Serving Midwest Aviation Since 1960
Serving Midwest Aviation Since 1960
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Start talking pavement technology and almost everyone else's eyes glaze over. Pavements are fascinating. Discussions about fine and coarse aggregates can go on for hours and of course a great topic is the never-ending debate over which is more cost effective, asphalt cement concrete or Portland cement concrete. Ok, for airport engineers that's interesting. But in the 21st century good pavement is necessary for a good airport. Economics dictate that most general aviation airports in Minnesota...
It would be hard to imagine more interesting times than what our planet has recently experienced. The coronavirus worldwide pandemic and the resulting government responses have very much changed the lives of everyone. No baseball, movies, airshows or fly-ins. Bars and restaurants are closed, so the $100 hamburger run is out. The economy took a major hit, resulting in widespread unemployment. Aviation activity has decreased on an alarming scale. The U.S. airport system has felt the jolt as much...
In all the history of aviation, only 99 pilots can claim to have been "Flying Tigers." The nickname was later adopted by the 23rd Fighter Group of the U.S. Army Air Force, but the original Flying Tigers were not members of the military. They were a band of mercenaries recruited by Claire Chenault before the U.S. was officially at war with Japan. Flying in Burma and China from December 1941 to July 1942, they destroyed 296 Japanese aircraft, losing 14 pilots in the process. Einar Mickelson from...
British Prime Minister Winston Churchill had a way with the English language. He also liked the sound of his own voice. Many of his speeches in Parliament lasted so long that some members were nearly comatose by the end. On August 20, 1940 Churchill made a typically long speech concerning the status of the war with Germany. He paid tribute to all the people defending Britain against the aggressors, but buried in the speech is this single sentence that has an important place in aviation history....
My blood pressure was about to spike. The youngest daughter had just told me she was going to the Marine Corps Ball. This was a successful and self-assured young woman, who could take care of herself very nicely. No matter. I was having flashbacks to a much different era, and the only time I'd ever been to a Marine Ball. November 10, 1775 is the birthday of the United States Marine Corps. Initially called the Continental Marines, their birth place was "Tun Tavern" in Philadelphia. Appropriately...
Before Sinclair Lewis made it to the big time, he was an aviation writer. His first published book was "Hike and the Aeroplane." He wrote it in 1912 under the pseudonym of Tom Graham. Literary terminology of the day would call it a "pot boiler." It's about 16-year-old Gerald (Hike) Griffin who helps an inventor land a contract with the US Army for his amazing tetrahedral flying machine. "Fate is the Hunter" it's not. Only 1000 copies were printed, but if you come across one it could be worth...
Less than seven years after the Wright Brothers first powered flights the air age came to Springfield, Mn. A pilot who called himself Captain Foster (it's true, you cannot make this stuff up) arrived in town to do demonstration flights in his "homemade" airplane. Foster must have made an impression because by the 1930s Springfield had become one of the first Minnesota Communities to own and operate a municipal airport. Originally the settlement was named "Burns" after two brothers who were...
Charles Hallock was an author and publisher from New York City. He studied at Amherst and Yale, then edited the New Haven Register. Around the time of the American Civil War he owned the New York Journal of Commerce. So how is it that a town in the far northwest corner of Minnesota ends up being named after a literary type from the northeast? Mr. Hallock was into conservation. He was an avid outdoor person and naturalist who experimented in agricultural practices that also benefited wildlife....
Like to see stage shows and maybe play a little "blackjack?" How about staying in a nice hotel, having some good meals and getting away for a few days? You could get an airline ticket to Las Vegas then enjoy a 45-minute wait in the TSA line so you can take a seat without enough leg room. After that you get to stand in line again for a rental car and walk a couple miles to where it's parked. Later you can do it all over again to get home. A private jet with a limo at the other end would be nice...
Ken Bresley was crazy about the bracing cold of winters in Walker, MN. Or maybe he was just crazy. Every February Ken would lead the "plunge." A group would cut a hole in the ice on Leech Lake, then jump in. It's all for a good cause, and part of the Eelpout Festival. It raises money for the Community Center and brightens the local economy during the long winter in Northern Minnesota. The Festival was pretty much Ken's invention. If he was crazy, it was like the proverbial fox. Walker is a...
Warren is the seat of Marshall County and the home of the "Settlers Square Historical Museum." It's a great museum with all kinds of exhibits including a 1977 Ford LTD. The old Ford is beat up. It has a badly cracked windshield, a broken headlight and a bunch of dents in the hood. Once a patrol car for the Sheriff's department, it's an artifact from the best documented encounter between earthlings and extra-terrestrials. People come from all over to check it out, so visit Warren and join the...
Brooten is an industrious place. The City's economic success would be great for many towns but is remarkable for a smaller community like Brooten. One of Brooten's more interesting products is wood baseball bats. In the 21st Century most baseball is played with metal bats, with the notable exception of the professional leagues. Traditionally the pros have used ash bats, but the ones made in Brooten are "freeze dried" maple. The list of professional ball players using the maple bats is getting lo...
There must be a theme here. Piquadinaw is what the Ojibway called the area. That roughly translates as "it is hilly." European settlers saw the wisdom in that name and in 1910 Hill City was incorporated. That same year the first edition of the local newspaper said, "it would be a hard proposition to find a more ideal and sightly location for a town..." It might have been bragging and certainly wasn't great grammar, but it was all true. In the 21st century the area around Hill City is still...
"Wells to go Dry" is a headline that could have happened. In 1913, seven years before the United States government enacted national prohibition, a local election prohibited consumption of alcoholic beverages in the City of Wells. People went thirsty until the 19th Amendment was repealed in 1933. That year, seven new licenses to sell beer were issued. By 1948 the City had decided to "join them" and opened a municipal liquor store. A 1988 headline could have read "Air Force bases Sabre Jet at Well...
Perham Municipal Airport is located just northwest of the city between the old and new versions of US Highway 10. In the "good old days" there was a popular drive-in movie theater on the old highway next to the airport. A symbiotic relationship existed between the two. The "silver screen" provide an informal visual aid for the pilots, and the runway gave the local teenagers an alternate access to the movies. Apparently, the kids would turn off the lights on their vehicles and drive down the...
Once upon a time pilots training for their instrument ratings regularly practiced approaches at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport. It's true, that really happened. MSP had the only Instrument Landing System (ILS) facilities in the Twin Cities, so that's where instructors took their students. Until the 1970s there was even a flight school at MSP specializing in instrument training. Some of the approaches were the notorious "back course ILS" which use the localizer transmitter for the...
Before the arrival of Europeans, the Dakota and Ojibwa frequently disputed who got to use the area around what is now the City of Benson in Swift County. A particularly gruesome chapter in that conflict occurred where the Chippewa River is joined by its East Branch. That's why the recreational area at the confluence is now called "Ambush Park." Not to worry, these days it's a perfectly delightful spot and you won't be bushwhacked while you camp or hike. On the other bank of the River is a great...
Henry Sibley was having a bad day. He was supposed to recommend a name for the town that was to be the "division point" for the St. Paul and Sioux City Railroad to his fellow directors. General Sibley was going to propose a melodious Dakota name, but he'd forgotten it. E.F. Drake was the railroad's president and proposed a name they could all remember, St. James. In 1870 the railroad was completed, and the Village was chartered in 1871. St. James is still very much a railroad town, but in the...
Grygla is "The Biggest Town of Its Size." It must be true, the slogan is on the city website and letterhead. It's also true of the Grygla Municipal Airport. Between the small-town ambiance and the well-maintained airport, Grygla is a great destination. Located within walking distance of just about anything in Town, the airport has a 3400-foot-long lighted turf runway. A rotating beacon will help you find the place at night. There's a generous aircraft parking area, which is right next to the...
When Hadrian was Emperor of Rome, a rather rowdy group lived north of the province of Britannia. Called the Caledonii, they were such a pain that Hadrian had a wall built across the island to keep them out. Naturally he named the wall after himself. Other groups lived in the area, but these people were so notorious that Caledonia was the Roman name for what is now Scotland. About 1,700 years later, Sam Houston, president of the Republic of Texas before the annexation, was running for president...
Golf and airplanes go together very nicely. Aviation makes many more golf courses available and in a much greater variety. In most cases, ground transportation is needed from the airport to the club house. Occasionally, you find a course that has a runway for the 19th fairway, but these are usually private and can be expensive. If your idea of a good time is putting the clubs the Bonanza and flying off for a day on the links, Tyler is the place to go. The Municipal Airport and Community Golf...
It's not fertile in Fertile. Well, that's not exactly true. The surrounding area is probably the best farm land in North America, but the town is built on a geological anomaly called the "Sand Hills." Back in prehistoric times, this was the bottom of a glacial lake called Agassiz. As the glaciers froze and melted, Lake Agassiz expanded and contracted. The Sand Hills were formed during one of those cycles as the granular soils were deposited along the edge of the glacier. The Sand Hills might not...
Boxing Day is a uniquely British holiday. The day after Christmas, aristocrats present servants with gifts (in boxes) and working folks get the day off. During World War II, U.S. Army's Eighth Air Force was in Britain for over three years. Americans adapted to many local customs like darts and warm beer, but apparently not Boxing Day. In 1944 it was a working day for the "Mighty Eighth" when 151 bombers went to targets in Germany. The B-17s of the 486th Bomb Group were flying that day. Near Kobl...
Fairmont got its name because the original townsite was higher than the surrounding terrain. Before you pack your skis and head out, remember this is southern Minnesota. The mountain might be a little fictitious. "City of Lakes" is what the community advertises itself as, and that's a perfect description. Fairmont is on the shores of a chain of five beautiful lakes with lots of public access and several waterfront parks. Four of the lakes are connected, and all are excellent for boating and fish...
By some standards, there's not much to Bowstring. It's officially an "unincorporated" place, meaning there's an identifiable community, but without a formal city charter. The population is about 120 people. The nearest level of organized government is Bowstring Township (population 242). This is all in Itasca County. There's also a Bowstring Lake, Bowstring River, and Bowstring State Forest. Using a better set of standards, Bowstring is paradise. There are woods, lakes, and streams. The area...
