Maule, Bonanza Get Closer Than Intended

The storms that blew through the Oshkosh and Appleton areas Sunday morning claimed at least two casualties... that so far, fortunately, seem limited to planes.

Reader Dave Page sent along his photograph, below, of a Husky that apparently got flipped by the strong winds Sunday morning on the ground at Appleton Airport, 30 miles north of OSH. Alas, the Husky finally settled... right onto the back of a Beech Bonanza.

Meanwhile, areas of Wittman Field at Oshkosh were briefly underwater, as torrential rains battered the area for nearly a half hour -- a true gullywasher.

Fortunately, as noted earlier, the early-morning storms should keep temperatures down  
as vistors flock to the field for the final day of AirVenture 2006.

And, one final note... our thoughts, and questions, go out to the pilot who, according to our team on the field Sunday morning, took off just as the storms hit the field around 7:00 am, with the wind to his or her back, apparently in a rush to beat the impending weather.

We didn't get to see the type of aircraft (it was too dark!)... but if that pilot happens to read ANN, we'd appreciate a note explaining what was so urgent that you couldn't wait an hour or so for the weather to blow through... as you seem to be the only one who declined to wait out the storms, safely, on the ground.

We hope you're okay... and remember, let's all be careful out there.

FMI: http://adds.aviationweather.noaa.gov/radar/