Serving Midwest Aviation Since 1960
Serving Midwest Aviation Since 1960
Sorted by date Results 1 - 15 of 15
When Orville stepped off the Wright Flyer on Dec. 17, 1903, the first thing he said was, "Where's the bathroom?" Well, maybe not. But once flights got longer toilets became a high priority after landing. When flight plans and IFR clearances were invented, a telephone became the second thing pilots needed. Back in the "old days" rural airports often had an "out house" and a phone booth to fill the need. If phone booths are a mystery to you, think "Tardis." As General Aviation evolved, what...
Professional aviators frequently aspire to fly for an airline. Airlines are a big target, about 110,000 pilot positions exist in the United States. Some pilots want to be in corporate aviation, and about 15,000 opportunities are available for that kind of work. Charles Scott wanted a job of which there are less than 400 in the U.S., but he was aiming at something even smaller. Five people in the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources can claim the title of conservation officer/pilot and that...
A recent milestone amphibious float delivery by South St. Paul-based Wipaire, Inc. brought back fond memories for the company's CEO and president. Chuck Wiplinger recalls when his father, Ben, and members of Wipaire's engineering department began developing the 2100A line of Wipline floats. "I was still in high school," Wiplinger said. "Dad wasn't sure how many he would build or how many people would want them, but here we are, 500 sets later." Wipaire delivered the company's 500th set of...
Please check with contacts to see if dates have been cancelled or changed. Send information to editor@mnflyer.com. We will publish when space is available. June 4-6: LeSueur, MN: Marginal Aviation "First Ditch" Fly-in, LeSueur Municipal Airport (12Y). Antique airplanes, reduced price fuel, self-service credit card pump. Contact: Jennifer Hanson, (952) 217-1366; Linda Lovley, (612) 799-3881; Debra Wilbright, (507) 461-0992 or email marginalaviation@yahoo.com for more information. June 5:...
The 2021 Great Minnesota Aviation Gathering (GMAG) is just around the corner and we truly hope to see you at the Buffalo Municipal Airport (KCFE) on Friday and Saturday, May 21-22, 2021! We have put together a terrific lineup of speakers and topics over the two days of celebrating aviation in Minnesota. There are many nice things about enjoying fellowship with fellow aviators and supporters of aviation and for many of us it has been a long time coming! The last GMAG was held at the Buffalo...
If you look at the autopsy data of pilots killed in aviation accidents the No. 1 drug found in their bloodstreams is diphenhydramine. It is marketed as Benadryl® and a host of other brand names. You would think the most common killer would be something like marijuana, cocaine or other drugs of abuse, not that they didn’t pop up. But no, it’s common, old, you-can-buy-it-at-any-drugstore Benadryl®. Its generic name is diphenhydramine and it’s been around since 1946. It is one of a number of medications known as antihistamines. They work, as you...
The Federal Aviation Administration Safety Team's popular Saturday morning webinar series serving Flying Cloud Airport (KCFM) recently reached a new audience online. Laura Herrmann, FAASTeam representative from St. Bonifacius, hosted a mid-March webinar that featured the participation of approximately 20 to 25 pilots based at the Crystal Airport. The goal was having a town hall similar to others conducted for the KCFM aviation community. Herrmann was joined by Airport Manager Mike Wilson and...
Wings of the North is pleased to announce Alyssa Voit as the non-profit organization's 2021 Dubay Scholarship winner. She was selected from among over 30 applications to receive this $2,000 scholarship to pursue her aviation studies. The James F. Dubay Memorial Scholarship was born out of a desire to encourage those who dream of flight to find their wings. Jim Dubay dedicated many hours to learning everything he could about planes and history, especially about WWII. He was a founder and board me...
Hangar 3 at Fleming Field in South St. Paul was a busy place Saturday, April 17. Commemorative Air Force Minnesota Wing volunteers completed a photo session featuring Miss Mitchell, the Wing's B-25J while others were hard at work getting another North American product ready for a return to service after winter maintenance. Volunteers did brake work on the SNJ-6 Texan before Operations Officer Trevor Henson took off in the WWII-era trainer and flew a test flight. The CAF Minnesota Wing was the...
In my years of flying, I have either done or instructed people that have done just about anything that can happen to a GA plane. One of the highest things that pilots don’t do or forget is the use of checklists. There is a checklist for everything. Just ask the airline guys! GA pilots, or even advanced pilots flying GA aircraft, seem to think at times they know how to do a run-up or maneuvers without a checklist. Believe me, after years of instruction I need and use the checklist. My first a...
Between the World Wars, Wichita was the center of aviation in the United States. In January 1925, Clyde Cessna, Lloyd Stearman, Walter Beech, and Olive Ann Mellor (later Mrs. Olive Ann Beech), along with Walter Innes, formed Travel Air Manufacturing. By 1929, Travel Air had 650 employees and had built over 1800 aircraft. Most were two or three place biplanes designed to compete with or replace surplus WWI aircraft. One of the most famous was the Travel Air 4000. Early Travel Air biplanes used su...
The red-white-red tips began their slow meshing. Gradually, with the deep growl of the four 2450 hp Rolls Royce Griffon 57A's increasing, the contra-rotating blades became a mad blur. If you suffered from migraines, you wouldn't want to watch too closely or too long. The Holman Field ramp was jammed with spectators and cameras. The long checklist took a while to complete, and finally, the huge blue-gray monster began to taxi off the dried grass and swung ever so ponderously onto the asphalt...
Every year the Federal Aviation Administration Flight Standards District Office (FSDO) in Minneapolis has nominations for Aviation Maintenance Technician (AMT), Certified Flight Instructor (CFI) and FAA Safety Team (FAASTeam) Representative of the Year. Casey Komarek from Two Harbors was selected as the 2021 Aviation Maintenance Technician (AMT) of the Year for the Minnesota District. Laura Herrmann from St. Bonifacius was selected as the 2021 FAASTeam Representative of the Year for the...
SEH’s Duluth Airport Authority’s Sky Harbor Airport Runway Relocation effort was one of four company projects that received engineering excellence awards during the American Council of Engineering Companies of Minnesota’s (ACEC-MN) 54th Annual Engineering Excellence Awards Program Feb. 26. The project received a Grand Award for engineering achievements that exhibited the highest degree of merit and ingenuity. Entries were judged by an objective panel based on originality and innovation, future value to the engineering profession, social, econom...
The Airlake Aero Flying Club recently celebrated the distinguished military retirement of one of its pilot members. Rick Connolly was born in Bloomington, Minnesota. He graduated from Thomas Jefferson High School, Bloomington, Minnesota in 1987 and entered active duty with the U.S. Army serving as a combat medic with C. Co. 202nd Support Battalion, 8th ID, Mannheim, West Germany from 1987 to 1990. Connolly was called back to active duty in support of Desert Shield/Desert Storm serving as a...
