Serving Midwest Aviation Since 1960
Serving Midwest Aviation Since 1960
The Minnesota Flyer originally was the newsletter of the Minnesota Aviation Trades Association. First published in January 1960, the Flyer was edited by Sherm Booen, who was well-known to Minnesota aviators through his television program, "World of Aviation," which ran for nearly 26 years on WCCO-TV in Minneapolis. The publication was purchased in 1988 by Richard A. Coffey, an aviation writer and editor living in east-central Minnesota. In October 2002, it was purchased by Tim Franklin, a native of Austin, Minn., who attended the University of Minnesota-Duluth and worked in the newspaper business in Duluth, Cloquet, Grand Marais in Minnesota along with newspaper jobs in Kansas, Louisiana and South Dakota. In 2019, the publication was purchased by Gene and Carter Johnson, dba as Northstar Media, LLC.
Today the magazine is supported by the advertising of regional aviation businesses. For the past 59 years, the Minnesota Flyer has been the voice of the aviation community throughout the Upper Midwest. The monthly magazine features an extensive calendar of fly-in breakfasts and events, aviation news, aeromedical issues, columns by aviation personalities and profiles of people and the airplanes that they fly. The popular Mystery Airplane Contest lets readers test their knowledge of aviation history each month, and the Minnesota Office of Aeronautics contributes technical articles on a regular basis. The publication is also a great source to find out more about aviation businesses throughout the Midwest.