Division Street.
Brett Hedtke of Weber Oil in Kiel fills one the two 1,000-gallon fuel tanks at the Waunakee Airport. Plans call for upgrading the airport's fuel systems and in the future, repaving the runway.
Tanya Cunningham opens the door of her hangar where she stores her Cessna 172. Both Cunningham and her husband, Niel Robinson, are retired commercial pilots and each has a plane at the Waunakee Airport but live on Madison's Far West Side.
Tanya Cunningham lives in Madison but keeps her Cessna 172 in a hangar at the Waunakee Airport. She's also president of the Waunakee Airport & Pilots Association, formed in 1979.
Photos: Take a tour of the Waunakee Airport
Operations manager Dan Silvers is the speaks about the the Waunakee Airport in Waunakee, Wis., Wednesday, July 24, 2024. SAMANTHA MADAR, STATE JOURNAL
Pilot Tanya Cunningham of Madison looks at a plane preparing to taxi at the Waunakee Airport in Waunakee, Wis., Wednesday, July 24, 2024. SAMANTHA MADAR, STATE JOURNAL
Tanya Cunningham opens the door of her hangar where she stores her Cessna 172. Both Cunningham and her husband, Niel Robinson, are retired commercial pilots and each has a plane at the Waunakee Airport but live on Madison's Far West Side.
Dan Silvers is operations manager for the Waunakee Airport. The airport has 14 hangars, but there are about 30 other hangars at homes of pilots who live along the airport's 2,300-foot-long runway.
The grounds of the Waunakee Airport reflect from the window of Citabria in Waunakee, Wis., Wednesday, July 24, 2024. SAMANTHA MADAR, STATE JOURNAL
A plane sits parked in front of a hangar adjacent to a home on the south side of the Waunakee Airport's runway. There are other airports with housing and hangars around the state, but Waunakee's is one of the oldest, established in 1946.
Tanya Cunningham lives in Madison but keeps her Cessna 172 in a hangar at the Waunakee Airport. She's also president of the Waunakee Airport & Pilots Association, formed in 1979.
A house with an airplane hangar sits on the edge of the Waunakee Airport in Waunakee, Wis., Wednesday, July 24, 2024. SAMANTHA MADAR, STATE JOURNAL
Brett Hedtke of Weber Oil in Kiel fills one the two 1,000-gallon fuel tanks at the Waunakee Airport. Plans call for upgrading the airport's fuel systems and in the future, repaving the runway.
Operations manager Dan Silvers, center walks with Duane Esse, 88, at the Waunakee Airport in Waunakee, Wis., Wednesday, July 24, 2024. SAMANTHA MADAR, STATE JOURNAL
A Van's Aircraft RV-12 owned by James Sorenson takes off Wednesday from the Waunakee Airport. Just moments before takeoff, the plane could be seen warming up next to Sorenson's home on the north side of the airport's runway.Â
Duane Esse, 88, flew for 54 years and has lived in a home with a hangar at the Waunakee Airport for more than 30 years. On Wednesday, he used his lawnmower to visit the airport offices along South Division Street.
Duane Esse, 88, speaks about the Waunakee Airport in Waunakee, Wis., Wednesday, July 24, 2024. SAMANTHA MADAR, STATE JOURNAL
A house with an airplane hangar sits on the edge of the Waunakee Airport in Waunakee, Wis., Wednesday, July 24, 2024. SAMANTHA MADAR, STATE JOURNAL
A plane prepares to taxi at the Waunakee Airport in Waunakee, Wis., Wednesday, July 24, 2024. SAMANTHA MADAR, STATE JOURNAL
Homes with airplane hangars line both sides of the Waunakee Airport.
A house with an airplane hangar sits on the edge of the Waunakee Airport in Waunakee, Wis., Wednesday, July 24, 2024. SAMANTHA MADAR, STATE JOURNAL
Barry Adams covers regional news for the Wisconsin State Journal. Send him ideas for On Wisconsin at 608-252-6148 or by email at badams@madison.com.
