Serving Midwest Aviation Since 1960
Serving Midwest Aviation Since 1960
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With the passing of a man so generous, and so passionate about aviation as Edward Erickson, there is much that will be missed. At Ed's Celebration of Life, held in August¬¬ at Anoka Airport last year, wife, Barb Mack, and children, Kathy Pavelko, Susan Beeso, and Eric Erickson were much comforted by the abundance of stories shared by friends, family and aviation enthusiasts whose lives were so highly impacted by this inspirational leader. "Flying was his life," said Barb in a recent i...
Sturgeon Lake resident Randy Cichy looks at Moose Lake Carlton County Airport (KMZH) with two different perspectives. One is through the eyes of a pilot. The other is the view of a grounds keeper. As a pilot, he appreciates the layout of the airport because of some very practical points. It's clean. It's open. It's easy to see. Unlike most pilots, if any of those aspects were to change, the pilot would have to look in the mirror if he wanted to complain about how the grounds are kept because he...
From its source at Big Stone Lake on the South Dakota border, the Minnesota River flows 332 miles to its confluence with the Mississippi just below Fort Snelling and the sprawling Minneapolis/St. Paul International Airport. It's a scenic river for the whole way, but arguably the best part is at the beginning and the pretty little lakeside town of Ortonville. You can use the Airspace System at the upstream end too, thanks to the Ortonville Municipal Airport. Also known as Martinson Field, the...
Jim Hanson It's cold and windy outside, and the days are short. Not exactly great fun-flying weather-but if you want your "aviation fix" to help get you through until Spring - here's a suggestion. Visit the NWA History Centre. (Note: This is also a good place to go if the rest of the family wants to go to the nearby Mall of America). Never heard of it? Most people haven't - unless you are a former Northwest Airlines employee. I was unfamiliar with it as well, but I serve on the Boards of...
As the saying goes, old habits are hard to break. Sim Flite Minnesota is all about easing out those old habits and firmly establishing new as painlessly as possible. Steve Thibault and Tom Schmelzer, both pilots as well as flight trainers, are co-owners of Sim Flite Minnesota, based in the RC Avionics building at Anoka County Airport in Blaine. Tom Schmelzer points out that Sim Flite Minnesota serves three basic groups of clientele: Pilots getting their instrument ratings, pilots maintaining cur...
Over 50 participants gathered in the Sun Country Airlines Hangar in March to absorb as many of the tips as Emerald Coast Interview Consulting could offer in a three hour presentation. Stars of the North, the Minneapolis chapter of Women in Aviation hosted the event. Emerald Coast typically does an eight hour interview prep for clients. Stars of the North arranged a three hour information session to give members an idea of what may occur during a training period. "It was incredible! said Stars pr...
Congratulations and Happy Birthday to Mitchell Lindsey who soloed in a Cessna 172 from Anoka County Airport on his 16th birthday. The next day, he got his driver's license. "It was scary at first," said Mitchell of his solo flight, "but after the first few minutes it was easier. It was a good time." Mitchell flies out of Anoka County-Blaine Airport. Flying is not a passing fancy for young Lindsey. He plans to continue in aviation, getting his private pilot's license and all the ratings so he...
The General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA) last month welcomed the news that rule-compliant Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) equipment is now on board 10,000 aircraft flying in the United States. The FAA made the announcement at today's Equip 2020 working group meeting that this important milestone was reached in late February. The Equip 2020 working group was established by FAA Deputy Administrator Michael Whitaker in October 2014 to encourage the adoption of ADS-B equipage and address challenges to equipage....
Undoubtedly many of you have been following the Clash of the Titans — the FAA vs. AOPA — over the issue of Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA). It all started back in late 2013 when Dr. Fred Tilton, the then Federal Air Surgeon announced that the FAA was going to adopt a new obstructive sleep apnea policy. He pointed out that OSA is “almost universal” in obese individuals with a Body Mass Index (BMI) over 40 and a neck circumference of 17 inches or more. Therefore he proposed that Aviation Medical...
The famous Italian aircraft manufacturer Piaggio has existed in three forms. Begun in 1915 at Genoa by industrialist Rinaldo Piaggio, it built parts for Caproni bombers and Macchi flying boats during World War I. Then it specialized in multi-engined aircraft until the armistice in 1943. Re-formed in 1946, Piaggio built trainers, including the P-148 and P-149, for military use. It was restructured again in 1964. Derived from the two seat P-148 tail dragger that first flew in 1951, the...
• Began service delivering the mail on CAM 9 (Minneapolis/Chicago) in 1926, using two rented, open-cockpit biplanes. • 1926 — Northwest became the first airline to operate a closed-cabin airplane in commercial service, the 3-passenger Stinson Detroiter SB-1. • 1928 — service expanded to Duluth (using a Sikorski S-38 amphibian), North Dakota, and Winnipeg. • 1929 — headquartered at “Speedway Field” (site of an old racetrack, now MSP International) • 1930 — headquarters relocated to St. Paul...
According to the narrative of the NWA History Centre, there were 13 airlines represented in the history of Northwest Airlines. Following are excerpts from that history: “During its first 60 years Northwest Airlines grew into one of the world’s legacy airlines without acquisitions or mergers. The Airline Deregulation Act of 1978 changed the rules of commercial aviation and Northwest began to adapt in order to survive and prosper. In 1986 Northwest merged with Republic Airlines. That merger mad...
