Wichita ? Organizers of the city’s second annual Aviation Festival are counseling patience to those eager for a bigger, better and longer extravaganza than the three-day affair that drew about 225,000 people last month.

After all, the organizers say, look at Oshkosh — as in Oshkosh, Wis., which draws as many as 750,000 people from all over the world for an annual air show that began in the 1950s.

“Oshkosh wasn’t recognized for its first 10 years,” said John D’Angelo, Wichita’s director of arts and cultural events who was in charge of the festival. “But it will take time.

“We need to grow responsibly. All successful festivals take 20 or 30 years before they become recognized events.”

D’Angelo said it could take as long as a decade to expand to a fourth day and as long as 15 years to add a fifth.

Concession sales at this year’s were strong, and organizers say the festival appears to have made money. But at only three days — two of which are the annual McConnell Air Force Base open house and air show — it’s a long way from the 10-day festival proposed by a consultant and embraced by city leaders four years ago.

Teresa Day, director of the Kansas Aviation Museum, is among those who want to see the full-fledged festival come together sooner.

“I don’t see how we can be the Air Capital of the World and not want to have a strong aviation festival,” Day said.

Day believes the festival was organized too hurriedly, after two groups bid to run the event but dropped out last February.

“My hope is that the community and the private sector would embrace the idea of having a first-rate festival,” she said.

Mayor Carlos Mayans said he hoped for a decision by the end of this year on whether the city will continue to run the festival or contract it out to a professional festival agency.

Another issue is deciding how much to expand the festival beyond the McConnell open house.

This year, about 3,300 people paid $40 to $50 apiece to attend a new kick-off party at Col. James Jabara Airport that featured air acts, a disco dance with KC and the Sunshine Band, and food and drink provided by 12 restaurants.

Mayans was so pleased with the party that he was determined it would continue.

“It was fabulous,” he said. “It was a great addition to the festival to have one night where we could bring in acts we could charge for. We implemented it, and it worked.”

Partnerships between the city and McConnell can be a challenge because of strict military rules, said Maj. Trent Robinson, who was in charge of McConnell’s part of the festival.

No admission could be charged at the base to raise revenue. Nor could there be commercial sponsorships.

For the air show, no more than 33 percent could be civilian stunt fliers, Robinson said.

“The city is a great, enthusiastic partner,” Robinson said. “But we have to sometimes hold them back.”