Serving Midwest Aviation Since 1960
Serving Midwest Aviation Since 1960
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Let’s face it, “the times…they are a’changing”. The Minnesota Pilots Association has seriously questioned the wisdom of continuing “in person” gatherings in this time of heightened awareness of transmission of infectious disease. We have seen the success of excellent webinars put on by the FAA and AOPA, in which top notch speakers share their wisdom as it pertains to aviation. The ability to sit down and watch these in the comfort of our own homes or offices certainly has some appeal, elimi...
Time always works against you, and it’s the job of your mechanic to reduce the impact of time on your plane. One of the larger issues I’ve seen in general aviation is inactivity. Wear and tear will occur as aircraft total time climbs, but not flying your aircraft seems to be the real killer. The impact of inactivity over the years outweighs the normal wear and tear you get flying your plane regularly. Normal wear and tear can be easily managed by your mechanic, but major component replacement is where big money is spent. Inactivity dis...
Due to COVID-19, our event is mostly online this year with a goal of raising $65,000 to provide 6,500 toys to hospitalized children by December 1st. Tree of Hope began in Nary, MN, in 1991 when Dr. Ray and Celeste Shefland noticed many children spending time in the hospital over the holidays. Some dealing with major or terminal illness, some recovering from surgery or an accident. Many far from home and missing their families and friends. Tree of Hope, a 501(c) (3), has grown to include over 37 hospitals in Minnesota, Wisconsin, and North...
Danny Lilya is a 2019 graduate of Moose Lake Community High School in Moose Lake, Minnesota. In the fall of 2019, he was accepted and chose to attend the University of North Dakota in Grand Forks. His brother, Michael, is studying to become a commercial pilot at UND's John D. Odegard School of Aerospace Sciences based at the Grand Forks Airport. Danny and his brother, Michael, are also brothers in the Sigma Chi Fraternity at UND. Danny was born with a broken back, uses a wheelchair to get around...
As Technical Advisor, Mark Manning brings with him over 38 years of aviation experience. He has performed maintenance on over 35 different types of aircraft and has flown more than 25 different models of aircraft. Q: I am looking at restoring an old Cub but am thinking about a Rotax engine, which would mean the airplane would need to be listed as Experimental instead of certified. I have also heard that Experimental aircraft have a “fly off period.” What are the pros and cons of Exp...
Share your photo here - We all like to take pictures. Maybe you have a photo that others would enjoy seeing. Photos can be anything aviation related, an item of interest, i.e. artifact, piece of clothing, collector items, models, paintings, original photo's of aircraft in flight, and so forth. Send your submission to: verlena@mnflyer.com or Minnesota Flyer, PO Box 449, Moose Lake, MN 55767-0449. (Please include a brief explanation with your photo). This month's photo comes to us from Robert...
Matt is working towards his Commercial Pilot Certification, flying through Thunderbird Aviation with aspirations to fly for a major airline. The journey to begin flight training started back in early December of 2017 as an innocent conversation. My sister's husband had just poured us another cup of coffee as we leaned against the kitchen countertop, relaxing following breakfast at their lakeside home in Prior Lake. We talked about the ins and outs of our daily grind and the challenges of working...
The summer is fading fast and the weather change is inevitable; no more high clouds and light rain, its low clouds, fog, and yes snow for the general aviation flying. If you have an instrument rating are you prepared? Remember all the acronyms that are used? Things can get intimidating fast if you have not flown in the weather in a while, and without using the auto pilot. With new technology we have auto pilot approaches that are becoming common in GA aircraft, but what happens if the auto pilot...
The Minnesota Aviation Hall of Fame (MAHOF) is pleased to announce the application process for our 2021 aviation scholarship program "Giving Wings to Dreams" is now open for submissions from October 1, 2020 through December 31, 2020. In partnership with The American Aviation Heritage Foundation, the Minnesota Aviation Hall of Fame is committed to doing our respective parts to encourage individuals to follow their dreams of flight by offering five scholarships in the amount of $1,500 each to...
An ongoing series by Tom Lymburn "Ladies and gentlemen, to your right, on final approach, the greatest transport plane in history. Cameras ready! Please welcome, the Douglas DC-3!" She came "over the fence" flaring for runway niner-right. Gear down, flaps down, the late morning sun sharp on her pseudo-Navy prewar two-tone blue paint scheme. Red and white tail stripes, star and meatball insignia, chrome plated prop blades flashing in the sun. Not exactly stock, she had oversized spinners,...
The NHTSA isn't the only federal agency that has fun crashing things! Our own FAA's Civil Aerospace Medical Institute (CAMI) in Oklahoma City has blasted a number of perfectly good airplanes to smithereens in the interest of aviation safety. One thing they have found is that both seatbelts and shoulder harnesses are pretty darn good things to have around-around you the pilot! None of us plan on having an accident or an incident. Yet we all know that in spite of our best planning and precautions...
Park Point is one cool place. It's the world's longest freshwater sand spit and separates the Duluth Harbor from the rest of Lake Superior. Since the lake's water is usually about 45 degrees, nature supplies the air conditioning. At the northwest end is the famous lift bridge and Canal Park, the Duluth entertainment and tourist district. On the southeast end is an 18-acre old growth red and white pine forest with a kind of spiritual ambiance. One of the City's most desirable residential areas...
The Panavia consortium, formed in March 1969, was charged with the development of the Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (MRCA) for Britain, Germany, and Italy. From this program came the variable geometry strike and recon aircraft known as the IDS. Britain also required a long-range all-weather interceptor. This version is known as the Air Defense Variant or ADV. The prototype ADV first flew on 27 October 1979 and 18 pre-production F. Mk. 2 Tornados followed. The definitive F. Mk. 3 flew in November...
Many of my friends and family consider themselves to be "fall" people. However, as a self-admitted summer junkie that tends to think of the future instead of the present, I often describe myself as a fan of spring as I anticipate the warm days of summer just ahead. The temps are similar in both April and October, but October just feels colder, as evidenced by comparing the long pants and sweatshirts often found in autumn to the t-shirts and shorts often worn in spring. That said, the fall... Full story
Check this column each month to see that dates have not been canceled or changed. Send notices six weeks in advance of publication to the Minnesota Flyer, P.O. Box 449, Moose Lake, MN 55767 or, verlena@mnflyer.com. Attention Pilots Be sure to get a Flight Service briefing from (800) WX-Brief before every flight and check your destination airport status. Canceled Event: From the Minnesota Aviation Hall of Fame Due to the current status of COVID-19 and in an effort to keep our Inductees, their families and guests safe from the virus, the...
