The AOPA 2012 Sweepstakes Tougher Than A Tornado Husky begins the new year with a new owner and a new residence: Boise, Idaho.
Brian Burnett, an Alaska native and former Super Cub owner, purchased the Tornado Husky from AOPA sweepstakes winner Richard Zahn. Burnett and friend Ross Parton picked up the 180-horsepower Aviat A–1C in Orlando, Fla., in mid-December and flew it home to the mountains of Idaho.
The Tornado Husky got its name by surviving a close brush with the 2011 Sun ’n Fun twister, and true to form, it attracted some adverse weather on a scenic, circuitous, 32-hour flight across the continent.
Burnett is an experienced tailwheel pilot who has flown backcountry airplanes throughout the Northwest and Alaska. He and Parton are sharing their journeys in the Tornado Husky via a new website that pays tribute to the capable young airplane and its eventful history.