Serving Midwest Aviation Since 1960
Serving Midwest Aviation Since 1960
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Staples is a railroad town. It's named after a lumber family and that's how it got started. But, by 1900 railroading was the mainstay of the local economy. Staples had a round house, locomotive maintenance shop, and an extensive marshalling yard. The round house and maintenance are gone, but the yard is still a major facility. There's so much rail traffic that the city recently built an $11.5 million overpass to connect the parts of town on either side of the tracks. Folks still can and do ride...
We didn't get drowned, mired in the mud, scorched by the sun, knocked over by a 50 mph gust front or wilted by the heat index. Was it really Oshkosh? The weather proved unusually mild for a change, but there were other noticeable changes. Large empty spots due to sequestration appeared on the main display ramp, in the Federal Pavilion and in the FAA building. Modern military aircraft were absent, as was participation by NASA. Zaug's, the seemingly perpetual food vender was gone, replaced by a...
Former RAF Flight Lieutenant Nicholas Comper formed the Comper Aircraft Company at Hooten Park in 1929 to build the Swift. Its prototype, G-AARX, first flew on 16 April 1930, powered by a 35 hp ABC Scorpion engine. Forty-one Swifts were manufactured and powered by Salmson and Pobjoy radials and de Havilland Gipsy III inlines. With an empty weight of just over 500 pounds and wing span of 24 feet, the Swift proved a natural for air racing. Even the Prince of Wales, later King Edward VIII, owned...
Cirrus Aircraft announced during Airventure the Vision SF50 personal jet program has made significant progress toward certification, including acquisition of manufacturing equipment to build the new airplane. The company confirms that first delivery is still scheduled for late 2015. The next steps in the Vision SF50 jet program involve building conforming aircraft for further certification testing and preparing the Cirrus headquarters in Duluth and its manufacturing facility in Grand Forks, N.D., for production. "This is an exciting time for...
The Minnesota Aviation Hall of Fame will once again be inducting six individuals at their annual spring induction banquet. Honors are set for Saturday, April 12, 2014 at the Ramada Mall of America Hotel in Bloomington, Minnesota. The Hall of Fame board indicates that the following persons will be honored: Martin Coddington, FAA tower controller and airline Captain; Col. Craig Duehring, VietNam O-1E “Raven” pilot and NATO commander; Greg Herrick, entrepreneur, antique aircraft restorer and heritage preservation mentor; John O. Roberts, Man...
Cirrus Aircraft today announced a partnership with Lake Superior College to develop and implement an Aircraft Assembly Pre-employment Program. The program is part of a Minnesota Job Skills Program Grant for workforce development and is aimed at recruiting, training and preparing low income individuals for assembly jobs at Cirrus. The grant was awarded to Lake Superior College and Cirrus in June and will fund the program's curriculum development and enrollment for up to 60 participants. The first group to begin instruction will start October...
Dan McDowell When the warm(ish) days and cool crisp nights of fall are present, many things begin to change. The kids are back in school, football season is on again and hockey season isn’t that far away either! The colors of the leaves and the damp, musky smells of fallen leaves on the ground begin to stir thoughts of the coming holidays and celebrations with family and friends. But for pilots, there is another very important thing that begins again. That thing is frost, specifically Hoar frost that is sometimes referred to as “Fret Fro...
What has changed regarding aircraft registration fees? In 2013, the aircraft registration tax rate changed. When does it take effect? The new rate will take effect July 1, 2014. Who do the new registration fees apply to? The registration tax applies to all aircraft using airspace over Minnesota or Minnesota airports, except: * Antique/classic aircraft, recreational aircraft, civil air patrol, government aircraft, hot air balloons, agricultural aircraft, air ambulance, and other aircraft defined under Minnesota Statutes. 360.55 & 360.653, and...
In the still, cool, clear mornings of autumn when the damp earthy smell is almost a sweet scent, it reminds us of why we choose to live here. The beauty that autumn brings is almost beyond comparison. The skies are often a brilliant blue and the quickly moving puffs of cumulous are often a stark white. But with all that beauty there is another element of autumn that while fine to look at when sitting on the ground, can be serious and sometimes deadly for unaware or unprepared pilots. That element is fog. Fog, in its simplest definition is like...
Charles Doyle Webster, MN Boeing A75N-1 (N966CD) Vintage Customized Aircraft Runner Up Ron and Diane Fagen Grantie Falls, MN Curtiss P-40K Warhawk (N402WH) Warbird Grand Champion: World War II Gold Wrench – Fagen Fighters Restoration James Hancock South St. Paul, MN Cessna 170 (N5795C) Seaplane – Bronze Lindy Jeff and John Hanson Kasson, MN Hatz Classic (N5795C) Grand Champion Plans Built Homebuilt – Gold Lindy David Smith Milaca, MN Cessna 175A (N7040E) Contemporary Outstanding Customized – Bronze Lindy James Younggren Hallock, MN Piper P...
PhD, MD, FACP CFI, CFII, MEI FAA Senior Aviation Medical Examiner An alarm clock is something I rarely need. That good ol’ internal ticker goes off just about sunrise. Likewise, I need a good reason to stay up long after it gets dark. “Sorry Honey. It’s my bedtime.” In other words, I have a strong circadian rhythm. That puts me in the company of most living creatures. Plants, animals, even single-cell organisms follow a relentless daily activity pattern linked to the light-dark cycle. Why thi...
