Serving Midwest Aviation Since 1960
Serving Midwest Aviation Since 1960
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This vintage 1941 Stinson-Stratton L-1F Vigilant WWII-era observation plane was one of the featured aircraft during a mid-November 2021 EAA Chapter 1638 field trip of C&P Aviation's facilities at the Anoka County-Blaine Airport....
Forest Lake-based EAA Chapter 1638 participated in a special event hosted by C&P Aviation's Pat Harker on Nov. 10, 2021. Almost 40 chapter members toured the company's hangar at Anoka County-Blaine Airport and observed a number of historical aircraft. C&P restores aircraft and manufactures replacement parts for many different types of vintage aircraft. Harker, in right of picture, is an airplane construction, restoration, and maintenance expert and highly accomplished pilot....
Happy New Year from the Minnesota Pilots Association! It is customary to make some New Year’s resolutions and while it may be helpful to do so we often forget exactly what those resolutions were! For me, there are always mistakes made during the year which make me make a mental note “not to do that again,” and that becomes sort of a mini-resolution. Some of those might even make it into my personal checklist, lest my memory fails me and I repeat the mistake again. With this in mind I would like...
Carlton County is a great place no matter what you like. There's plenty of public land for outdoor recreation including the spectacular Jay Cook State Park. Less strenuous recreation is available at a casino/hotel/restaurant complex. Unusual tourist attractions include the only gas station designed by Frank Lloyd Wright in Cloquet and world's largest agate in Moose Lake. The aforementioned cities are the county's biggest and are served by two general aviation airports with all the facilities...
General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA) has announced the addition of Bemidji-based AirCorps Aviation as a member. AirCorps Aviation was founded in 2011 as a Warbird restoration shop. The company provides build-to-print fabrication services focused on delivering quality parts manufacturing services to support legacy and new manufactured aircraft. "I can say for everyone at AirCorps Aviation, we are very proud to be a member of this premier organization," stated General Manager Erik...
Donnie Gardner is expanding the world of aviation retail one market niche at a time. He credits his dad for providing the creative spark behind DGPilot Aviation Collectibles & More, located in downtown St. Paul. "My dad is a huge aviation enthusiast, and I didn't realize this until a few years back," Gardner explained. "I was visiting with him in Kansas City where I grew up and he pulled out his personal collection of diecast aircraft. He must have shown me 100 to 200 aircraft." Gardner hadn't c...
Each year, the Minnesota Aviation Hall of Fame (MAHOF) inductee selection committee meets in June to review nomination submissions and to select the following year's inductees. Selection includes evaluation of a candidate's significant aviation contributions to Minnesota, the area of the state the individual represents, and other criteria involving career and professional contributions. This April's banquet will honor the MAHOF 2022 inductees and return the organization to its regular banquet...
The 2021 Tree of Hope holiday toy collection event faced continued challenges prompted by the COVID-19 pandemic, but an ongoing public health crisis didn't stop the non-profit organization from helping children and families during trying times. For more than 30 years, Tree of Hope has been collecting toys for children who are hospitalized during the holidays, serving approximately 40 hospitals, shelters, and Ronald McDonald houses. "We delivered 3,200 toys," reported organizer Deb Klier. "There...
Every time you fill out your MedXpress form for a flight physical, you’ll find Question 17b. “Do You Ever Use Near Vision Contact Lenses While Flying?” Most folks get the question wrong. It’s not surprising since if you are not an eye doctor, you probably have no idea what they are asking. Contact lenses are great, especially for those of us that would be wearing “Coke bottle” lenses if we were sporting eyeglasses. They free you from fogged up lenses and restriction of peripheral vision. Assuming you tolerate them, they are a definite improveme...
Editor's Note: This new Minnesota Flyer series memorializes the state's current or past aviation museums and collections. For some of the long-gone museums and collections, it should be a nostalgia trip. Contributing writers have identified as many as 20 museums and collections and will present each in a separate article. Since the 1960s, successful businessman Johan M. Larsen of South Minneapolis dreamt of a flying museum of vintage and warbird aircraft, located at a huge private airfield...
One of the simplest tasks in aviation can also be one of the most overlooked…tire care. Our tires spend most of their time not turning, whether sitting on the ground or flying in the air. One would assume that they should require very little attention or maintenance because of this fact. Well, there is a hint of truth to this thought process. However, when you think of the times when the tire is needed during flight ops (taxiing, takeoff and landing), we realize that we really need those tires to do their job well. There are many sources of i...
Military aviation began before WWI with an emphasis on observation of the enemy. A large number of "two-seaters" emerged during the Great War to be the eyes of the army. Post war, the United States and other nations continued to depend on large, relatively slow aircraft that would make good targets for fast, heavily armed fighters. One of the last of these for the United States was the Curtiss O-52 Owl. Ordered to U.S. Army Air Corps specification W-535-ac-13362 on 12 October 1939, 203 Curtiss...
Elliott Aviation has been verified and accepted as a new products and services member by the International Aircraft Dealers Association (IADA). "The IADA Board of Directors welcomes Elliott Aviation, Partners in Aviation and Tamarack Aerospace," said IADA Executive Director Wayne Starling. "These three excellent companies, like all of our verified products and services members, have been thoroughly vetted to assure adherence to the highest standards of ethical behavior and skilled aviation...
Ray Anderson, longtime Forest Lake EAA Chapter 1638 member, died Nov. 21, 2021, after a courageous battle with cancer. He was 82 years old. Anderson was the owner of General Repair Service in Vadnais Heights from 1976 to 2018, but he continued to go into the office after selling the business to his son because he loved what he did and all the people he met over his lifelong career. Anderson was a pilot for 54 years, an active member of the local EAA chapter, a longtime member of the Minnesota...
Ken Snyder kept a simple mantra in mind throughout the course of his Le Sueur Municipal Airport hangar renovation project. "My whole goal was keeping costs in check," he said. "It wasn't hard, even though a lot of thought went into it. If there was a question, I just overbuilt it." Snyder bought the 40-by-36 foot hangar in August 2020. The structure didn't have a door, the roof leaked, and two posts were rotten. The hangar also had a dirt floor. Getting a roof installed was a priority to protect...
When you decide it's time for you to build a new hangar or replace doors on your current hangar there are steps to take to make this process go smoothly and cost efficient as possible. Contractors, architects, and door buyers should contact a reputable door manufacturer prior to placing a new or replacement door on their hangar to garner important engineering information that will prepare them for the job ahead. Schweiss Doors can provide door weights and imposed loads that a bifold or...
Osseo-based Wiley Properties has consistently renovated its Crystal Airport hangars to keep pace with market changes in general aviation. Wiley Properties got its start in 1954 with Hap Wiley, who owned and operated a well drilling company at the time. Since drilling is seasonal in Minnesota, Hap decided it would be beneficial to have his workers construct buildings during the winter months. That activity eventually evolved into a successful family real estate business that continues to include...
Merle Marshall's attention to detail served him well during his 33-year career as a Teamster. After retiring in 2017 as a Metropolitan Airports Commission senior maintenance worker, it wasn't long before Marshall's attention turned from runways to hangars after helping out a friend. "Larry Degner of Aerolift Door kept getting phone calls about hangar door cables and latches being broken," Marshall recalled. "He'd call me, and I'd go help him. Well, one day the phone rang so much I decided to...
