We could have maybe a big column next to where the HG bags currently get dropped off.  That would be in your initial field of view as you come up the north steps.

Adding Tim’s items from the other thread:

As long as we’re doing it, cover the entire concrete slab area, kitchen area included. Maybe pour the missing southeast corner as well. The missing northeast corner is steep enough that leaving it as grass is probably okay.

Bring the eaves of the structure down to possibly 8 feet from 10. Having some slope on the roof will make it drain. The flat roof dripped for a long time after a rain. Lower eaves will give shade earlier in the day.

Build it with welded steel trusses. Possibly concrete or masonry columns. I suspect part of the issue here was rot at the base of the wooden posts. I’ll have to get out there and look. One turning loose would be all it took.

Extend the roof on the west side, and have a vertical plywood wall on the edge of the slope. Put in some hammocks or shelves to hold PGs and harnesses out of the wind and sun. That will leave more space for people on the east, social side of the container. It will also cover up the ugly infrastructure side of the container, and shade the A/C unit.

I third Marc’s point about the turbulence.  I’ve seen and felt the issue when it gets west in the afternoon, especially if it is stronger.

Related to that:  As much as I’d like to connect the kitchen area to the shade structure, I’d be hesitant to do that roof-wise.  The farther North we take the roof, the worse we’ll make the turbulence in the approach pattern, I suspect.  Although, I’ve had more issues when exiting the wind-shadow just at time to flare than with direct turbulence.  Your mileage may differ.

If we are building it from (almost) scratch, I’d suggest wiring it during the build, if possible.  Outlets available would be nice.  A minor thing, but a nice touch.

On a clean-sheet redesign, it would probably make more sense to orient shade  E/W instead of N/S, and put it backed up against the slope by the candy cane, between the candy cane and the road.

Or at one point I had this fantasy of putting all the storage containers next to the LZ, in the immediate vicinity of the north stairs.  There would be some digging to put their roofs about the same height as the E/W runway.  Then build a patio on top of that.

For the kitchen area to have much utility, it needs to have shade at the minimum.  I think it should keep rain off as well.

Minimizing the wind shadow is all well and good, but I think we’re going to have to live with some of our past decisions, absent someone getting a very large grant.

I agree with the other pilots that turbulence needs to be the highest priority when designing the shade structure. We should also consider the impact of the kitchen shade on the North approach. As I remember, there was no risk assessment that considered turbulence or encroachment on the North approach when we built the kitchen and when we added the shade structure over the kitchen.

To reduce the lift vector on the roof during high winds, you’d think we could come up with a simple spoiler system to take care of that laminar flow as well as all those pesky Bernoulli’s. Might pay in the long run…just thinking how roofs and wings share just a few characteristics.

I’m against external speakers. You always have the option of listening to the chatter with earbuds. With external speakers, you’re forcing other pilots to listen to it whether they want to or not.