AirVenture Gets Off to a Stormy Start
Violent weather kept aircraft hunkered down enroute and soaked the grounds in the days leading up to EAA's annual festival.
Tower controllers at EAA AirVenture had a more leisurely duty time in the days ramping up to the big show. Storms kept many arrivals at bay, and rain-soaked parking areas had to dry out before the airport could begin to accept the bulk of arrivals. (Photo: Mark Phelps AIN)
Tower controllers at EAA AirVenture had a more leisurely duty time in the days ramping up to the big show. Storms kept many arrivals at bay, and rain-soaked parking areas had to dry out before the airport could begin to accept the bulk of arrivals. (Photo: Mark Phelps AIN)

The "World’s Busiest Control Tower" at Wittman Field in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, was a little slow yesterday, compared with the usual frenetic EAA AirVenture pace. A sequence of severe lines of thunderstorms blitzed on Saturday, causing much of the usual incoming traffic to hunker down en route. The torrential rains also saturated the acres of grass parking grounds to the point that Sunday’s arrivals were limited to aircraft with hard-surface parking slots and those with oversize "tundra" tires. In addition, scores of campers were left waiting at the entrance gates until their reserved campsites dried out on Sunday.