Serving Midwest Aviation Since 1960
Serving Midwest Aviation Since 1960
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I don’t know about you, but I think there is some special Aviation Magic in the Holiday Season, and it involves the children, and the child that resides in each of us. I remember the excitement that came with the Sears Roebuck Christmas catalog each year (did I just date myself?) after Thanksgiving. I remember sitting down on the floor as a kid, flipping from page to page, looking at the toys and games that filled those pages. There was something in there for each and every child, ranging f...
South St. Paul Municipal Airport is busy! It's a reliever for Minneapolis/St. Paul International and home to over 220 aircraft. A bunch of successful aviation businesses are based there including Wipaire, the world's premier manufacturer of aircraft floats who are also well known for aircraft modifications and avionics. Another notable tenant is the Commemorative Air Force (CAF) with a fleet of vintage aircraft dating back to the second World War. There's only one runway at South St. Paul and...
Jim Groebner flies what is surely one of the fastest and certainly the sexiest civilian aircraft ever built. Lear Jet is the airplane and Jim is the captain. His current ride is the Lear 45XR. That's definitely pretty cool. Bill Lear invented his namesake aircraft, but he sold the type certificate to Bombardier who still call it a Lear Jet. The original Model 23 was a little hot rod. The one Groebner flies is much bigger with nine very spacious passenger seats, a gross weight of 21,500 pounds...
I saw my share of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) serving in the Navy Medical Corps. Unfortunately, it’s seen not only in those who have served but also in civilian life. Our society can be violent. Bad things happen to good people. The psychological consequences of these incidents can linger for years. The National Institute of Mental Health states, “About one half of all U.S. adults will experience at least one traumatic event in their lives, but most do not develop PTSD. People who experience PTSD may have persistent, frightening thoug...
John Parker was born in Claremont, Minnesota. As a youth, he envisioned himself as a cowboy. His love of the outdoors would later lead him to an extensive career as a conservation officer. After high school he went on to attend Rochester Junior College. Later he joined the Army Air Corps in 1943 and received his commission as an officer in 1944. After flight training and earning his wings, he trained in the P-47 Thunderbolt and was deployed to Italy, where he flew 61 combat missions as a member...
Has your club or organization been looking for another reason to fly for a purpose? If so, then you may be interested in the National Weather Service program called Weather Ready Nation Ambassadors. This program encourages groups to be proactive in communicating with the National Weather Service, which is always a good thing for pilots. Examples of services that flying clubs could provide to the NWS are photos of flood waters, snow depth, straight line wind damage, etc. The NWS relies on the public for reports of weather related damage and who...
7 MINNESOTA AVIATION HALL OF FAME INDUCTION BANQUET Mark your calendars for the next Minnesota Aviation Hall of Fame Induction Banquet! I t will be held on Saturday, April 1, 2023 at the Mystic Lake Center in the Minnetonka Ballroom. Tickets go on sale January 1, 2023. Inductees for the 2023 banquet are: Walter Fricke, Robert D. Hodge, Barbara Mack, John J. Parker, Randall L. Sohn, Rober t D. Wiplinger. Please plan to join us! More information about the banquet will be available in mid-October on our website at www.mahof.org. Do you know a...
The Stinsons were early American aviators. Sisters, Katherine and Marjorie, were exhibition pilots before WWI and the brothers, Eddie and Jack, ran a flying school in Texas before American entry into The Great War. Eddie (1893-1932) moved to Detroit and produced his first commercial aircraft, the biplane Detroiter in 1926. Northwest Airlines began with three SB-1 Detroiters. By 1927, with a need for more space, Stinson moved to Wayne, Michigan. Of the pre-WWII Stinsons, the SR series was...
In 1962 John F. Kennedy proclaimed May 15 to be Peace Officer's Memorial Day "in recognition of the service given by the men and women who, night and day, stand guard in our midst to protect us through enforcement of our laws." Each year the week in which the 15th of May falls is National Police Week. There have been 21,183 members of the law enforcement services who have died or been disabled in the line of duty. Their names are inscribed on a wall at the National Law Enforcement Officers...
The airline industry is in a period of rapid change. The major airlines had faced fierce competition from low fare carriers in many large markets and then the COVID pandemic hit and basically shut down the entire airline industry. The large airlines had been relying on smaller regional airlines to serve the smaller markets. The regional carriers are still converting their fleets from turboprops and small 50 seat regional jets to larger 90 to 150 seats and less frequency. This trend could result...
An Airport Layout Plan (ALP) is a formal public document required by MnDOT and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), and consists of a set of large format (24" x 36") detailed overhead drawings of the entire airport. ALPs are important because they give airport managers and others a comprehensive and accessible picture of airport infrastructure that helps provide a long-term, comprehensive planning strategy. ALPs may be prepared in conjunction with, and in support of master plans, long...
It wasn’t long ago that the only reliable way for anyone outside of the Air Traffic Control community to confirm an aircraft had landed was for the pilot to call via telephone to report their arrival. This often led to varying degrees of anxiety for friends, family members, or coworkers of the pilot or passengers on the flight. Recent technological advancements with flight tracking applications have significantly improved our ability to keep tabs on a flight of interest. Modern flight tracking applications have various uses. For example, i...
Precision Approach Path Indicator (PAPI) lights at an airport are a very important navigational aid. They are the type of navaid that a pilot might not utilize on a bright sunny day, but on a foggy or snowy day, PAPI lights can be essential. From the maintenance perspective, can maintenance personnel just “set it and forget it” when it comes to PAPI lights? The short answer is, “no.” The FAA Advisory Circular 150/5340-26C establishes maintenance intervals for PAPI lights and provides direction to maintenance crews on how often PAPI lights and t...
